// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'Our flat has been for sale for four years': Why is the market so weak?
James and his partner have been unable to sell their one-bedroom flat in London and say they are on the verge of bankruptcy
In 2015, thousands of people queued overnight in the rain to reserve and buy studio apartments selling for under £200,000 in Hounslow, west London.
It's in stark contrast to today's appetite for flats, with property portals reporting a slump in sales.
But why, when the country is in a housing crisis with a desperate need for affordable homes, are flats now struggling to sell?
According to the property site Zoopla, 88% of flats listed for sale in inner London on its website in 2025 did not find a buyer within six months. The company also says the gap between the value of a flat and a house is the widest it has been for 30 years.
Executive director Richard Donnell points to post-pandemic social changes with "people looking for space, prioritising houses, working from home".
He also points to higher mortgage rates, people concerned about "all the costs and liabilities of owning a property" including service charges and ground rents.
In September, nearly all the major mortgage lenders in the UK announced increases in the cost of home loans.
Donnell says flats in inner London are struggling in particular as they are more expensive, the service charges are higher, and "there's greater complexity - it's highly likely it's a bigger building, maybe more of a complex building, so less are selling within six months".
This is a message echoed by property platform Rightmove, which says as of August, only 50% of flats listed for sale nationally successfully find a buyer, compared to 65% of houses.