- London tops the UK for loss-making sales.
- Flat owners account for most losses.
- Only long-held homes cushion overall gains.
London’s long-held image as a safe place to invest in property is starting to look less certain.
Fresh analysis by Hamptons Research, based on Land Registry sales data, shows sellers in the capital were the most likely in the UK to get back less than they paid for their homes over the past year.
Around 14.8 per cent of London homeowners sold at a loss. That is nearly one in seven sellers and well above the UK average of 8.7 per cent, or roughly one in 11.
Historically, the North East of England has led the rankings for loss-making property sales, showing a slow recovery after the 2008 financial crash. This year, it slipped into second place, with 13.9 per cent of sellers accepting lower prices than their purchase value.
The South East followed, where 9 per cent of sellers made a loss. Wales emerged as the strongest-performing region, with just 6.2 per cent selling for less than they paid.
Across the UK, homeowners sold after an average of nine years, making £91,260, or 41 per cent, more than their purchase price. London sellers still recorded higher cash gains, averaging £172,510 or 44.6 per cent, though the figures suggest these gains are unevenly spread.
More than half of London sellers had owned their homes for over a decade. These long-term owners accounted for 77 per cent of the total gains, while those who had owned their properties for less than ten years contributed just 23 per cent. The data suggests price growth from earlier boom years is propping up the capital’s overall numbers.
Flats take hit
The London market increasingly appears split between houses and flats.
Flats accounted for 60 per cent of all sales in the capital last year but represented 90 per cent of homes sold at a loss. In comparison, house sellers made up just 10 per cent of loss-making transactions.
Only 3.5 per cent of London house sellers sold at a loss, compared with 22.2 per cent of flat sellers.
House owners recorded average gains of 59.6 per cent over 10.3 years, while flat owners saw gains of 35.4 per cent over a similar period.
This pattern was seen across the UK, where 19.9 per cent of flat owners sold at a loss, compared with 4.5 per cent of house owners. The growing gap is reportedly making it harder for flat owners to build enough equity to move into larger homes.
Prime areas slip
London boroughs dominated the list of places where sellers were most likely to lose money.
Tower Hamlets topped the UK rankings, with 28.2 per cent of sellers accepting lower prices than they paid. The borough’s average property price stands at £470,209, with flats making up about 90 per cent of all sales.
The City of London followed, where 26.2 per cent of sellers made a loss, ahead of Kensington & Chelsea at 22.4 per cent and Westminster at 22.1 per cent.
By contrast, Barking and Dagenham, London’s cheapest borough with an average price of £354,709, saw just 5.3 per cent of sellers selling below their purchase price. Bexley also bucked the trend, with losses limited to 5.4 per cent of sales.
London prices rose by just £160 year on year, while parts of southern England recorded negative price movements between 2024 and 2025. Northern regions, meanwhile, continued to see modest gains.
Commenting on the findings, Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, reportedly said that rising house prices in London are no longer a one-way bet, adding that even some owners who bought a decade ago are struggling to break even as market conditions tighten.
