How to find out how much a house sold for

Last updated 8 September 2026·England & Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland publish separately

What a house sold for is a public record. For England and Wales, HM Land Registry publishes residential sales sold for value and lodged for registration going back to 1995 — free, as open data (some transfer types, such as right-to-buy discounts and gifts, are excluded). You don't need to pay anyone to see it. Here's how to look a sale up, and how to read what you find.

Step by step

  1. Start with the official search. HM Land Registry's free sold house price search on GOV.UK covers England and Wales from 1995 onwards. Check the full address, including the flat number, and the sale date.
  2. Put the record alongside other property evidence. Start an Address Lens postcode search, then sign in or create a free account to continue to the property results. Where available, matched Price Paid records sit alongside EPC, flood and planning context. You can read a sample dossier without an account first.
  3. Outside England and Wales: Scotland's sales are published by Registers of Scotland, and Northern Ireland publishes its price statistics separately. See our guide to the separate services.

What the record shows

The price and completion date come from the transfer deed. The record also includes the address, property type, tenure and a new-build indicator. It does not include the asking price, floor area, condition or remaining lease term. A missing expected sale can reflect timing, an excluded transaction or a lookup mismatch; see why a sold price isn't on Land Registry.

Comparing sold prices before an offer: three worked examples

These examples are fictional, not valuations or recommended offers. Prices, sizes and lease terms illustrate questions to ask; they are not live records from Address Lens. An asking price is a seller's request, not evidence of a completed sale.

1. Same postcode, different property

Imagine a 70 m² two-bedroom flat advertised at £265,000. You find a 65 m² flat sold for £240,000 and a 95 m² terraced house sold for £315,000 in the same postcode. Averaging the two prices would mix different types and sizes. The flat is a more relevant starting point, but its floor, outside space, lease terms and condition still need checking.

What to do with the evidence: look for other recent flats with similar characteristics. Floor area needs a separate source, such as a dated EPC or floor plan; check whether later alterations make it a poor comparison. The figures alone do not establish whether £265,000 is a fair price.

2. An older sale versus today's asking price

Suppose a house sold for £230,000 in 2019 and is now advertised at £310,000. The £80,000 gap compares a past transaction with a current asking price. It does not measure an achieved gain, the value of renovations or what another buyer will pay.

What to do with the evidence: find more recent comparable sales and ask what has changed at the house. Record each sale date separately from when it appeared in a search. A recent completion may not yet be published, so a short list of records can give an incomplete view of the local market.

3. Two leasehold flats with different terms

Imagine two otherwise similar flats recorded at £260,000 and £280,000. Separate documents suggest one had 75 years left on its lease at sale and the other 140 years. Both can be labelled “leasehold” in Price Paid Data, which does not give those remaining terms or their service charges. The £20,000 difference cannot be treated as the cost of extending a lease: other differences may explain it.

What to do with the evidence: ask your conveyancer to confirm the terms and charges for the home you are considering. Keep the sold-price record, current lease information and any specialist valuation separate so an old label is not mistaken for today's position.

A short comparison checklist

  • Match the property: type, size, location, tenure and condition matter; the nearest sale is not automatically the closest comparison.
  • Keep the dates: a recorded sale concerns that transaction date, not today's market or the date the record was published.
  • Read the transaction category: A means standard and B additional Price Paid Data; neither category is a valuation guarantee. B covers several transaction types and does not identify which one applies. See what Category A and B mean.
  • Keep the unknowns visible: an absent record or an unverified feature should become a question, not an assumption.

For the rest of your research, use the homebuyer public-records checklist. It connects sold prices with energy, flood and planning checks and explains what to take to a surveyor or conveyancer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I find out how much my neighbour's house sold for?

Yes. HM Land Registry publishes eligible sales in England and Wales as public records. A particular sale may still be missing because of timing or source exclusions.

Is it free to see sold house prices?

Yes. HM Land Registry provides a free sold-price search. Address Lens also lets you search a postcode and preview the evidence held for each address free, with no account needed, and offers a sample dossier.

How soon after completion does a sale appear?

There is no guaranteed date for an individual sale. It must be lodged for registration, and Price Paid Data is published monthly. Publication is not the same as completion of the title registration.

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