Suffolk's housing statistics: Property prices, ownership, household sizes and more revealed
Home is where the heart is – and there are nearly 350,000 of them in Suffolk.
Suffolk Observatory holds a host of information on housing and households, with data on the type and tenure of homes in the county also logged.
In 2021, there were 349,940 properties across the county.
From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, the annual net additional dwellings number – the change in housing stock including new builds, conversions and non-residential buildings brought into use, minus any demolitions or other losses – was 3,167 extra homes in Suffolk.
Meanwhile, between October 2020 and September 2021 the median price of a property in Suffolk was £275,000.
So, how do those figures break down?
Of the 349,940 homes, 59,750 (17 per cent) were bungalows, 44,510 (13 per cent) were flats/maisonettes, 83,460 (24 per cent) were terraced homes, 76,400 (22 per cent) were semi-detached houses and 80,290 (23 per cent) were detached homes.
Residential property prices and sales
In Suffolk, according to data from HM Land Registry, the median detached home property price from October 2020-September 2021 was £380,000 (England £399,950, West Suffolk £373,750, Mid Suffolk £395,000 and Babergh £410,000); semi-detached properties £247,500 (England £254,000, West Suffolk £255,000, Mid Suffolk £250,000 and Babergh £280,000); terraced homes £210,000 (England £227,500, West Suffolk £220,000, Mid Suffolk £214,250 and Babergh £235,000); and flats or maisonettes £145,000 (England £240,000, West Suffolk £165,500, Mid Suffolk £127,000 and Babergh £147,500).
Where your money might go further
In Suffolk there are some property hotspots where you can expect to pay more – Southwold is a prime example, where the median property price from October 2020-September 2021 was £506,000 – but for those wishing to get on the property ladder there are locations where your money goes further.
While the average property price on Moreton Hall, in Bury St Edmunds, is £300,000, if you travel down the road to Eastgate ward that average falls to £241,500.
Meanwhile, in Mildenhall’s Great Heath ward the average property price is £190,000, beaten by £188,250 in Brandon West.
The adage ‘location, location, location’ is true – especially when it comes to making your budget stretch, or blowing it entirely.
Average house prices (October 2020-September 2021) by ward
Abeygate £303,000
Bacton £343,000
Bardwell £387,500
Barningham £330,000
Barrow £440,000
Battisford and Ringshall £450,000
Brandon East £210,250
Brandon West £188,250
Bures St Mary and Nayland £387,500
Combs Ford £231,750
Eastgate £241,500
Elmswell and Woolpit £325,000
Gislingham £360,000
Haughley, Stowupland and Wetherden £305,000
Haverhill central £210,000
Horringer £365,000
Ixworth £373,750
Kentford and Moulton £402,500
Lakenheath £222,500
Lavenham £370,000
Moreton Hall £300,000
Mildenhall Great Heath £190,000
Mildenhall Kingsway and Market £245,000
Mildenhall Queensway £285,000
Minden £330,000
Needham Market £238,500
Pakenham and Troston £330,000
Rattlesden £401,250
Risby £431,800
Southwold £506,000
Stanton £245,000
St Olaves £220,000
The Fornhams and Great Barton £425,000
Thurston £329,000
Tollgate £237,250
Western Felixstowe £229,475
Woodbridge £375,000
Westgate £265,000
Council Tax bandings
2021 data held by the Valuation Office Agency, which has responsibility for placing dwellings into Council Tax bands on the basis of their value, shows that across the county 20 per cent of properties are in band A, compared to 14 per cent of all homes across the East of England and 24 per cent in England.
Thirty per cent of the county’s homes are in band B, compared to 21 per cent across the East of England (EoE) and 20 per cent in England.
Twenty per cent of Suffolk’s homes are in Band C (26 per cent EoE, 22 per cent England) and 14 per cent in band D (18 per cent EoE, 16 per cent England).
Nine per cent of the properties in Suffolk are in band E (11 per cent EoE, 10 per cent England), four per cent in band F (EoE six per cent, England five per cent) two per cent in band G (EoE four per cent, England also four per cent).
Finally there are 750 band H homes in the county– not even one per cent – compared to one per cent in band H across the East of England and England.
Household size
The average household size in Suffolk is 2.3, with 2.8 bedrooms per household and 5.7 rooms per household.
Across the East of England these figures are 2.4, 2.7 and 5.4.
Meanwhile, in West Suffolk the average household size is the same as the county average at 2.3, with 2.8 bedrooms per household and 5.7 rooms per household. In Mid Suffolk the numbers are 2.4, 3 and 6.2, and in Babergh 2.3, 3 and 6.
Ownership and tenancy
How many of the county’s homes are owned outright, owned with a mortgage, rented – including the type of landlord – or for the lucky few, rent-free?
In Suffolk in 2011 (the latest data available through Suffolk Observatory), 111,081 people (35.7 per cent) owned their homes outright (32.9 per cent EoE, 30.6 per cent England) while the number of homes owned with a mortgage or loan in Suffolk was 97,912, or 31.5 per cent (EoE 34.7 per cent, England 32.8 per cent).
The number of shared ownership homes – part-owned/part rented – was 2,068, or 0.7 per cent (EoE 0.7 per cent, England 0.8 per cent).
Private rented through a landlord or letting agency applied to 43,399 households, or 14 per cent (EoE 13.3 per cent, England 15.4 per cent) and there were 5,089 homes, or 1.6 per cent in the private rented other category (EoE 1.4 per cent, England 1.4 per cent).
There were 46,101 social rented homes, or 14.8 per cent (EoE 15.7, England 17.7) and 23,681 homes – 7.6 per cent – in the social rented from council/local authority category (EoE 7.8 per cent, England 9.4 per cent).
‘Social rented: other’ covered 22,420 homes, or 7.2 per cent (EoE 7.9 per cent, England 8.3 per cent) and across Suffolk there were 5,095 households – 1.6 per cent– living rent-free (EoE 1.3 per cent and in England 1.3 per cent).
Homelessness
In Suffolk, in 2017/18, 640 people – or two per cent of the population – were accepted as being homeless and in priority need.
In West Suffolk the figure was 241, or 3.2 per cent, in Mid Suffolk it was 59, or 1.4 per cent, and in Babergh 72, or 1.8 per cent.
Across the East of England, the figure was 56,580, or 2.4 per cent
Annual net additional dwellings in Suffolk by year
2001-02 2,688
2002-03 3,037
2003-04 3,010
2004-05 2,672
2005-06 3,701
2006-07 4,511
2007-08 4,594
2008-09 3,471
2009-10 2,540
2010-11 2,458
2011-12 1,882
2012-13 1,609
2013-14 1,842
2014-15 2,217
2015-16 2,268
2016-17 2,335
2017-18 2,381
2018-19 3,237
2019-20 2,872
2020-21 3,167
