This month, the latest UK House Price Index reported the first house price drop since October 2021. Although this may seem like cause for concern for the nation’s sellers, this marginal month-to-month decline equated to a reduction of just £505 in the value of the average home across England.
However, GetAgent analysed house price growth over the average length of homeownership, adjusting for inflation, to reveal just what today’s sellers stand to make when putting their home on the market and found that those currently looking to sell still stand to make a substantial profit.
All Homeowners
The latest figures from the English Housing Survey show that the average homeowner spends 17.6 years in their current home.
After adjusting for inflation, GetAgent’s research shows that they would have purchased their current property for £251,365 back in 2005.
With the average house price across England currently sitting at £315,073, this means those entering the market today are selling for 25% more than their original purchase price - a profit of £63,708.
Outright Homeowners
Those who have stayed the course to pay off their mortgage entirely and now outright own their home are estimated to have spent the last 24.5 years in their current property.
Back in 1998, their home would have cost them just £109,920 after adjusting for inflation, meaning that if they choose to sell up today, they would see a return of £205,153.
This climbs to a whopping profit of £369,459 in London, where the inflation-adjusted house price in 1998 was just £172,852, compared to the average sold price of £542,311 today.
Mortgaged Homeowners
Even those currently going through the process of paying off their mortgage could stand to make a tidy profit if they choose to sell in current market conditions. Having owned their property for an average of 9.4 years, selling today would see them make £90,144 on top of the £224,929 they paid in 2013.
Colby Short, Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, commented: “Homeownership is one of life’s key milestones and while achieving it should be reward enough, it’s not surprising that many homeowners are concerned about the market value of what is likely to be the most expensive asset they will ever own.
"The good news is, that despite recent reports of a marginal monthly decline in property values, the average homeowner is likely to have enjoyed a significant increase in the value of their home should they look to sell in current market conditions.
"While we may continue to see property values cool over the coming months as the market returns to normality following the pandemic house price boom, it’s also important to note that we’ve weathered far worse where previous periods of house price deprecation are concerned.
"Even those who bought a property prior to the 2007 financial crash have still seen the value of their home rebound considerably and so all things considered, it remains a very strong market for those looking to sell.”
