Which is better?

My husband and I are looking to buy a property, but we disagree about what to buy.  Since I am currently a student, and am not currently working, I thought buying a flat or apartment would be good because there is just the two of us, and it might cost less.  I felt this way, we could put more money aside for a nicer house later.  Plus, between all my placements and class work, I don't really have the time or the energy at the end of the day to scrub down our current rented house as much as I'd like, and a flat or apartment might take less cleaning time.  DH really wants to buy a house.  He wants more space (for which I tell him if he wants it, he cleans it; not a strong point with him).  He thinks a house will be stronger investment is more likely to increase in value.  He does not see buying a flat or apartment as a way of really getting on the property ladder, and has a pretty convincing argument with the flat of his deceased mother's that he recently sold. 

We realise we aren't experts by any means, so is there anyone who does know something about this?  Which will be the better investment?  Does it matter or should we go with what we need for our lifestyle?  Thanks in advance.   

Personally, I'd go for more space even though you may not need it right away.  But that's just my opinion, having been through the housing crash in the early 90's.  A lot of people we knew ended up squashed in their tiny flats and starter houses with babies, unable to sell it to move to a bigger place. 

go for the house. saves you the trouble of having to sell it & move all over again in a few years. besides, you might think it's extra space now, but you'll find a use for it sooner than you think.

If you can, I'd buy the space you'll need over the next 10-15 years.  The market has had very strange upward momentum since the crash in the early '90s (late '80s?), and it's not likely to continue forever.  You may want to read a bit about that big crash to see what has happened in the past, although they are saying that stagnation is more likely this time.  But, especially if you do happen to buy at the top of the market, I'd listen carefully to what Mindy said. 

What I'm trying to say, is that you should think of your house, first and foremost, as a place to live for a relatively long time, not an investment.  With the exception of the last 15 years or so, you weren't guaranteed to make money if you flipped and sold it in 5 years.  So think about how much space you might need 5 years, 10 years, 15 years from now.  And, surprises happen, you don't want to have moved into your beautiful 1 bedroom flat 3 months ago and then find out that you are pregnant, for example. 

If you can afford the house go for that, especially if it's freehold. A flat is usually only leasehold or maybe a share of the freehold and you are more restricted as to what improvements etc you can make.

If you can, I'd buy the space you'll need over the next 10-15 years.  The market has had very strange upward momentum since the crash in the early '90s (late '80s?), and it's not likely to continue forever.  You may want to read a bit about that big crash to see what has happened in the past, although they are saying that stagnation is more likely this time.  But, especially if you do happen to buy at the top of the market, I'd listen carefully to what Mindy said. 

What I'm trying to say, is that you should think of your house, first and foremost, as a place to live for a relatively long time, not an investment.  With the exception of the last 15 years or so, you weren't guaranteed to make money if you flipped and sold it in 5 years.  So think about how much space you might need 5 years, 10 years, 15 years from now.  And, surprises happen, you don't want to have moved into your beautiful 1 bedroom flat 3 months ago and then find out that you are pregnant, for example. 

That's what I meant to say, only better. 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  I knew that there would be people on here who knew about housing here.  I had done a bit of reading about how the market was supposed to slow down, which is why we have been sort of half looking, but I thought I would see what the current wisdom was on what to buy!  I think I'm convinced.  We do (and by we, I mean mostly my husband, who had to combine two households last year) have lots of stuff, and we will need storage.  Thank you again everyone.   

We've had this argument a bit because it's looking increasingly likely that we'll have to do shared ownership in order to afford to buy something and many of them are flats. DH thinks a flat is fine but I think after 4 years of renting a house that we'd be really, really claustrophobic. And we've accumulated a lot of stuff that just wouldn't fit in an apartment. But my main argument is that I couldn't live without outdoor space during the summer....