The average seller in England and Wales who sold in 2022 having bought within the past 20 years made a record gross profit of £108,000, up from £96,220 in 2021, according to Hamptons.
A record 94% of sellers sold their property in 2022 for more than they paid for it, having owned for an average of 8.9 years.
There are now 173 local authorities in England & Wales where the average homeowner made a six-figure gain when selling their home – 87% of which are in the South of England.
Slower house price growth in London over the past few years has meant that in percentage terms, Welsh sellers are now making bigger gains than Londoners (59% versus 57% in 2022).
The uplift in seller profit has been driven by more households selling larger homes. Typically, these have been owned for longer.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Soaring house price growth has boosted the money homeowners have made when they sell.
“House price gains are primarily driven by two factors – the length of time people have owned and the point at which they bought and sold in the house price cycle. 2022’s record breaking gains were boosted by Covid-induced changes, with a rising share of sales coming from larger family homes that were typically bought before the financial crisis.
“However, most of these profits are never seen by sellers as they are reinvested back into the housing market when they make their next purchase which has also increased in value.
“But house price growth hasn’t been distributed equally. Flat owners, in particular, have seen weaker price growth and are nearly four times as likely to sell at a loss compared to someone selling a house.
“Typically, these are first-time buyers and second steppers who have bought in the last five years and have accrued less equity in their homes. This, combined with higher mortgage rates, has limited their ability to cash in and trade up in 2022.
“While there are a number of uncertainties weighing on the market, even if prices do fall this year, it’s likely that over 90% of sellers will still sell at a profit. The other 10% will mostly be flat owners who bought in the last five or so years.
“The shift away from recent mortgaged homeowners selling cheaper homes towards older, more affluent homeowners selling more expensive homes also looks set to push up gains among sellers again this year.”
