Quick answer
To find out what a house sold for, search its postcode on GOV.UK's free house price data from HM Land Registry.1 It shows every recorded sale in England and Wales since January 1995, with the price and date. New sales take two weeks to two months to appear, and gifts, inheritances and some transfers are never included.2 For a sale since April 2000 you can also buy the title register for £7, which shows the price paid where recorded.3
Key takeaways
- Free: GOV.UK house price search, every sale in England and Wales from January 1995.1
- Each record gives the price, the completion date, the property type, new-build or not, and freehold or leasehold.2
- New sales appear after two weeks to two months, so the last two months are incomplete.2
- Gifts, inheritances, right-to-buy discount sales, divorce transfers and some other transfers are excluded.2
- Title register: £7 from HM Land Registry; shows the price paid for registrations since 1 April 2000.34
What the seller paid is the single most useful number you can find before you offer. It tells you how long they have owned the home, how much the price has moved, and whether the asking price is backed by the street's other sales or by optimism.
The data is HM Land Registry's Price Paid Data, published free under the Open Government Licence and updated monthly.2 It covers England and Wales. Scotland's sales are held by Registers of Scotland.
How do you look up a house's sold price for free?
Go to GOV.UK's Search house price data1 and enter the postcode, or the street and town. You can filter by property type, by new-build or established, and by date range. Each result is one sale with its full address.
If you only know the street, search it without a house number and sort by date. That also gives you the comparables: other sales on the same street, which matter as much as the house itself.
What does the sale record show?
The record does not show the number of bedrooms, the floor area or the condition. For floor area, look up the home's EPC, which lists it, and divide the price by the area to compare homes of different sizes.
| Field | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Price paid | What the seller paid, not what it was valued at |
| Date | The completion date of the sale |
| Property type | Detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or other |
| New build | Whether it was sold as a new home (new-build prices often carry a premium) |
| Tenure | Freehold or leasehold at the time of sale |
| Category | A = a standard sale at full market value; B = repossessions, buy-to-let and sales to companies (recorded from October 2013) |
Source: HM Land Registry, About the Price Paid Data.
Why is a sale missing?
There are three usual reasons. The sale is recent and not registered yet: allow two months.2 The transfer was not a sale at market value: gifts, inheritances, divorce transfers, compulsory purchases and right-to-buy discount sales are left out. Or the home has not sold since 1995, or is a new build whose first sale has not been registered yet.
A missing sale is not a warning in itself. A long-held family home often has no record at all. Ask the agent how long the seller has owned it.
Worked example: using sold prices to check an asking price
A three-bed semi is on the market at £340,000. The Land Registry search shows the seller bought it for £265,000 in March 2019. On the same street, three similar semis sold this year:
| Home | Sold | Price |
|---|---|---|
| No. 14, semi | February 2026 | £305,000 |
| No. 22, semi | May 2026 | £312,000 |
| No. 31, semi with loft room | July 2026 | £335,000 |
Illustrative figures. Use the actual sales on your street.
The asking price is only justified if this house is like No. 31: a loft conversion or extension. Ask the agent what has been done since 2019, ask for planning and building regulations sign-off for it, and check the EPC floor area against the comparables. Without an extension, an offer near £310,000 is backed by the evidence.
Stamp duty matters too: at £340,000 a home mover pays £7,000 SDLT and a first-time buyer £2,000; at £310,000 it is £5,500 and £500. Use the calculator to compare your full cost at each price.
How do you check the price on the title register?
HM Land Registry sells the title register for £7 online.3 Since 1 April 2000 the register records the price paid when a sale is registered,4 and it also shows the owner's name, any mortgage lender, and restrictions or covenants. The title plan (also £7) shows the general boundaries.
The register is worth buying before an offer if the house is unusual: a part of a larger plot, a shared drive, or a seller who is not the registered owner. Your conveyancer will get official copies later anyway.
Use the calculator for this topic
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to find out what a house sold for?+
Yes. HM Land Registry's sold prices for England and Wales are free on GOV.UK. Only the title register (£7) costs anything.
How long after a sale does the price appear?+
Usually two weeks to two months after completion, once the sale has been registered. The most recent two months of data are always incomplete.
Can I find out what a house sold for before 1995?+
Not from the free data, which starts in January 1995. The title register shows a price only for registrations since 1 April 2000.
Are the prices on Rightmove and Zoopla the same?+
Their sold prices come from the same HM Land Registry data, so they should match. The free GOV.UK search is the original source.
Does it cover Scotland?+
No. Scottish sales are held by Registers of Scotland, separately from the HM Land Registry data for England and Wales.
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OfficialThe figures and rules on this page are drawn from the official UK government sources below. Rates are the confirmed 2026/27 amounts. Each link opens the relevant official page in a new tab.
- GOV.UK: Search house price data (HM Land Registry) www.gov.uk/search-house-prices Free sold prices for England and Wales from January 1995.
- GOV.UK: About the Price Paid Data www.gov.uk/guidance/about-the-price-paid-data What is included and excluded, monthly updates, registration lag of 2 weeks to 2 months.
- GOV.UK: Search for land and property information (HM Land Registry) www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry Title register £7, title plan £7; the register shows the price paid where available.
- HM Land Registry Practice Guide 7: price paid in the register www.gov.uk/government/publications/price-paid-or-value-information-registration-procedures/practice-guide-7-entry-of-price-paid-or-value-stated-data-in-the-register Price paid entered on the register for applications from 1 April 2000.
Verified against published UK government guidance. See also Methodology and Editorial standards.