Research from property website OnTheMarket.com has found that upgrading from a two bedroom to a three bedroom house costs an average of £68,376 across England, Scotland and Wales, an average of 29%.

Buyers looking to make this move in Outer London face the highest additional cost of £109,616 or 26%. In this region, a two bedroom house costs £415,208 and a three bedroom costs £524,824.

The largest uplift in percentage terms is the South West where the cost of upgrading from a two bedroom to a three is 36%. The price jumps from £224,585 for a two bed to £304,444 for a three bed with the cost difference at £79,859.

The smallest percentage uplift is in Inner London where it is 10% more for a three bedroom house than a two bed where, on average, a two bed costs £707,424 while a three bed is £779,816. 

The smallest uplift in monetary terms is in the North East where the extra room costs £30,174. The cost of a two bedroom house is £144,672 and a three bed costs £174,847 - a percentage uplift of 21%.

According to ONS data there are 4.3 million families in the UK with two children or more which highlights the demand for homes with three or more bedrooms. 

The house price data was gathered using average house prices listed for sale at property website OnTheMarket.com. Flats and apartments were excluded.

The graph below shows how much, on average, buyers have to spend to upgrade from a two to a three bedroom home in England, Scotland and Wales.

Vikki Bennett, spokesperson for OnTheMarket.com, said: “Upgrading to a decent sized three-bedroom family home has long been the aspiration of homeowners.

“They are a practical choice for growing families and young couples who want to guarantee themselves a future-proof purchase.

“But with popularity comes hefty premiums even while the housing market remains generally static.”

Richard Greenham, Director of Meller Braggins in Cheshire, in the North West, said:

“I am definitely seeing a lot of families relocate to the North West region – I believe this has been a result of big businesses like the BBC relocating to Salford. Demand is outstripping supply for three bedroom homes in the North West region.

“Two bedroom period properties are still quite popular however, three bedroom homes are more versatile depending on what is required – younger buyers coming upmarket tend to want an extra bedroom either for a study or a nursery.

"Three bedroom homes are popular with downsizers too, as we recognise older couples wanting to release the equity from bigger properties to fund their retirement."

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Harry Buchanan, Sales Director at Jackson-Stops London, said:

‘’The low number of two and three bedroom houses available to buy in Chelsea continues to keep prices relatively buoyant for both property types. With space at a premium, pricing in

this area is often guided upon square footage although there are of course other factors involved.

"Despite the current political uncertainty, there is still demand from buyers looking to buy in the prime central London market; London continues - and, in my opinion, will always continue - to attract those seeking the unrivalled lifestyle opportunities that the city provides. 

"At the moment we’re experiencing a slightly higher demand for two bedroom properties over three beds in the area. There is no particular ‘type’ of buyer in this cosmopolitan area of London, everybody has an individual set of requirements and motivations. Indeed, there is a story behind every single sale: client time frames, price expectations and individual circumstances are always considered. 

“Therefore, it is far from being a simple case of calculating prices based on square footage alone, these personal factors are often reflected in the price asked and achieved. We help many international buyers from across the globe but the majority are likely to be based in Britain and are looking either for a permanent home or pied-à-terre for when they’re visiting for business or pleasure.”

Issued for and on behalf of Onthemarket.com

Research notes:

This research analysis was performed on a sample of 164,835 two and three bedroom houses listed at OnTheMarket.com on December 11, 2018. Flat and apartments were excluded and properties with a price of more than £2million were excluded.

OnTheMarket defines Inner London as: Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Wandsworth and City of London.

OnTheMarket defines Outer London as: Newham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Brent, Croydon, Bromley, Merton, Richmond Upon Thames, Ealing, Hounslow, Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, Harrow, Haringey, Hillingdon, Sutton, Kingston.

Background on OnTheMarket:

OnTheMarket plc, the agent-backed company which operates the OnTheMarket.com property portal, is the third biggest UK residential property portal provider in terms of traffic. It aims to deliver a market--leading, agent--backed alternative to Rightmove and Zoopla, offering a first--class service to agents at sustainably fair prices and becoming the go--to portal for serious property--seekers.