Millions of homes lost value last year - Zoopla

One million homes have lost all their pandemic gains amid the financial turmoil at the end of last year, Zoopla claims.

Each month, the portal tracks the value of the UK’s 30m homes and while 92% of homeowners saw their property increase in value last year due to low supply and high demand, values declined during the final months as rising living costs and a spike in mortgage rates following the mini-Budget hit buyer interest.

Looking at price gains achieved over the first two years of the pandemic to February 2022, and then how values have performed in the last six months, Zoopla data shows one million homes have lost all their pandemic gains. 

Almost half of these are homes in parts of London, with 20% of those in East Central London and 14% in West London losing all paper gains as well as in Scotland with 14% in Aberdeenshire losing their value.

Looking across the year, 12 out of 13 homeowners saw the value of their home increase by an average of £19,000, with almost 3m making more than £50,000. 

The total value of UK housing breached the £10 trillion mark early in 2022, according to Zoopla, and reached £10.5 trillion by the end of 2022. 

This is an increase of £700bn over the year, or nearly £80m added to the value of the nation’s housing every hour on average over 2022. 

Not everyone’s home gained in value over 2022 however, with some 2.3m homes registering a fall in value with an average loss of £7,300, Zoopla said.

Homeowners in London accounted for 26% of properties registering a decline.

Almost 16m homes have lost an average of £3,900 in value in the final quarter of 2022, according to the research.

The reduction in home values over the second half of 2022 was concentrated in markets where price gains have been slower over the last year.

Homeowners in London have seen the largest number of reductions in home values followed by the South East, Zoopla claims.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “UK homeowners made record gains in the value of their homes over the pandemic years as the nation re-evaluated what we wanted from our homes. 

“These gains have started to be eroded in the final half of 2022 as buyer demand weakened in the face of higher mortgage rates and weaker growth in household incomes.”

“The profile of gains and losses varies right across the country, knocking any notion of a single market that moves in unison across the country. 

“Housing markets vary by geography and price band. The value of a home is important in unlocking that next home moving decision. While the headlines might talk of UK house price falls in 2023 each home will have its own trajectory so speaking to an agent or tracking your home value online are ways households can stay in touch with the value of their largest asset."