Long term capital appreciation dips for most recent s...

The average home in England and Wales bought within the last 20 years and sold in 2023 achieved £102,650 or 48 per cent more than it cost.

This is actually down from a record £112,930 in 2022 according to the estate agency analysing the data, Hamptons.

Collectively, this means 2023 sellers realised a £103 billion uplift in value between what they paid for their home and what they sold it for.

Overall, 93 per cent of vendors sold their property in 2023 for more than they paid for it, having owned for an average of 8.9 years. In percentage terms, the average seller in England & Wales last year made a 48 per cent gain, down from 54 per cent in 2022.

The decrease in average gains is partly due to small house price falls last year, but also because more homes moved sooner. The average 2022 seller had owned their home for 9.0 years, but this fell slightly to 8.9 years in 2023.

This figure was pulled down by a spike in households moving after just two years. Some 8.0 per cent of households who sold a home last year had bought just two years earlier in 2021.

Those who bought in 2021 and sold in 2023 were disproportionately likely to be selling a home in the suburbs or countryside. The average vendor who bought in 2021 sold their home in 2023 for £56,170 or 23 per cent more than they initially paid.

Since 2016, house prices have risen faster outside of London. Overall, 88 per cent of London sellers sold their home in 2023 for more than they initially paid. However, just 72 per cent of those who bought in 2016 and sold in 2023 made money on their home. Most of these sellers owned homes in Prime Central London, where the average property still costs less than it did when the market peaked in 2016.

Despite this, higher property prices mean that Londoners continue to make the biggest gains in cash terms.

The average Londoner sold their home last year for £204,190 more than they paid for it, having bought it 9.5 years ago. London sellers also owned their homes for the longest period of time, which partly reflects the larger cohort of would-be sellers whose homes are not currently worth what they paid.

Sellers in the North East continued to make the smallest gains in both cash and percentage terms. The average household who sold in 2023 achieved £40,410 or 33 per cent more than they initially paid (chart 3, table 1).

There are 156 local authorities across England & Wales where the average homeowner made a six-figure gain when selling their home, down from 181 areas in 2022. Having owned for 10.8 years on average, households in Kensington & Chelsea made the biggest cash gains having sold their property last year for an average £680,580 more than they initially paid – more than double the average house price in Great Britain.

Proportionately however, the top 15 areas where sellers have seen the biggest gains ar

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