Last year 14.8% of Londoners sold their home for less than they bought it for, the highest proportion in England & Wales, Hamptons research shows.
Previously, in nine of the last 10 years, sellers in the North East of England were more likely to make a loss than anywhere else in England & Wales.
Across England & Wales 8.7% owners sold for less than they paid last year, reflecting the economic stagnation of recent years.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “In London, upward house price growth is no longer the one-way bet it once seemed.
“In some cases, even owners who bought a decade ago still face getting back less than they paid – something that would have been almost unthinkable in the heady days of 2015. And for many, the sums are likely to remain tight.
“Over the next few years, more sellers are likely to have missed out on London’s 2012-16 house price boom, having bought instead at what turned out to be the top of the market. That could make trading up increasingly challenging.”
As recently as 2019, 29.9% of North East sellers sold for less than they paid compared with 9.2% in London, reflecting the region’s slow recovery from the 2008 financial crash.
The sustained level of house price growth across the North of England over the last decade means that sellers there have seen proportionally higher gains than those in the South.
In 2025, the average seller in the North West achieved a 45.4% increase in the value of their home during their period of ownership – higher than London (44.6%), the South East (38.3%), South West (39.5%) and East of England (39.5%).
As such, sellers in the Midlands and Northern England are now among the least likely to make a loss when they sell.
Beveridge added: “Nationally, rising gains in the North have helped offset shrinking returns in the South, leaving the overall picture broadly unchanged from last year.
“And with much of the recent price growth in the North and Midlands now baked in, it’s possible that seller gains there could outpace those in the South – in both cash and percentage terms – for the foreseeable future.
“The recent slowdown in house price growth nationally is likely to reduce the uplift homeowners achieve when they come to sell in the coming years. But for many, moving remains a discretionary decision, heavily influenced by the value they can achieve.
“If the numbers don’t stack up – and sellers risk losing part of their original deposit – many choose to stay put. This means some homeowners, particularly those unable to secure a gain, are likely to remain out of the market.”