A plentiful supply of freehold properties in our cities may become a thing of the past as urban areas become increasingly leasehold according to a new survey.

Some 53 per cent of homes in London and 46 per cent in Manchester are leaseholds thanks to the high level of new flats developments in the cities – with a similar trend happening in many other towns and cities.

Conveyancing firm My Home Move’s analysis of Land Registry’s price paid data, found areas that have experienced extensive redevelopment like London’s N1C postcode and the M15 and M50 postcodes in Manchester top the list of leasehold hotspots and can have a leasehold proportion above 90 per cent. 

Overall, the centres of large cities also have a much higher proportion of leaseholds than freeholds with Liverpool, Newcastle and Birmingham close behind Manchester and London. s are split into flats and new apartment blocks are built.

“The redevelopment of England and Wales’ towns and cities over the last 30 years means there are more leasehold properties on the market, as new build apartment blocks are constructed and old warehouses are converted into flats” says Doug Crawford, My Home Move chief executive.

“Controversially, even some new build houses in suburban and rural areas are now sold as leasehold properties. Leaseholds make up almost all of the housing stock in some of our cities’ redeveloped districts, and the proportion of leaseholds could grow even more as additional new developments come onto the market” he says.

In London more than 60 per cent of residential properties in the central WC, EC and W postcodes are leaseholds. However, none of the Greater London postcode areas have an average leasehold density greater than 40 per cent. 

West London postcodes have a slightly higher proportion of leaseholds than Eastern ones, which may be because of historically higher property prices in these areas attracting more investment.

Elsewhere, Berwickshire and rural Wales are among the areas that have the lowest proportion of leaseholds in the country.