"Estate agents currently have the highest stock of homes for sale in over seven years. This is boosting choice for buyers, meaning it is very important that sellers are realistic about how they set their asking price"
- Richard Donnell - Zoopla
Sellers of detached homes in England and Wales earned an average of £122,500 in capital gains over the past 18 months, significantly outpacing the £27,000 average gain achieved by flat owners, according to new analysis of property sales data by Zoopla.
Bigger homes deliver stronger returns
Home size has emerged as a major factor driving capital gains. Detached homes yielded the highest returns, with profits 70% above the national average. Semi-detached properties also performed well, providing average gains of £80,000, a 44% increase, closely matching the percentage gain of detached homes at 45%.
In contrast, flats generated the lowest gains. Sellers saw an average profit of £27,000, a 15% increase, less than a quarter of the gains achieved by detached homeowners. Market trends, including high mortgage costs and a preference for additional space, have shifted demand away from flats towards terraced and semi-detached properties.
The 15-year tenure trap
A “Tenure Trap” has emerged for some long-term sellers. Homeowners who sold after 15 to 20 years often earned less than those who sold after 10 to 15 years. In Northern England, the 15-20 year group made £45,000 on average, £30,000 less than the £75,000 gained by the 10-15 year cohort. This pattern reflects slower house price growth in northern regions following the global financial crash.
Extreme long-term ownership, however, remains highly profitable in high-value markets. London homeowners selling after 20 to 25 years unlocked £361,500 on average, the largest single gain across Great Britain. In Southern England, the same group secured £225,000, while in Northern England the gain averaged £121,000.
London gains vs. Northern England
Sellers in London and the South East consistently see the largest monetary gains. The average London seller earned £130,000, around 35% of the purchase price, while South East sellers gained £94,000. In practical terms, £130,000 would allow a London seller to buy an average-priced home outright in 11 local authorities in northern England. In comparison, the average gain in the North East was £35,000, 26% of the original purchase price, limited by slower house price growth since the global financial crash.
While cash gains are largest in London, several regions achieved strong percentage growth. Wales, the North West, and the Midlands all recorded increases of 41-45%, demonstrating that properties purchased at lower prices still offer meaningful returns, even if absolute sums are smaller, such as £65,000 in Wales.
“British homeowners are sitting on sizable capital gains from years of historic house price inflation, which varies widely by geography and property type," noted Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla. "The scale of gains from historic price inflation is unlikely to be repeated in future with lower levels of annual price inflation in more recent years than in the past."
“Estate agents currently have the highest stock of homes for sale in over seven years. This is boosting choice for buyers, meaning it is very important that sellers are realistic about how they set their asking price. Homes that attract limited interest and require a price reduction can take twice as long to sell.”
