Nearly four in 10 London flats resold after being owned for between five and 10 years have changed hands for less than their previous purchase price, according to e.surv Chartered Surveyors.
Repeat-sales analysis covering the 12 months to August 2026 shows London has the highest proportion of flats resold at a nominal loss in Great Britain.
Around a third of flats resold after five to 10 years in both the South East and East of England also sold below their previous recorded purchase price.
Across Great Britain as a whole, the proportion was just over a quarter, falling to around one in five across the Midlands and northern England.
FLATS UNDER PRESSURE
E.surv’s longer-term House Price Index shows the performance of flats and houses beginning to diverge around 2017.
It points to building safety, cladding and service charges among the issues that have increasingly influenced buyers, sellers and lenders in parts of the flat market.
Scotland presents a markedly different picture, with fewer than one in 10 flats held for five to 10 years selling below their previous recorded price.
Rob Owens (main picture, inset), Head of Research at e.surv, says: “Flats remain one of the clearest areas of weakness. Our repeat-sales analysis shows that this is no longer simply a gap between property-type indices: for some owners, it is being crystalised when they sell.”
LONDON PRICES FALL
The findings come as London remains the only region recording an annual house price decline, with average values down 2.3% year-on-year.
Across Great Britain, average prices increased 1.5% in the year to September to £328,900, although they fell 0.2% both during the latest quarter and month.
Scotland recorded the strongest annual growth at 3.5%, followed by Yorkshire and Wales, both at 3.4%.
Owens adds that understanding the influence of building safety, tenure and service charges on flat values should help buyers make better-informed decisions and give lenders a clearer view of potential risks
