London has the unenviable honour of being the part of Britain where the most sellers lose money when they complete their transaction.
Hamptons lettings agency shows that in 2025, some 14.8% of London sellers sold for less than they originally paid.
Share of sellers getting back less than they paid for their property
| 2019 | 2025 | |
| London | 9.2% | 14.8% |
| North East | 29.9% | 13.9% |
| South East | 7.3% | 9.0% |
| South West | 8.8% | 8.3% |
| North West | 15.4% | 8.1% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | 14.5% | 8.0% |
| East of England | 5.7% | 7.9% |
| West Midlands | 8.9% | 6.9% |
| East Midlands | 7.6% | 6.7% |
| Wales | 12.2% | 6.2% |
| England & Wales | 10.0% | 8.7% |
Source: Hamptons & Land Registry
The share of loss-making sales in the North East has more than halved over the past decade, falling from 29.9% in 2019 to 17.7% in 2024 and just 13.9% in 2025.
In contrast, London’s figure has been rising, underlining the reversal in fortunes between North and South.
This trend has been driven largely by flat sellers who, despite accounting for 60% of London sales last year, represented 90.0% of homes sold at a loss, up from 78.4% in 2019.
At local authority level, eight of the 10 local authorities where sellers were most likely to make a loss were in the capital.
Last year, 28.2% of sellers in Tower Hamlets sold for less than they paid, the highest figure in both the capital (map 1) and the country, with flats making up 90%+ of all sales in the area.
The City of London (26.2%), Kensington & Chelsea (22.4%), Westminster (22.1%) and Hammersmith & Fulham (20.8%) complete the top five local authorities.
Meanwhile, in Barking & Dagenham – London’s cheapest borough – just 5.3% of sellers sold below purchase price (map 1).
House owners in the capital generally recorded higher gains than flat owners – 59.6% over an average of 10.3 years, compared with 35.4% for flats over a similar 10.1 year period.
London house sellers were more than six times less likely than flat sellers to make a loss (3.5% vs 22.2%, chart 2). This widening gap has made it increasingly difficult for flat owners to bridge the step up to a house.
Elsewhere, sellers in the South of England (South East, South West and East of England) were also among the most likely to sell for less than they paid. While sellers in three of the four Southern regions achieved smaller average gains than in 2024, vendors in all three Northern regions saw increases.
Average difference between purchase and sale price for sellers across England and Wales
| 2024 Sellers | 2025 Sellers | YoY Change | |
| London | £172,350 | £172,510 | £160 |
| South East | £116,560 | £108,030 | -£8,530 |
| South West | £96,090 | £91,890 | -£4,200 |
| East | £100,270 | £97,130 | -£3,140 |
| East Midlands | £71,530 | £70,730 | -£800 |
| West Midlands | £72,980 | £76,220 | £3,240 |
| North East | £38,220 | £41,140 | £2,920 |
| North West | £64,830 | £70,520 | £5,690 |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £60,380 | £62,180 | £1,800 |
| Wales | £66,710 | £68,120 | £1,410 |
| England & Wales | £91,830 | £91,260 | -£570 |
Source: Hamptons & Land Registry
The sustained level of house price growth across the North of England over the last decade means that sellers there have seen proportionally higher gains than those in the South.
In 2025, the average seller in the North West achieved a 45.4% increase in the value of their home during their period of ownership – higher than London (44.6%), the South East (38.3%), South West (39.5%) and East of England (39.5%).
Outside London, no Southern region recorded average gains above 40%.
Sellers in the Midlands and Northern England are now among the least likely to make a loss when they sell.
Of the 20 local authorities where sellers were least likely to sell below their purchase price, only two were in the South of England (London, South East, South West or East).
At the very top of the list was Harlow in the East of England, where just 0.8% of sellers sold at a loss in 2025.
This was followed by High Peak in Derbyshire (1.7%) and Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire (2.3%), both in the East Midlands.
