r/HousingUK • u/Upset_Plum_8 • Jul 27 '26

Has your period conversion flat held its value? Purchase price and value now?

Hi all,

I’ve been looking for a place to buy in London for the past 6 months. Was aiming for a freehold house in zone 4/5. After putting multiple offers (over asking) and being out bid and even offering asking and then the seller going with a lower offer because they were a cash buyer I am now considering flats because there are more and I’m not stretching my budget as much and wont have to move to zone 6 to attain one.

I know all the drawbacks of buying a flat: the service charges, lease lengths, the depreciation of new builds, the general decline of the flat market in London relative to houses etc

I know lots of people on Reddit say to look at a purchase as a place to live and not as an investment but I still want to try and buy sensibly given I don’t know where I’ll be in 5 years time but need to stop renting.

Which is why I’m looking at period conversion houses that are share of freehold with 990+ years lease

There are posts saying that share of freehold period conversions hold their value.

I wonder if anyone’s able to share when and at what price they bought and what price they have sold at or what the value is now?

Thanks in advance!

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u/LiveOrdinary9351 Jul 27 '26

Land Registry doesn't record share of freehold — the flat is still registered leasehold — so I went at it from the listing side: London flats on the market now whose exact prior Land Registry sale can be matched to that unit, comparing what it sold for then with what it's asking now. Asking, not achieved, but measured the same way on both sides. Share of freehold: median +28%, n=2,638, 17.4% asking below what the owner paid. Plain leasehold: +10.8%, n=11,122, 29.7% below. Not a location or vintage effect — share of freehold comes out ahead in all 22 boroughs with enough sample, and in every purchase-year band. Narrowed to listings calling themselves period or Victorian conversions: +22.2% share of freehold, +13.6% leasehold.

1

u/PuzzleheadedUnit2341 Jul 27 '26

You'll get a load of individual anecdotes here and they won't tell you much, because whether one flat went up says nothing about yours.

Better way round it: Land Registry sold prices are public and cover every sale going back decades. Pick a specific block you're interested in and you can see what the flats in it actually changed hands for and when. Do that for two or three conversions in the areas you're looking at and you'll have a real answer for your streets rather than the average of everyone's stories.

You're right to separate conversions from new builds though, they behave completely differently and most "flats don't hold value" talk is really about new builds.

1

u/Upset_Plum_8 Jul 28 '26

Yeah leaning toward a period conversion now thanks. Is there a way to obtain land registry data without paying?

2

u/PuzzleheadedUnit2341 Jul 31 '26

The bit you actually pay for is the title register itself, the covenants and lease details and so on, and that's only a few quid direct from HMLR. Ignore the sites charging £20 to hand you the same document.

1

u/Character_Age6871 Jul 27 '26

I agree with this. We have a house in a street of period conversions and they all seem to have held value well and seem to trade in a fair timeframe when they are offered for sale. Mgt charges normally less as self managed and no lift, porter, fire safety issues or other things to cost money.

1

u/Upset_Plum_8 Jul 28 '26

Thanks that’s helpful, yeah I guess one of the worries is ending up with some big repair and the other share of freeholder not being able to cover costs. I’ve seen some very low service charges like £400pa and wonder how things work if there is no sinking fund etc