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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to be gutted my house has lost me money?

315 replies

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:36

I guess I’m really wondering if anyone else has been in this situation and what I can do… I bought a two bed flat in a nice area of London in 2017. Redecorated, replaced the kitchen and bathroom, and have lived here happily since.

We’re starting to outgrow it and decided to get the flat valued and see what’s out there. Two valuations, both for the same as we bought it - maybe 5% growth if we’re lucky. I’m just gutted. With inflation over that time, we’ve essentially lost £200,000. The estate agent said house prices in our area haven’t gone up over that time because it’s not ‘up and coming’, it came up a long time ago and has stayed desirable. What do we do? Just suck it up and sell, or wait and see if anything changes?

OP posts:
MikeRafone · 17/04/2025 12:58

All those stating that the flat hasn’t lost money, it’s not kept up with inflation - so effectively it has lost money

if £100 in 2017 brought 10 gold coins and now 10 gold coins is worth £70

youve still got 10 gold coins but they are now worth £70

Lapbowl · 17/04/2025 12:58

Chungai · 17/04/2025 12:56

The money OP paid for it would have made £200k IN INTEREST since 2017.

So I think we can assume it was worth a lot more than that, especially given interest rates were v low for quite a lot of that period.

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Yes, but what would she have paid in rent on a good flat in a nice part of London?

SamDeanCas · 17/04/2025 12:58

You’ve not lost money, you just haven’t made as much as you thought you might. A 5% return on an investment isn’t bad.

noidea69 · 17/04/2025 12:58

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:53

Reassuring to know I’m not alone at least! I feel like a mug, and if I’d just invested the money in 2017 rather than buying I’d be in a much better position now.

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ok, but as you've not being pay rent or a mortgage since 2017, why did you not invest monthly the equivalent of what your rent/mortgage would have been? Would have had a nice pot now.

Mrsttcno1 · 17/04/2025 12:57

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:55

Unfortunately two estate agents and Zoopla are in agreement so I think it’s correct.

Does anyone think there’s value in waiting another couple of years to see if there’s an uptick, or is 7.5 years enough to say there’s unlikely to be a change?

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I wouldn’t. House prices have shot up between 2017 & now, but they are now levelling off. If you haven’t seen an increase already then another 2 years won’t make any difference.

Chungai · 17/04/2025 12:57

MothershipG · 17/04/2025 12:54

But how much of that money you would have earned from investing would you have spent on renting a similar property?

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Exactly! A central London flat would be about 3k a month I would think?

Lapbowl · 17/04/2025 12:57

Has the value gone down or are you including inflation and cost of improvements?

I don't think house proces have risen as quickly as inflation, when it was at its highest, anywhere and improvements rarely increase the value by as much as you spend IME.

What would you have paid bin rent over that time? If you're going to talk a out money lost, you have to offset what it would have cost you to live elsewhere.

IrritatedEarthling · 17/04/2025 12:56

Was this a very expensive flat to start with? 200k worth of inflation since 2017 would suggest a purchase price of over 600k.

Can I ask how much you paid?

toomuchfaff · 17/04/2025 12:56

No, i disagree.

"if id invested " - whos to say that the investments you chose didn't tank due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? or some other event? My pension savings took an absolute nose dive. Nothing is guaranteed.

And if you'd bought in the up and coming area and spent another 10k it'd now be worth half a million..

And if you'd bought in the Up area - the price could have crashed.

swings and roundabouts

You've got a property, you can't change the past, you're only doing yourself the disservice to be looking at what you thought could have been.

Original poster
Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:56

Ginmonkeyagain · 17/04/2025 12:50

Flats, especially those without outside space, have stagnated in value since covid.

The flat is ground floor with private entrance and has direct access to a courtyard garden (undemised) and further communal gardens. So does have outside space of a sort.

OP posts:
YouFetidMoppet · 17/04/2025 12:56

This is why properties should be homes and not investments. It is a bit of a myth that homes are investments or a safe place for your wealth. It is sometimes a gamble. Factoring in inflation you don't make loads of money. I guess it's better than storing it under a mattress and paying rent though.

NoMoreLifts · 17/04/2025 12:56

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:53

Reassuring to know I’m not alone at least! I feel like a mug, and if I’d just invested the money in 2017 rather than buying I’d be in a much better position now.

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Are you sure you've lost? Because you would have probably paid rent in that time. Wouldn't that have eaten into much of your interest / returns?

Chungai · 17/04/2025 12:56

2dogsandabudgie · 17/04/2025 12:54

If your flat is worth £200,000 and you paid cash that's a big deposit to put down on another property.

The money OP paid for it would have made £200k IN INTEREST since 2017.

So I think we can assume it was worth a lot more than that, especially given interest rates were v low for quite a lot of that period.

Original poster
Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:55

user1471505356 · 17/04/2025 12:45

Get another valuation, this sounds nuts.

Unfortunately two estate agents and Zoopla are in agreement so I think it’s correct.

Does anyone think there’s value in waiting another couple of years to see if there’s an uptick, or is 7.5 years enough to say there’s unlikely to be a change?

OP posts:
MothershipG · 17/04/2025 12:54

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:53

Reassuring to know I’m not alone at least! I feel like a mug, and if I’d just invested the money in 2017 rather than buying I’d be in a much better position now.

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But how much of that money you would have earned from investing would you have spent on renting a similar property?

Chungai · 17/04/2025 12:54

WinterFoxes · 17/04/2025 12:51

It wasn't an investment, it was your home. You have paid to live freely in it without the worry of being at the mercy of a landlord, to decorate it as you choose. Instead of losing money in rent, you recoup it when you sell. We have lived through an era of homes increasing in value but it can't continue indefinitely. Think of house purchase as a home, not a moneymaker. You don't need to feel bad.

Agree with this. Reframe it: You've had a stable, mortgage and rent free home for 8 years in a nice part of London, at a relatively young age by the sounds of it (given you're looking to upsize). The vast majority of people could only dream of that in a lifetime.

Mrsttcno1 · 17/04/2025 12:54

I do think people are wising up to flats now as well though, especially where we are they tend to take a long time to sell

2dogsandabudgie · 17/04/2025 12:54

If your flat is worth £200,000 and you paid cash that's a big deposit to put down on another property.

BarnacleBeasley · 17/04/2025 12:54

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:53

Reassuring to know I’m not alone at least! I feel like a mug, and if I’d just invested the money in 2017 rather than buying I’d be in a much better position now.

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But where would you have lived between 2017 and now if you'd just invested the money?

Original poster
Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:53

SummerIce · 17/04/2025 12:49

Value of flats in London have stagnated since Covid. We made a bit of a profit on our river front flat when we sold, but since then, everyone else in our development has sold at a loss. The growth is not really there for flats anymore unfortunately.

Reassuring to know I’m not alone at least! I feel like a mug, and if I’d just invested the money in 2017 rather than buying I’d be in a much better position now.

OP posts:
Left · 17/04/2025 12:52

My first home sold for less than the purchase price. I bought just before a recession, the value tanked, and it never gained the initial value before i needed to move. It was super stressful, and i was thankful not be in negative equity. I did still move but my budget was less than previously - I just had to work with what was available to me.

Original poster
Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:52

Sofiewoo · 17/04/2025 12:47

Wow this is strange imo, 2016 was a boom year but overall much of London has still gone up.
I bought a flat in 2017 in Z3 E, sold it at the start of the year for 550 after buying it for 300. However that isn’t all profit because it took a lot of effort and money to get it to that standard. The days of huge increases for doing nothing were gone years ago.

But yes posters are right, you haven’t “lost £200k” just because it hasn’t increased in value. You would always have needed to pay to live somewhere, at least this way you get it back.

Yeah I think it’s area - my friends in SE/E London have made profit in this time (often for very little material improvement) but our area doesn’t seem to have gone up in value at all.

OP posts:
BarnacleBeasley · 17/04/2025 12:51

Hotpinkparade · 17/04/2025 12:48

I should have mentioned - I was a cash buyer owing to an inheritance. So haven’t paid off a mortgage.

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In that case, unless you were expecting the value to go up more than the cost of 8 years' rent, you haven't lost anything.

WinterFoxes · 17/04/2025 12:51

It wasn't an investment, it was your home. You have paid to live freely in it without the worry of being at the mercy of a landlord, to decorate it as you choose. Instead of losing money in rent, you recoup it when you sell. We have lived through an era of homes increasing in value but it can't continue indefinitely. Think of house purchase as a home, not a moneymaker. You don't need to feel bad.

toomuchfaff · 17/04/2025 12:50

So wait, has the price gone down? No, it just hasn't gone up as much as you thought id do?

Yes YABU