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Original poster

Houses gone DOWN in price after five years - is this normal?

98 replies

ardeng · 21/10/2025 20:25

We've seen a house that we like and want to make an offer on it. But to my surprise I see that a couple of houses on the street have gone down in value. I've never seen this before in all the areas I've been looking. Would you go for a house here, or is there a reason you could think of for this? I've included a picture with the values.

Houses gone DOWN in price after five years - is this normal?
OP posts:
FettleOfKish · 21/10/2025 22:41

Our flat is currently on the market for 105k less than it was valued at immediately post-covid and not selling despite being completely refurbished since then (including new up to current regs plasterboard, new electrics, new fire safe doors…). We’re now looking to accept an offer up to 15 or 20k less than I paid for it 6 years ago, so yes, to answer your question succinctly.

PyongyangKipperbang · 21/10/2025 22:42

ardeng · 21/10/2025 22:07

I'm not complaining about the price of the house I'm buying. To break it down.

  1. I'm interested in buying a house and am happy with the price.
  2. I looked at other properties on the street and what they've sold for in the past.
  3. Some of these properties have in the past sold for less than the owners have bought it (attached pic in OP) . These properties are not for sale now. But if someone's bought it at some price, then five years later they've sold it for less than that price.
  4. I'm worried that should we buy a house in this street it will lose value rather than retain it (or increase) in case we want to sell at some point.

And the question is, should I be worried about this (as a house is an asset that normally doesn't lose value) or is this normal?

Thank you to those who've shared experiences and thoughts.

This is absolutely not personal to you OP, but it is an issue with the whole UK housing market.

People dont look at a house and think "Is this somewhere I want to live and can comfortably afford?". They look at it and think "Is this somewhere that I want to live in and will make me money?" and if the answer is yes a lot of people max out to try and get the best possible return. Very very few people seem to consider that interest rates going up, or markets being flooded with properties so prices going down, or recessions meaning there are fewer buyers could leave them in negative equity.

Mortgage free sellers can be the worst for this as they see a drop in price as them having "lost" money, without realising that they have 5 years (say) of living there and not comparing that to how much they would have paid in rent in that time compared to how much they would have gained in interest had they invested their money elsewhere (hint. in a failing market, not much).

The lessons of the late 80's and quite a lot of 90's have not been learned it seemed!

Do you like it? Can you afford it? Then buy it, with the knowledge that you may not make, or indeed may lose, money on it. We all go into house purchases knowing that. Its not "shit" its just how it is. You pay your money, you take the risk and far too many people forget this.

Advocodo · 21/10/2025 22:43

PyongyangKipperbang · 21/10/2025 22:42

This is absolutely not personal to you OP, but it is an issue with the whole UK housing market.

People dont look at a house and think "Is this somewhere I want to live and can comfortably afford?". They look at it and think "Is this somewhere that I want to live in and will make me money?" and if the answer is yes a lot of people max out to try and get the best possible return. Very very few people seem to consider that interest rates going up, or markets being flooded with properties so prices going down, or recessions meaning there are fewer buyers could leave them in negative equity.

Mortgage free sellers can be the worst for this as they see a drop in price as them having "lost" money, without realising that they have 5 years (say) of living there and not comparing that to how much they would have paid in rent in that time compared to how much they would have gained in interest had they invested their money elsewhere (hint. in a failing market, not much).

The lessons of the late 80's and quite a lot of 90's have not been learned it seemed!

Do you like it? Can you afford it? Then buy it, with the knowledge that you may not make, or indeed may lose, money on it. We all go into house purchases knowing that. Its not "shit" its just how it is. You pay your money, you take the risk and far too many people forget this.

Show quote history

This!

Cheerfulcharlie · 21/10/2025 22:49

It's also worth researching whether there has been some planning permission for something significant (like an industrial estate) locally that might affect the desirability and therefore the value . Have there also been lots of new builds in the area which may have flooded the market?

LibertyLily · 21/10/2025 23:18

We live in a 200 year old house in a road with lots of different styles/ages/values of properties. One of the more recently built townhouses was last sold in 2022 for 425k when it needed updating.

The buyers renovated to a high standard with lovely kitchen, bathrooms etc (as evidenced by the Right Move pics) and put it back on in autumn 2024 for 560k. It didn't sell so they let it out as an airbnb (it's a popular seaside location), before gradually dropping the asking price to 360k this summer! At which point they removed it from the market. A similar house went on in Spring 2025 for 365k and sold for asking price within a couple of weeks. That one hadn't been sold since it was purchased new 20 years ago for 175k or thereabouts.

Years ago we bought a house that had a Zoopla 'valuation' of 525k. We paid 295k. Three years later it was valued at 275k and we accepted an offer of 260k. Fortunately our next house did the opposite and increased in value by more than double over a similar period.

Prices go down as well as up.

teacupzs · 21/10/2025 23:22

So much of the market has been historically driven by equity but flats have stagnated or lost money in recent years so there is less equity to help & salaries which have stagnated for years are impacted by fiscal drag & COL.

Interest rates make a big difference, you could now be paying hundreds of thousands more in interest in this climate (I don't think low rates of 1% are coming back anytime soon). That impacts mindset and makes buyers want value for money.

The housing market is dysfunctional

bumblebee1000 · 21/10/2025 23:32

We sold, put on market last december for 800k...got sealed bids and accepted 830k. completed in feb this year. I work one day a week in estate agents, he said we would be lucky to get 700k now. nothing shifting that isnt cheap, interest rates wont be falling for years.

KeepPumping · 22/10/2025 00:18

Irenesortof · 21/10/2025 22:36

In that case perhaps you need to find out why it sold at a lower price then. It may not mean anything wrong with the house, could have been that the previous owners were desperate to sell for some personal reason, or perhaps they were related to the buyers and gave them a lower price, or perhaps there was a dispute with the neighbours which made it harder to well. Perhaps the agent could help you find out.
I think you're right to recognise that houses can lose value as well as gain, especially when the economy is unstable as it is now. But most likely if you sell and buy another property, that will have gone down in price too.

Show quote history

Demand in many areas has been dropping for a while.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/first-time-buyer-demand-drops-sharply-across-uk-cities.html

First-time buyer demand drops sharply across UK cities

First-time buyer sales fell from 34% in Q1 to 32.3% in Q3 2025, a 1.7 percentage point decline.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/first-time-buyer-demand-drops-sharply-across-uk-cities.html

80smonster · 22/10/2025 00:36

It’s because they are new builds. The developers build more usually extending the same roadways, meaning a buyer may as well buy one directly from developer, with a discount and builders warranty. I wouldn’t buy a NB if I could afford not to.

JohnofWessex · 22/10/2025 06:48

I have sold a house in the past for less than I paid for it

It does happen you know............

unsync · 22/10/2025 06:50

How old are you? Look back at the housing market at the end of the 1980s. Lots of negative equity and repossessions caused by a huge slump in prices. Same again in 2008 with the global financial crash. There's a pattern to it.

teacupzs · 22/10/2025 07:27

There's a pattern to it.

Not really as wages bs house prices are still very high & 08 wasn't like the 80s because they slashed interest rates.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 22/10/2025 07:40

We bought our flat in outer London (zone 4) in 1988 for £65k. Sold in 1995 for £38.5k. Had a number of friends who ended up getting their homes repossessed during that period.
Us old gits have known for years that house prices can go down as well as up for extended periods.

Oh - and at one point our mortgage rate went from 12.5 to 17.5% overnight.

XVGN · 22/10/2025 07:44

Buy a home to llve in - not as an investment/pension.

The median price of terraced houses in that area has been reducing for the last 2 years - now down to £404K. In 2018, the median price was £410K.

Anyone who tells you that houses only ever go up in price is being disingenuous. They should add "normally over a 25 year period". If you cannot or will not sustain a loss over that period then walk away.

Anotherdayanotherpound · 22/10/2025 07:47

ardeng · 21/10/2025 22:30

See post above yours. It didn't sell for a high price during covid, my point is it sold for a LOW price then.

Show quote history

Wasn’t it particular types of property that sold realy well during covid? Detached houses in the country with big gardens etc. If this isn’t like that it would make sense the owners might have had to sell for a lower price during covid

verycloakanddaggers · 22/10/2025 07:48

ardeng · 21/10/2025 20:30

Oh is it because it's a small house? We are downsizing (empty nest), but this is shit.

Doesn't it benefit you?

Do you mean it is shit for the vendor or do you think it is shit for the nation generally (opinions will vary on that)?

MyDownstairsLooisHaunted · 22/10/2025 07:57

If the government brings in the new additional property tax I'd expect houses above the £500k to become less attractive to buyers, so there may be a slow steady decline for a while now. Add on top of that rising utility, maintenance and insurance costs and it will become prohibitively expensive to run a larger property soon.

Wages are just not keeping pace anymore and taxes will rise, so people's ability to stretch for their dream home is getting much harder.

Papricat · 22/10/2025 08:20

No, it's not normal as house price legally have to only go up.

XVGN · 22/10/2025 08:47

MyDownstairsLooisHaunted · 22/10/2025 07:57

If the government brings in the new additional property tax I'd expect houses above the £500k to become less attractive to buyers, so there may be a slow steady decline for a while now. Add on top of that rising utility, maintenance and insurance costs and it will become prohibitively expensive to run a larger property soon.

Wages are just not keeping pace anymore and taxes will rise, so people's ability to stretch for their dream home is getting much harder.

I'm going to argue the contrary. Wages have been keeping pace with housing recently.

Take my figures above. If the median price in 2018 of £410K had increased with inflation then it would be worth £533K today. Instead it's actually £404K.

So instead of needing a deposit of £53K and a wage of £107K pa, the median buyer now needs a deposit of £40K and a wage of £81K. It's still way too much for a basic mid-terrace, but far better than it could have been - and still improving.

Newgirls · 22/10/2025 08:53

Could be:

new builds nearby so these were less desirable for a year or two

school catchment changed

someone had to sell fast to pay for care home fees etc

lots of reasons to add to general market changes

MyDownstairsLooisHaunted · 22/10/2025 09:04

XVGN · 22/10/2025 08:47

I'm going to argue the contrary. Wages have been keeping pace with housing recently.

Take my figures above. If the median price in 2018 of £410K had increased with inflation then it would be worth £533K today. Instead it's actually £404K.

So instead of needing a deposit of £53K and a wage of £107K pa, the median buyer now needs a deposit of £40K and a wage of £81K. It's still way too much for a basic mid-terrace, but far better than it could have been - and still improving.

Edited
Show quote history

Unfortunately affordability of housing doesn't operate in a bubble though. It's not just about the size of deposits needed to purchase a property.

Wages are not keeping pace with all the other expenses that go on top of buying the house, which impacts on saving for the deposit as well as actually running the house:

Food prices
Rent increases
Tax increases
Insurance increases
Travel increases
Childcare cost increases
Daily living expenses

Add on to that new property taxes and other tax increases the government is proposing and it puts too much strain on current wages.

It's inevitable that house prices will be impacted.

Advocodo · 22/10/2025 09:17

We need much lower house prices! And no stamp duty.

teacupzs · 22/10/2025 10:22

Add on top of that rising utility, maintenance and insurance costs and it will become prohibitively expensive to run a larger property soon.

Our next home will be smaller than planned. I don't want to pay higher utilities.

Seeingadistance · 22/10/2025 10:24

zipadeedodah · 21/10/2025 21:02

Sometimes houses increase in value and sometimes they decrease in value.

This.

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