The UK records a whopping £194.3bn of vacant homes despite reductions in volumes

Research has revealed that although there are many vacant homes across England, falling by 2% yearly - those that are dormant are valued at a whopping £194.3bn in the current market.

GetAgent analysed Gov.UK data - looking into the amount of homes found across each area of England. The analysis revealed the level of under-utilised bricks and mortar changing over the years - and its total after the pandemic property boom.

The number of vacant homes will shock you!

There are 653,025 homes in England grouped as vacant, this is however 2% less than the year before. The average home is currently estimated to be at £297,524 - a total vacant property market value of just under £194.3m.

In fact, the largest reduction of vacant homes has been seen in the North East, with 6% fewer than the year before. Overall, all but one area in the UK has seen a drop in the number of vacant homes.

Can you guess which area has the largest vacant homes?

The answer might not be as shocking as you’d think!

London has seen an increase of 9% in vacant homes, with the highest average house price of £523,665, making it no surprise it has the largest value of vacant homes (46bn). London’s high house prices play a role in the amount of vacant homes there are. Not everyone can afford a home in London and so these homes are sitting empty, increasing year by year.

A GetAgent analysis of vacant homes throughout the UK

Other regions that rank high are the South East (37bn) and East of England (£23bn). Unlike London, the North East has the lowest market value, yet vacant homes still account for £6.3bn worth of bricks and mortar.

In London, the highest total value of vacant homes are in Kensington and Chelsea, coming in at a massive £4.4bn. Outside of London, Birmingham is home to the highest number of vacant homes, with 12,585 empty homes covering the area.

Finally, Lincoln has seen the highest yearly increase, with a whopping 133% more vacant properties now found in the area when compared to last year.

”Substantial number of properties dormant across the market”- GetAgent CEO Colby Short

“Coincidental, perhaps, that such a sustained period of property price growth has also coincided with a fall in the number of empty homes found across England.

In fact, London is the only region where this level of empty properties hasn’t fallen and it’s also the only region where property price growth has been largely stagnant over the last two years.

But while it seems as though some have decided to cash in while the price is right, there remains a substantial number of properties lying dormant across the market. Homes that could go some way in satisfying the nation’s hunger for homeownership.”

Data and Methodology

Data sourced from Gov.UK.

Tables show the total volume, annual change and total market value of vacant dwellings in each area.

Tables also show the top 10 areas in each respective category.