How do I compare a London asking price
with actual sold prices?
The asking price is what the seller wants. What homes in the same building or street actually sold for is public, in HM Land Registry’s data, and you can look it up yourself. This guide explains how to read that data and the official house price index; it is not a valuation or a price forecast.
Asking price, sold price and the index
are three different numbers.
The “Search house prices” service on GOV.UK shows what a home sold for in England and Wales. The data covers residential sales for value lodged with HM Land Registry for registration since January 1995, and the figure shown is the price stated on the transfer deed.
The official UK House Price Index (UK HPI) publishes a monthly average price for each London borough. Set the asking price first against recent sales of the same kind of home, then against the area’s index.
None of these figures on its own tells you what a particular flat is worth. Comparing them shows you which questions to ask before you make an offer.
Why the asking price is not the sold price
The figure on a listing is what the seller is asking. GOV.UK’s note comparing house price indices points out that an advertised property may not sell for the price it was first listed at. That is why the UK HPI is based on completed sales at the end of the conveyancing process, not on advertised or approved prices.
GOV.UK’s buyer guide, How to buy a home, also suggests looking at sold price data and reminds you that the asking price is just that, so you need not be afraid to offer less. The same guide notes that new builds may cost more than a similar second-hand home, which it calls the new-build premium.
Where to see completed sales
The Search house prices page on GOV.UK takes you to HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Data search. There you can search by building name or number, street, postcode, property type, new build and tenure, and set a date range. The data is updated on the 20th working day of each month.
Each sale record carries three fields that matter when you compare:
- Property type: detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or maisonette, or other.
- New or established: Y marks a newly built home, N an established one.
- Tenure: F for freehold, L for leasehold.
A record shows a completed sale, and it reaches the data some weeks later. The UK HPI’s own explanation puts the gap between completion and registration at typically 2 weeks to 2 months, so the latest two months of data are incomplete.
Which sales are missing from the data?
The data covers residential sales made for value. According to HM Land Registry it leaves out:
- Sales not yet lodged for registration
- Transfers not made for value, such as gifts
- Right to Buy sales at a discount
- Transfers under a compulsory purchase order or a court order
HM Land Registry also says it occasionally has to correct the data and that the data may contain errors. Look at several similar sales rather than a single record.
What to watch when you compare
When you weigh up the asking price of a new flat, narrow the sales down in this order:
- Same type: compare flats with flats; an area average covers every kind of home.
- Same age: keep new (Y) and established (N) records apart.
- Same tenure: do not mix leasehold flats with freehold houses.
- Recent dates: the latest two months are incomplete, and old sales do not show today’s market.
- Similar size: you can take the floor area from the total floor area on the EPC, as our guide to flat sizes explains.
To turn prices into a figure per square metre and see several flats side by side, use our property comparison tool. The taxes and costs that come on top of the price are in our purchase cost calculator.
The title register may show the price too
Since 1 April 2000, HM Land Registry has entered the price paid in the title register where practicable. It is the figure stated in the application; HM Land Registry does not verify it, and it may not represent full market value. How to get a copy of the register is in our guide to the title register.
Under HM Land Registry’s practice, where the price was discounted the register shows the net, lower price. Where the price came with an incentive, such as help with moving costs or the seller paying legal fees or stamp duty, it shows the gross price. The registered price of a sale with incentives therefore does not deduct their value.
UK HPI: the trend for the borough
The UK HPI is the official house price index published on GOV.UK each month. As well as national and regional figures, it gives an average price for every London borough. It is based on completed sales and uses a statistical adjustment (hedonic regression) so that different kinds of homes can be compared like with like.
The index is not the price of your home. Estimates below regional level are smoothed with a 3-month moving average. The latest months are provisional; the first estimate is based on around 40% of transactions and is revised later. New-build averages may be less representative and are not published for the latest two months.
An example: in the July 2026 data, published on 16 September 2026, the average price in London was £550,037, down 3.3% on a year earlier. The London average for flats that month was £424,013.
The gap between those two figures shows why an overall average says little about your type of flat. GOV.UK’s own report warns against putting too much weight on one month’s data.
Five steps to
read a price.
This list is a way of reading the data; it is not a valuation.
Short questions,
short answers.
Is the price on a listing the actual sale price?
No. It is what the seller is asking. The price a home actually sold for is stated on the transfer deed and appears in HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Data once the sale is registered.
What if a new flat has no previous sales?
Look at sales in nearby new buildings and in earlier phases of the same scheme; new builds are marked Y in the data. New-build averages can rest on few sales, so do not read too much into a single average.
How up to date is the data?
Price Paid Data is updated on the 20th working day of each month. Because registration typically follows completion by 2 weeks to 2 months, the latest two months are incomplete. The latest months of the UK HPI are provisional and may be revised.
Does the London average tell me what my flat is worth?
No. The average covers every type of home and shows a trend. In July 2026 the overall London average was £550,037 and the average for flats £424,013; flats in the same borough can still differ widely.
Do developer incentives show up in the sale price?
Under HM Land Registry’s practice, where a price comes with an incentive, for example the seller paying stamp duty or legal fees, the register shows the gross price. The recorded figure does not deduct the incentive, so ask the seller about incentives separately and in writing.
We do not value property;
this page is not advice.
This guide explains, as general information, how to read the data published by GOV.UK and HM Land Registry. It gives no view on what any home is worth or on future prices.
OGKinvest introduces buyers to new-home developers and is paid an introduction fee by the developer; when a developer pays us, we tell you. That is one more reason to rely on records anyone can check when it comes to price.
The pages this
guide relies on.
- GOV.UK: Search house prices and HM Land Registry: Search the price paid dataset. Coverage (England and Wales) and search fields.
- HM Land Registry: How to access Price Paid Data and Price Paid Data downloads. January 1995, sales for value, property type, Y/N and F/L fields, excluded transfers, corrections, 20th working day.
- About the UK House Price Index and Quality and methodology. Completed sales, boroughs, hedonic regression, 3-month average, provisional estimates, 2 weeks to 2 months, new-build caveat.
- UK House Price Index summary: July 2026 (16 September 2026), UK House Price Index England: July 2026 and average prices by property type (CSV). London £550,037 and 3.3%; London flats £424,013.
- Comparing house price indices in the UK. Asking price versus sold price.
- HM Land Registry: Practice Guide 7, Land Registration Rules 2003, rule 8 and Get information about property and land. Price in the register, 1 April 2000, not verified, discounts and incentives.
- GOV.UK: How to buy a home (2019). Sold price data, asking price and the new-build premium.
- Cover photo: A terrace of painted houses, London. Photo: Bethany Opler, Unsplash (Unsplash License).
Last checked: 16 October 2026. This page is general information; it is not a valuation or a price forecast. Index and sales data change every month; check the current figures on GOV.UK before you decide.
Let’s read the
numbers together.
In a consultation we can open the sales and records around the scheme you are interested in and compare them with you.
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