A record 92% of sellers sold their property in 2021 for more than they bought it, having owned it for an average of 8.8 years.
Hamptons estimated that sellers across England and Wales made a total gross gain of £128bn from property sales in 2021.
The rise in seller profit has been boosted by the sale of bigger homes, which have typically been owned for longer and therefore benefitted from more price growth.
Owners of detached houses accounted for 23% of sellers and 37% of profit in England and Wales last year, up from 20% in 2019.
Sellers of detached houses made the biggest gains (£151,840 or 53%), having owned them the longest (9.4 years), the Hamptons data showed.
The average gross profit on a detached home jumped from £132,240 in 2020, and £122,280 pre-pandemic in 2019.
Flat owners were least likely to sell their home for more than they bought it for, partly because they tend to own for a shorter period (8.2 years in 2021).
One in five (19%) flat sellers in 2021 made a loss on their property compared to 4% of detached sellers.
Flat owners were the only sellers to see their gains fall between 2020 and 2021. The average flat seller who sold in 2021 made a gross gain of £54,690 or 29%, down from £62,360 in 2020.
Meanwhile, the average gain on a terrace property rose to £79,370, up £8,820 in 2021, and semi-detached sellers made £92,430, up £11,100 on average.
The average London seller sold their property in 2021 for £197,730 more than they paid for it an average of 9.1 years ago. This was down from £207,370 in 2020 and a peak of £243,050 in 2016.
While 91% of London sellers made a gain on their property, 16% of flat sellers in the capital sold at a loss, 54% of whom bought in the capital during the last seven years.
Despite this, Hamptons has estimated that London sellers made a total gross profit of £30.96bn in 2021.
Sellers in the North East were least likely to make a profit in 2021, with sellers making an average gross gain of £28,960, 22% having sold their home for less than they bought it – on average 7.9 years ago.
The average 2021 seller who bought 20 years ago saw their property rise in value by 180%, compared to 23% for someone who bought five years ago.
They are also less likely to make a loss, with fewer than 1% of sellers who bought 20 years ago making a loss on the sale of their home in 2021, versus 9% of buyers who bought five years ago.
While homeowners who sold within five years of buying have made similar returns, seller gains have shrunk for those who have owned for a longer period of time.
For example, the average seller who owned for 15 years and sold in 2015 made an average gain of 148%. However, a 2021 seller who bought 15 years ago made a 50% gross gain.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Soaring house price growth over the last 18 months has driven up the amount of money homeowners have made.
“But while owners of larger properties have benefitted from buyers looking for more space, flat owners have seen weaker returns.
“House price gains are primarily driven by two factors – the length of time people have owned their home and the point at which they bought in the housing cycle.
“Typically, homeowners who have owned their properties for longer have seen more price growth and therefore made bigger profits.
“Although, most of these profits are never seen by sellers as they are reinvested back into the housing market when they make their next purchase.
“House price gains last year may have been close to their peak. 2021’s average seller bought in 2012, since when house prices across England and Wales have risen by 55%.
“However, 2022-2024 sellers are likely to have bought more recently, during a period of weaker price growth.
“We’ve already seen this in London, where seller gains have been falling since 2016.”
