Last year property sales fell by a staggering £141 billion, outlining the scale of the market contraction that took place in 2023.
Some £154.7bn worth of property was sold across England last year, compared to £295.7bn in 2022.
The analysis of Land Registry data comes from estate agency platform eXp UK.
Adam Day, head of eXp UK, said: “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.”
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.
London was the worst hit region, recording the largest annual decline of all regions of England, with the average value of a home falling -4.8%.
Day added: “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.”
