House sellers made £100k profit in 2023 despite price dip

House sellers in the UK pocketed an average of £100,000 more than they spent on their property in 2023, according to new research by Hamptons.

The estate agency said that 93% of sellers in England and Wales made a profit on their home last year, despite a decline in house prices.

However, the average profit was 9% lower than in 2022, when house prices reached a record high.

‘Households still sold their home for more than they paid’

Aneisha Beveridge, the head of research at Hamptons, said: “Despite falling house prices last year, 93% of households still sold their home for more than they paid, netting themselves just over £100k on average.

“These proceeds are mostly reinvested back into the housing market and go towards the purchase of another home, so they’re rarely realised in cash terms.”

She added: “However, the numbers illustrate how the scale of historic price growth sheltered movers last year, freeing up cash to cover moving costs.”

Average seller had owned their home for 8.9 years

The data shows that the average seller in 2023 had owned their home for 8.9 years, down from 9.0 years in 2022.

This was partly driven by a surge in sellers who had bought their home in 2021, at the height of the pandemic-induced demand for more space.

Hamptons said that 8% of sellers in 2023 had bought their home just two years earlier, compared to 5% in 2022 and 6% in 2019.

These sellers were more likely to have bought a home in the suburbs or the countryside, and then moved back to the city or a smaller property.

Two-thirds of them sold a home in a small town or the suburbs, and 12% sold a home in the country.

Despite the drop in prices, these sellers still made an average of £56,170 or 23% more than they paid for their home in 2021.

‘Double-digit house price increases since Covid’

Ms Beveridge said: “Double-digit house price increases since Covid have meant households moving within two years can achieve a higher price than they paid.

“Historically these are people moving due to a change in circumstances.

“However, the spike in the share of households moving within two years goes beyond that and suggests an unwinding of ‘the race for space’.

“Most of these sellers are selling larger homes in the country, often in favour of a move back to the suburbs or city.”

She adds: “Households rarely move when they’re faced with the prospect of selling their home for less than they paid.

“Generally, the chances of selling at a loss peak within the first few years of ownership.”

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