Downsizing in Hampstead: What You Would Actually Release
Selling at the £1,300,000 Hampstead average and buying at £910,000 releases about £332,300 after costs. Fees, stamp duty and moving take roughly £57,700 of it.
The introduction costs you nothing. If you go ahead, we may be paid a fee by the firm we introduce you to. There is no obligation.
Selling at the £1,300,000 Hampstead average and buying at £910,000 releases about £332,300 after costs. Fees, stamp duty and moving take roughly £57,700 of it.
What a Hampstead move actually releases
Start with the gap. Selling at £1,300,000 and buying at 70% of that, £910,000, leaves £390,000 before costs. Costs are the part people underestimate.
Agent fees at 1.5% are £19,500. Stamp duty on the purchase is £35,500. Total £57,700, leaving £332,300 in hand.
Where the sale proceeds go
The commercial page for this town sets out the introduction itself: Equity release in Hampstead.
Downsizing against releasing equity
A lifetime mortgage at 65 on the same property would release about £442,000. Downsizing nets £332,300. The difference is that downsizing costs you the house, and equity release costs you the estate.
Over twenty years that £442,000 release grows to roughly £1,557,451. The downsizing figure does not grow at all, because there is no debt.
The parts of downsizing that are not financial
Council tax follows the property, not the person. Band D in Hampstead is £2,207, and a smaller home may sit in a lower band. Check the band before you offer, not after.
Downsizing works best when you are not in a hurry.
What a move within Hampstead looks like
The schools families ask about here are Christ Church Primary School, Hampstead, New End Primary School, Fitzjohn's Primary School, The UCL Academy and Hampstead School. 5 local schools were rated Good or Outstanding overall at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection. Ratings age between inspections, so read the latest report before you rely on one.
On getting about: Hampstead to Camden Town takes about 8 min.
By price, Hampstead ranks 16 of the 320 London locations we cover, at £1,300,000 against a county average of £732,469. Band D council tax here is £2,207, against an average of £2,121 across the towns we cover in the county.
Moving within London rather than out of it keeps you near family and known services. The average price across the county towns we cover is £732,469, against £1,300,000 here.
Is Hampstead right to stay in?
Hampstead is a genuine hilltop village of Georgian and Victorian streets beside 790 acres of Heath, and one of Britain's most expensive districts.
The full local guide covers schools, transport and the market in detail: Hampstead property and area guide.
- 790 acres of Hampstead Heath at the end of the street
- The Royal Free Hospital and its A&E in the village
- Outstanding and Good state primaries, and top independents
- Kenwood, Freud, Fenton House, 2 Willow Road, Keats House
- Northern line Zone 2 plus the Overground
- Among the most expensive property in Britain
- Most homes are in council tax Bands F to H, not Band D
- Village primaries are small and heavily oversubscribed
- Almost everything is listed or conservation-area, alterations are hard
- Hampstead is the deepest Tube station, lifts only, a real issue when they fail
| Who it suits | Out of five | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Downsizers | ★★★★★ | A large stock of substantial mansion and period flats, everything walkable, a major teaching hospital in the village and real cultural life, though the hills are steep and lifts are far from universal in period buildings. |
| Families | ★★★★★ | Outstanding and Good state primaries (Christ Church Hampstead is Outstanding; New End and Fitzjohn's are Good), an exceptional concentration of independent schools, 790 acres of Heath, and the Royal Free Hospital in the village, if you can afford the housing, it is close to ideal. |
| Professionals | ★★★★☆ | Hampstead station on the Northern line in Zone 2 and Hampstead Heath on the Overground give a quick commute, and the village is genuinely pleasant to come home to, but it is a long way from cheap. |
| Commuters | ★★★★☆ | Around 20 minutes to the West End on the Northern line and a straightforward Overground run east and west, but note Hampstead is the deepest station on the Underground, served by lifts (or 320 steps), which adds time and is a real issue when the lifts fail. |
| First-time buyers | ★☆☆☆☆ | Honestly, this is not a realistic first purchase on ordinary London incomes. Even modest flats generally start around £600,000 to £750,000, and the cheaper ex-local-authority stock is the hardest to mortgage. |
Hampstead is known locally for Hampstead Heath, and Kenwood House. 790 acres of ancient heath and woodland saved by the Hampstead Heath Act of 1871 and now managed by the City of London Corporation, with the bathing ponds, the Parliament Hill skyline view and Kenwood's grounds.
Practical detail for Hampstead: the NW3 postcode district, Hampstead (Northern line, Edgware branch, Zone 2, the deepest station on the network); Belsize Park and Finchley Road & Frognal nearby; Hampstead Heath on the London Overground Mildmay line and nearest A and E is The Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, in Hampstead itself, verify with NHS.
Hampstead has history behind the price. In 10th c. to 1086, Hampstead appears in an Anglo-Saxon charter and in Domesday Book, a small hilltop settlement on poor sandy soil above London.
Hampstead at a glance
| Downsizing line | Hampstead figure |
|---|---|
| Sale price, local average | £1,300,000 |
| Purchase at 70% of value | £910,000 |
| Estate agent at 1.5% | £19,500 |
| Stamp duty on purchase | £35,500 |
| Legal and moving | £2,700 |
| Total costs | £57,700 |
| Net released | £332,300 |
| Lifetime mortgage alternative at 65 | £442,000 |
Figures are local averages used for illustration. Confirm your own numbers before acting on them.
Ask about Hampstead
Three details is all we need. You are told before anything is passed to a partner firm.
Your checklist
- A real valuation of your home, not the £1,300,000 average
- The council tax band of the property you are buying
- Total moving costs of about £57,700
- The equity release comparison, in writing, before you decide
The introduction costs you nothing. If you go ahead, we may be paid a fee by the firm we introduce you to. There is no obligation.
Check broadband before you make an offer in Hampstead
Broadband speeds can vary street by street in Hampstead, so check the exact address before you commit. Ofcom's free checker shows which broadband speeds and mobile coverage are available at any UK property.
We can introduce you to a specialist who can combine your mobile, broadband and utilities into one bill. There's no fee for the introduction.
We don't provide these services ourselves. Switching household bills is not a regulated financial service, so FCA protections and the Financial Ombudsman do not apply. We'll only pass your details to the specialist if you ask us to. See our privacy notice.
Questions people ask
How much would I release by downsizing in Hampstead?
Is downsizing better than equity release?
What are the costs of moving?
How do I check broadband speed at a property in Hampstead?
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