A total of £154.7bn worth of property was sold across England in 2023, down 48%, or £141bn, compared to 2022, new research shows.

eXp UK analysed sold price data from the Land Registry (Jan to Dec 2023 – latest available) looking at all homes sold across England in 2023 and what the total value of these homes were based on the sold price of each transaction.

The estate agency then compared this to the previous year to see how a more challenging year had impacted the amount of money spent across the property market.

This reduced spend came as a result of more challenging market conditions, with higher interest rates putting a squeeze on buyer purchasing power, reducing not only the price they were willing to pay, but also the number of buyers committing to a purchase.

As a result, the average house price across England finished the year 2.1% down annually, while there were 47% fewer transactions in 2023 compared to 2022.

London was the worst hit region in this respect, recording the largest annual decline of all regions of England, with the average value of a home falling 4.8%.

But despite this, the capital still sits well above the rest when it comes to the total value of homes sold. In fact, the research by eXp UK found that just shy of £40bn worth of property was sold across London in 2023, accounting for 22% of the national total.

To put London’s property market pedigree into perspective, Surrey ranked second, where just £5.8bn worth of homes were sold in 2023, accounting for just 4% of the national total.

The City of London was home to the lowest total value of homes sold in 2023 at £60.6m, while Rutland (£101.7m), Isle of Wight (£383.3m), Herefordshire (£366.7m) and Northumberland (£623m) were the only other counties to come in under the £1bn mark.

However, it was Bedfordshire that saw the largest year on year reduction in the total level of homes sold. £1.64bn worth of homes sold across the county in 2023, a drop of -56% versus 2022.

Buckinghamshire (-53%), Lincolnshire (-52%), Cambridgeshire (-52%) and Northamptonshire (-52%) also saw some of the largest year on year reductions in the total value of homes sold.

The head of eXp UK, Adam Day, commented: “2023 was a challenging year for the property market and higher interest rates coupled with wider market uncertainty caused many buyers to remain sat on the fence, while those who did take the plunge did so tentatively.

“While this did result in an annual reduction in the average house price, the decline seen was far more marginal than many had anticipated and, all things considered, the property market has stood very firm.

“However, when viewing the market based on the total value of homes sold, these marginal reductions soon add up.

“While £154.7bn worth of property sales is nothing to be sniffed at, it does sit considerably lower than the total seen during 2022 when the market was still benefiting from the pandemic market boom.

“The good news is that, with interest rates frozen, inflation falling and a base rate reduction on the horizon, the market is already seeing a return to form as buyers return to the fold. As a result, we expect the total value of homes sold in 2024 to rebound from the annual decline seen last year.”