How to find out what a house actually sold for

The complete guide to UK sold prices — where they come from, how to check them and how to make sense of them.

The asking price in an estate agent's window is a wish, not a fact. The number that really matters is what comparable homes nearby have actually sold for — the figure recorded on the deeds. If you are buying, it stops you overpaying. If you are selling, it keeps your asking price honest. Here is how to find it and, just as important, how to make sense of it.

Asking price vs sold price

Estate agents often price a home optimistically to win the instruction, and negotiating from the asking price alone means negotiating from a number someone made up. The sold price is the truth: what a buyer genuinely paid, in the open market, on a given date.

The gap between the two can be wide. In a busy market a home may achieve asking price or above; in a slow one it may complete well below. The only way to know is to look at recent sold prices, not listings.

Where the numbers come from

In England and Wales, every residential sale is recorded by law on HM Land Registry and published in its Price Paid Data — the official record of every transaction since 1995. It covers the price, the completion date, the property type, whether it was a new build, and whether it was leasehold or freehold.

Scotland (Registers of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (Land & Property Services) keep their own registers with slightly different rules and timing. This site focuses on England and Wales.

How to check a sold price

Search a town or postcode on the home map, or pick a town page. Each page shows the average and median price, the price per square metre, what each property type goes for, and a list of the most recent recorded sales with their dates, addresses and postcodes.

Six things to look at — and why each matters

1. Price per square metre. Homes come in different sizes, so price per square metre is the fairest way to compare one house with another.
2. The completion date. A sale from three years ago is not today's market. Look at the most recent sales for the truest picture.
3. Property type. A flat and a detached house are different markets. Compare like with like.
4. New build vs resale. New homes usually carry a premium over a comparable older home.
5. Leasehold vs freehold. Leasehold can affect the value and the resale story, especially for flats.
6. Sample size. An average built from three sales is shakier than one built from forty. Treat small samples with a pinch of salt.

Using sold prices when you are buying

Before you offer, look up what similar homes on the same road or nearby have sold for recently. That gives you a factual floor to negotiate from, and it means you are far less likely to overpay. It can also warn you early whether a home will struggle to meet a mortgage valuation.

Using sold prices when you are selling

Set your asking price by looking at recent sold prices, not by what neighbours are listing at. Buyers and their lenders will check the same data, so an asking price grounded in real sales is more credible and tends to sell faster.

House prices around England and Wales

The spread between regions is enormous. Along the south coast and in university cities, prices are among the highest — think Bath, Brighton, Cambridge, Reading and Oxford. Head north and your money goes much further, with Sunderland, Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent and Blackburn among the most affordable. In the big regional cities — Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol — prices sit somewhere in between but have grown quickly in recent years.

Browse the interactive map to see the picture at a glance.

Frequently asked questions