Homeowners who sold their property in 2023 made an average gain of £74,000, according to Zoopla.

The property portal analysed Land Registry entries from the past 12 months to calculate the typical gross profit from property sales in England and Wales and also found that nine in 10 (93%) of those that sold their home last year, sold at a price above the original purchase price. This is despite a fall in house prices throughout the UK in 2023, and means just one in 10 homes sold made a loss at an average of £17,000.

Largest gains in most expensive regions

Source: Zoopla data of homeowners who have been in their property 20 years or less.

With demand for detached homes down 41% in 2023, some may consider it surprising that both detached houses and bungalows are the property types with the greatest capital gains – with detached homes making £137,000 or £18,000 per year, on average. Bungalows are close behind, making an average of £102,00 or £13,300 per year for owners.

However, homeowners with smaller properties such as terraced and semi-detached homes made smaller gains, in line with the lower value of each home. This is echoed with flats which made just 19% between sales on average as a result of slower price growth for this property type over recent years.

It is no surprise that those who have been in their home longer, cash the largest prices when selling their home. However, it’s not just length of home ownership which has an impact on how much is to be made from a property, but also when it was purchased and where it is.

For example, those who bought before the 2007 financial crash saw smaller gains compared to those who bought a property after, when average prices fell. Monetary gains are also linked to the average value of homes in the area, which means that the biggest winners are sellers in London who have lived in their home for over 15 years, typically making over £250,000 between sales.

Outside of London, the winners are those who bought a home 10-15 years ago, after the 2007 financial crisis with average gains ranging from £63,000 to be made in northern England versus £115,000 in the south of England.

Izabella Lubowiecka, senior property researcher at Zoopla, said: “Most homeowners who sold in 2023 made meaningful capital gains which, for many, will have provided important financial support for their next home move. It’s positive news, considering house prices posted modest price falls for the first time in 11 years.

“Lower levels of house price growth mean the potential gains in future are unlikely to be as strong as in the past which is why more households are looking further to find their new home and seek better value for money.”