Houses and flats have long been at a premium in the British Capital, especially for buyers who want to live centrally and in some of the city’s desirable leafy areas.
Recent figures have revealed that London dwellers who purchased homes some time in the past two decades and then sold them have reaped record profits of six figures or more. Data recently released indicates that many property sellers realised more than £200,000 when they sold their homes in 2022. On average, their property generated nearly £24,000 each year for these fortunate property sellers who owned their homes for around nine years on average. This was reflected in the valuations given in a typical building survey in London during the same period.
Variations in location
Unsurprisingly, the residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea reaped the highest sale rewards – the biggest returns in the entire country – making on average nearly £700,000 on the sale of their home. Based on an average length of residence of 10 years, this means their property was earning them nearly £70,000 annually.
In the relatively deprived area of Newham, profits were the lowest in the Capital, but property sellers still made almost £120,000. The City of Westminster is another desirable central location in London, with sellers averaging around £470,000 on the sale of their property. In Richmond Upon Thames, another sought after area, sellers of property made on average around £320,000 when parting with their homes.
Despite this, The Guardian reports that the price of the average UK home is decreasing and is expected to slow down further if the country enters recession. Given the value of properties in these locations, if you are thinking of buying in the Capital, you will almost invariably need a building survey London from a reputable firm with years of experience in this area.
Across Britain
While profits might be concentrated in London, outside the Capital property sales were still generating healthy returns for homeowners. The recent figures demonstrated that the average sale made a profit of more than £100,000 for the homeowner. This is an increase of around 10 per cent on 2021.
In what is seen as a new record, some 94 per cent of homeowners sold their dwellings for a profit in 2022. On average, they sold for around 50 per cent more than they paid, which goes some way to demonstrate that property remains a healthy investment. The largest profits outside the Capital were seen in the southern parts of England, and the smallest profits generated in the North East.
Many factors have played a role as to why London homeowners have made so much from selling their properties. Part of this is due to the length of time they have owned their property and the point in the sales cycle in which they were selling. Covid has also played a role in a multitude of ways to influence buyer and seller behaviour.
