London carries the heaviest concentration
London holds the highest estimated value of long-term vacant housing of any English region. There are 47,287 long-term vacant homes in the capital, accounting for 45% of London’s 105,138 vacant properties. With the average London home valued at £544,814, House Buyer Bureau estimates the capital’s long-term vacant stock is worth almost £25.8 billion.
Separately, London City Hall data shows the number of empty homes in the capital has risen 81% since 2016, from 58,096 that year to 105,138 in 2025, according to Council Taxbase figures published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The South East ranks second by value, where 42,099 long-term vacant homes are estimated at £16.1 billion, followed by the East of England at £10.9 billion across 32,123 properties. Within London boroughs, Kensington and Chelsea has 2,030 long-term vacant homes – 59.7% of its vacant stock – worth an estimated £2.55 billion. Westminster’s 2,279 long-term vacant properties, equivalent to 61.2% of its total vacant housing stock, carry an estimated combined value of £1.91 billion.
Financing routes remain narrow
For mortgage brokers, the scale of long-term vacancy underlines a persistent lending gap. According to specialist property-finance guidance published separately, most standard residential lenders will not extend a mortgage on a property classed as uninhabitable, meaning cases lacking a working kitchen, bathroom or watertight roof. Buyers and investors looking to bring such properties back into use typically rely on bridging loans, refurbishment mortgages, or specialist renovation products rather than conventional lending, that guidance states.
Some lenders will assess bridging finance against a property’s projected value once renovated, known as gross development value, allowing borrowing to cover both purchase and repair costs before the loan is repaid on remortgage or sale.
