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\u201cAs safe as houses\u201d is a term which has long been used to describe the London property market as a place to invest your money. <\/p>\n
But, the latest data suggests this may no longer be the case. <\/p>\n
In the past year, sellers in the capital were the most likely in the country to get back less than they paid for their homes, according to Hamptons Research analysis of Land Registry sales prices, comparing what UK homes were bought and sold for. <\/p>\n
Just over one-in-seven, or 14.8 per cent, of Londoners took a hit on the price when they sold, compared to a national average of 8.7 per cent, or one in 11. <\/p>\n
Traditionally, it\u2019s been the North East of England that has topped this chart, with sellers here most likely to make a loss in nine of the last ten years, as the region recovered only slowly from the 2008 financial crash. <\/p>\n
This year, however, it\u2019s in second place with 13.9 per cent of sellers having to accept lower offers. <\/p>\n
The South East also fared poorly and was in third place at nine per cent. <\/p>\n
Sellers were least likely to make a loss in Wales, with only 6.2 per cent selling for less than they paid.<\/p>\n
Across the UK, the average homeowner sold after nine years, for \u00a391,260 (or 41 per cent) more than they paid. <\/p>\n
While London sellers tended to see a higher cash increase, selling for \u00a3172.510 or 44.6 per cent above their original price, most of this uplift was due to historic price growth. <\/p>\n
Half of London sellers had owned their home for over a decade, but these long-term owners contributed a bigger proportion and accounted for 77 per cent of the total gains. <\/p>\n
Those owning their properties for less than ten years only accounted for 23 per cent of the average increase, indicating that the boom years pre-2016 skewed the results. <\/p>\n
A clear North-South divide can also be seen with those in the South (South East, South West and East) seeing the difference between the purchase and sales price in negative numbers between 2024 and 2025, while those in the North seeing an increase. <\/p>\n
London itself had only a very moderate increase of \u00a3160 year-on-year. <\/p>\n
The data for London hides a market of two halves. <\/p>\n
Flat sellers, who accounted for 60 per cent of the capital\u2019s sales last year, represented 90 per cent of the homes sold for a loss, with those selling houses making up the remaining 10 per cent. <\/p>\n
This is a stark comparison to 2019 when the percentage of flat owners making a loss was much lower at 78.4 per cent. <\/p>\n
Those selling houses made 59.6 per cent over an average of 10.3 years, compared to 35.4 per cent over a similar 10.1-year period for flats<\/a>. <\/p>\n This pattern was repeated across the UK as 19.9 per cent of flat owners made a loss, compared to 4.5 per cent of house owners. <\/p>\n The best and worst boroughs for house price growth<\/p>\n London boroughs made up eight of the top 10 places in the UK where vendors made a loss. <\/p>\n