Vendors still making big profits from property sales, says Zoopla

Homeowners who sold their property in 2023 made an average gain of £74,000 with Londoners seeing the largest capital gains at £137,000, latest data from Zoopla reveals.

Analysing Land Registry entries in England and Wales from the past 12 months the portal found that nine in 10 (93%) of those that sold their home last year sold above the original purchase price – despite a fall in house prices throughout the UK in 2023. Just one in 10 homes sold made a loss at an average of £17,000.

GREATEST GAINS

Both detached houses and bungalows are the property types with the greatest capital gains – with detached homes making £137,000 or £18,000 per year and bungalows making an average of £102,00 or £13,300 per year.

Terraced and semi-detached homes made smaller gains in line with the lower value of each home with flats making just 19% between sales on average.

Those who bought before the 2007 financial crash saw smaller gains.”

Those who bought before the 2007 financial crash saw smaller gains compared to those who bought a property after, when average prices fell.

Outside of London, those who bought a home 10-15 years ago, after the 2007 financial crisis saw average gains ranging from £63,000 in northern England compared to £115,000 in the south of England.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Izabella Lubowiecka (main picture), Senior Property Researcher at Zoopla, says: “Most homeowners who sold in 2023 made meaningful capital gains which, for many, will have provided important financial support for their next home move.”

And she adds: “It’s positive news, considering house prices posted modest price falls for the first time in 11 years.

“Lower levels of house price growth mean the potential gains in future are unlikely to be as strong as in the past which is why more households are looking further to find their new home and seek better value for money.”

Nathan Emerson, Chief Executive at Propertymark, says: “It is encouraging to see that people were still making money from selling their homes last year even if those levels of house price growth were lower than they have been in the past.