Sellers make £74k average profit in 2023

What affects the profit you make when selling your home?

It’s all in the timing 

And by that we mean the length of time you’ve lived there.

Our Senior Property Researcher, Izabella Lubowiecka, says: ‘Generally, the longer someone lives in a property, the more money they stand to make,’ (that’s called capital gains).

‘However, those who bought when property prices last peaked, just before the 2007 financial crisis, saw more modest gains compared to those who bought after, when house prices dipped.’

Sellers who’ve lived in their homes for 10 to 15 years made between £63,000 in Northern England to £115,000 in the South.

And it’s all about location

The average value of homes in your neighbourhood also impacts how much you’ll make from a sale.

Sellers in London, who’ve lived in their properties for more than 15 years, typically made more than £250,000 between sales.

Outside of London, sellers who bought their homes after the 2007 financial crisis (which triggered a house price correction) made the largest gains.

And the type of property you’re selling is important

‘While demand for large family homes and bungalows fell towards the end of last year, successful sellers of these property types stood to make the most money in 2023.’ says Lubowiecka.

‘The average seller of a detached home made £137,000. That means their property earned £18,000-a-year for them while they lived there.

‘Bungalows were also profitable in 2023: the average gross profit made from a bungalow sale was £102,000, the equivalent of earning £13,100-a-year.’

The margins are larger in part because owners of detached homes and bungalows sell less often, living in their homes for 10 and  11 years respectively (longer than the national average of 9 years).

For owners of terraced homes and semis, the average gains were more modest: the typical gain from a terraced home sale was £65,000, while for a semi it was £81,000.

If you sold a flat, you’re likely to have made around £30,000 – or a 19% gain, as these types of properties have seen lower price growth in recent years.

Which properties gained the most value in 2023?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, detached homes made the most value when sold last year, earning their owners £137,000 over a total period of 10 years on average.

They were hotly followed by bungalows, which earned around £102,000 during that time, then semis (£81,000), terraces (£65,000) and finally flats (£30,000).

So what does this all mean for mover-uppers?

So what does this all mean for flat-owners looking to buy a house, and house owners looking to buy a bigger house?

‘In the capital, if you sold a 2-bed flat last year, you’d have made £78,000 on average,’ says Lubowiecka. ‘This could contribute 14% towards the purchase of an average-priced 3-bed home in London.

‘In contrast, those making the same move in northern England made £17,000 on average, which would work out as a 9% contribution towards the average 3-bed house.’

If you’re upsizing from a 3-bed house to a 4-bed house it becomes easier, as the profits made from selling a 3-bed house tend to make a more meaningful contribution towards the purchase of a larger 4-bed house.

‘In London, the gross gains from a 3-bed house sale could contribute 25% towards your next property, while in northern England, it’s around 16%,’ says Lubowiecka.

‘Those who sold a 2-bed house with the intention of upsizing to a 3-bed house could count on the profits making the largest contribution towards their next home purchase.’

Those profits ranged between 30% in London to 21% in Northern England.

Profits earned towards you next house move from a sale

Average gains in 2023 (Land Registry) vs average asking price 2023