Are three storey houses worth more than two storey houses?

w00519772

I know a house is worth what someone will pay but generally I see that three storey houses have higher asking prices than two storey houses in my area.

Is this normal? Someone once said to me that families may avoid three storey houses because the parents want a bedroom on the same floor as the children.

poppysarah

No they are worth less because it's an odd number.
:-D

If you mean those nasty narrow modern town houses where often they try and kid you its normal having a lounge on the first floor, then I think they are absolutely rubbish.
And there's no attic to store junk as you're sleeping in it.

pinkteapot

Are they more for roughly the same square footage and number of bedrooms? Wouldn't expect them to be....

Annisele

I'd expect a 3 storey house to be worth less than a 2 storey house - assuming all else, including the internal floor area, was equal.

A 1,500 square foot house over 3 storeys has (about) a 500 square foot footprint, whereas the same size 2 storey house has a footprint about 50% bigger. More land for the 2 storey should cost more. (I get that stairs and landings mess with those calculations, but the principle holds).

In practice all else rarely is equal. There are some beautiful three storey townhouses near where I live, and I'd certainly pay more for those than for the 1960s two storey council houses a five minute walk away.

ognum

I think it's down to usable space, number of rooms, size of those rooms. Sometimes you find that while three story houses have great bedroom space the living space is small in comparison.

As someone else has said there are some fab Victorian/Edwardian town house that have three stories and there are some modern three story houses which feel very cramped.

It's about what you are looking for!

Doozergirl

The price per square metre of a three storey house is cheaper than a two story house.

Someone else has already alluded to the fact that the value of the land heavily affects the price of that the house that sits on it.

A 150 square metre two storey house will cost more than a 150 square metre three storey house.

A three storey house with a 50 square metre footprint will cost more than a two storey house on the same footprint.

Regardless of whether people like them, you get more bang for your buck.

ognum

Doozergirl wrote: »

The price per square metre of a three storey house is cheaper than a two story house.

Someone else has already alluded to the fact that the value of the land heavily affects the price of that the house that sits on it.

A 150 square metre two storey house will cost more than a 150 square metre three storey house.

A three storey house with a 50 square metre footprint will cost more than a two storey house on the same footprint.

Regardless of whether people like them, you get more bang for your buck.

I totally agree with this with new builds and town houses but in homes in the countryside with good sized gardens I don't necessarily think it's so.

This would also mean that detached bungalows are always more expensive than detached houses as they need more land but it is not always the case.

mummyroysof3

I don't like them so wouldn't buy one either way.

Doozergirl

ognum wrote: »

I totally agree with this with new builds and town houses but in homes in the countryside with good sized gardens I don't necessarily think it's so.

This would also mean that detached bungalows are always more expensive than detached houses as they need more land but it is not always the case.

What you're saying confirms what I've said. The land value affects house price more than the actual building. If you're sat on an acre of land, the larger part of value is in the land you're sat on, the building proportionately less.

Bungalows cost more to build per square foot than a two storey house which in turn costs more than a three storey house. That almost always reflects in house price but much less than land value.

ConfusedofYorkshire

I saw a 3 storey house with 3 double bedrooms on top floor (no stupid slopes ceiling and a huge loft) and a 'bedroom' on the middle and bottom floors. It was quite nice.

But generally yeah, a lot of parents wouldn't want their kids on a separate floor unless they were older/teenagers.

michele-p

It will, depend on the layout. As mentioned some have bedrooms on different floors. Some have a downstairs kitchen but upstairs lounge.

We live in a large 3 story house, with a garage/office/utility on the ground, then large living room and kitchen dinner on the middle, and three bedrooms 2 bathrooms on the top floor. We also have a full loft if we should ever feel the need to expand!

The smaller 3 story houses tend to have the bedrooms in the eves, which means that temperature control up there is difficult.

The downside (not really for us) is a very small garden, we've just had ours landscaped to make the most of it, and it's not an issue.