(Bloomberg) — For the first time in at least a decade, a property seller in London is now more likely to make a loss than anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
According to a Hamptons report, around 15% of Londoners sold their homes last year for less than they paid for them. This was the highest proportion in England and Wales, well above the national average of 8.7%, according to brokerage data dating back to 2015.
“In London, property appreciation is no longer the sure bet it once seemed,” said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons. “Owners who bought a decade ago are still at risk of receiving less than they paid for — something that would have been almost unthinkable in the heyday of 2015.”
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The slump in London’s property market, driven in part by rising stamp duty and the looming tax on mansions worth more than £2 million ($2.7 million), has led some desperate sellers to offer discounts of up to 50% over the past year. UK homes valued at more than £2 million — most of them in London — could see a further 5% depreciation in value in 2026 as the market adjusts to the mansion tax, according to forecasts published last month by Hamptons.
In London, apartment sellers were six times more likely to make a loss than house sellers in 2025, a gap that has been gradually widening over the past decade. Higher land rental costs, high service charges and stricter regulation for investors in rental properties have put pressure on apartment values in the British capital.
Without a doubt, the average seller in London in 2025 got a price 45% higher than they originally paid. However, most of that appreciation resulted from historic home price growth, Hamptons said.
In nine of the last ten years, the North East of England has been more likely to lose than any other region in England and Wales, according to Hamptons. However, recent stronger price growth in northern regions has boosted returns. In 2019, 30% of sellers in the North East sold their properties for less than they paid, compared to 9.2% in London, highlighting the role reversal between the north and south of England.
“In the coming years, it is likely that more sellers will have missed out on the opportunity to cash in on London’s property appreciation between 2012 and 2016, having bought at what turned out to be the peak of the market,” said Hamptons’ Beveridge. “The recent slowdown in home price growth nationally will likely reduce the appreciation homeowners will realize when selling their properties in the coming years.”
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