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The variety of properties “flipped” in England and Wales hit a document 12 12 months low, as rising stamp responsibility prices worn out buyers’ earnings, new evaluation confirmed.
Flipped properties — houses purchased, then re-sold inside a 12 months — accounted for simply 2.3 per cent of all residential property transactions within the first monetary quarter of 2025, down from 3.6 per cent the earlier 12 months, in response to analysis from property agent Hamptons.
This was the bottom proportion since 2013, the place flipped properties additionally accounted for two.3 per cent of transactions, because the housing market suffered from the lingering results of the 2008 monetary disaster.
Traders who flip properties purpose to make a revenue usually from renovating the property they’ve purchased and promoting it a better value.
Nevertheless, the common gross revenue made by an investor additionally fell, in response to Hamptons’ knowledge, declining from 17 per cent within the first quarter of 2015 to 10 per cent in 2025, on account of weaker home value progress and a shift in direction of flipping cheaper properties.
This sharp drop in investor earnings will be accredited to adjustments in laws inflicting stamp responsibility payments on flipped houses to rise to a mean of £6,375 on preliminary purchases through the first quarter.
Stamp responsibility land tax (SDLT) payments now value the common particular person flipping a house in England and Wales a document 30 per cent of their gross revenue, averaging at £11,920 in response to Hamptons.
“Greater stamp responsibility payments are wiping out a number of revenue from flipping,” stated Aneisha Beveridge, head of analysis at Hamptons. “Stamp responsibility payments now account for practically a 3rd of gross earnings.”
Beveridge added in some circumstances that “payments are actually increased than the price of renovating the property” and paired with rising materials and labour prices could make “flipping houses an more and more difficult enterprise”.
In line with tradesperson platform Checkatrade, the common value of renovating a property is £76,690, together with new fuel and heating techniques, rewiring electrics and replastering partitions.
Matt Thompson, head of gross sales at property agent Chestertons, voiced related issues: “Numerous buyers who concentrate on flipping property have discovered that their return on funding has decreased over the previous years.
“Key elements aren’t solely increased property costs in sought-after or up and coming areas but in addition increased labour and development materials prices.”
Decrease returns, predominantly on account of increased stamp responsibility prices, finally decreased the variety of worthwhile flipped properties. Despite 80 per cent of properties being bought for greater than they had been purchased, solely 66 per cent made a revenue following the cost of stamp responsibility.
Simply 7,301 flipped houses had been bought within the first quarter, practically 30 per cent under the 10-year first-quarter common.
“It [second home stamp duty surcharge] has multiplied prices for these people who find themselves refurbishing houses to a stage that’s more and more unviable,” added Beveridge.
“These are sometimes empty houses . . . and are usually initiatives which most first-time consumers and movers have shied away from.”
Rising prices have “pushed buyers additional north”, the place property costs and subsequently stamp responsibility prices are decrease, with 61 per cent of flipped properties being within the Midlands, north of England or Wales.
In distinction, the costly southern area skilled the largest declines within the share of flipped houses, with simply 1.5 per cent of houses being bought this 12 months in London being purchased prior to now 12 months.
