Zoopla.co.uk: 3.45M Homes Bought in Last 5 Years Remain 'Underwater'

LONDON, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Zoopla.co.uk has found that 3.45 million homes bought in the last five years are now worth less than what they were bought for; homeowners who purchased at the peak of the market are the worst affected by this trend.

New research from leading property website Zoopla.co.uk shows that 4 out of 5 homes purchased in Britain since 2006 have a market value today below their purchase price.

Of the 4.32 million homes purchased since 2006 and where the ownership remains the same, 3.5m (80%) of these homes are 'underwater' (worth less today than their purchase price), according to Zoopla.co.uk which lists over 17 million previous sale prices and provides current value estimates for every UK property.

Those worst affected are the homeowners who bought at the peak of the market. 93.2% of homes bought in 2007 and 88.9% of those bought in 2008 are now 'underwater'. Over the last 5 years, buyers who have fared best are those who bought in 2009, having successfully timed the bottom of the market during the recent downturn.

At a regional level, the North East of England is the worst affected area, with 93% of properties purchased since 2006 yet to climb back to the values paid for them by their owners. At the other end of the scale, less than half (46%) of homes bought over the last 5 years in London are now valued below their purchase price, underlining how much more resilient the capital has been to the property downturn versus the rest of the country.

Nicholas Leeming, Business Development Director of Zoopla.co.uk, said: "There is an unprecedented number of homeowners 'stuck' with homes they bought in recent years with the expectation that UK house prices would continue to sky-rocket. And as a result of not wanting to take a loss on their asset, many owners have been unwilling to set realistic asking prices to sell them. The London market has been unique and bounced back very strongly from the recent market lows of 2009."

About Zoopla.co.uk

Zoopla.co.uk is the UK's most comprehensive property website, focused on empowering consumers with the resources they need to make better-informed property decisions. We help our users make sense of the residential property market by combining property listings with market value data, local information and community tools.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk was founded on the principles of transparency and efficiency and everything we do aims to make the market more effective for both property consumers and professionals alike. Our mission is to provide the most useful online property experience by:

• displaying property listings along with value and price trend information
• providing rich property data and local market information in one place
• enabling users to search for property in a variety of customised ways
• allowing users to engage with professionals via our tools like AskMe!
• building relationships between home owners and local estate agents

By combining free, instant value estimates for every UK home with sold prices, local market information and hundreds of thousands of properties available for sale and to rent, Zoopla.co.uk has become the ultimate destination for property consumers to search for property and do their market research. We are the UK's fastest growing property website and are proud to have been named 'Best Property Portal 2009' (Daily Mail UK Property Awards).

Our unique features, like AskMe!™ and TemptMe!™ allow users to gain an insight into the market and discover information they won't find anywhere else. And our AskAnAgent feature has rapidly become one of the most valued sources of vendor leads for UK estate agents. We calculate our value estimates using a proprietary algorithm (secret formula) that continuously analyses millions of data points relating to property sales and home characteristics throughout the UK. Our estimates are constantly refined, using the most recent data available and a variety of methodologies, in order to provide the most current information on any home.

Zoopla Ltd is a privately held company with a highly experienced and proven management team, backed by well-respected angel investors and leading venture capital firms Atlas Venture and Octopus Ventures.

For more information about Zoopla.co.uk become a fan on Facebook or follow @Zoopla.