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Portsmouth · report

Empty homes in Portsmouth

5.1% of the 91,173 homes counted in the 2021 census had nobody usually living in them.

Empty, 2021 census
5.1%
Empty homes
4,640

Against the wider area

Share of homes standing empty in the 2021 census.

AreaEmpty
Portsmouth5.1%
South East4.9%
England5.4%

In England and Wales the census counts a dwelling as vacant when nobody usually lives in it and it is not a second home, checked against council tax and other records. Northern Ireland counts household spaces with no usual residents, second homes included, so its share reads higher. Scotland's 2022 census did not count empty homes. The next census is in 2031.

Other reports for Portsmouth

Sale prices have an 80% chance of landing between £231,423 and £264,130 by August 2027.

Expected, August 2027
£247,776
Chance of a rise
56%

At the average sale price, a home costs £245,954. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is £1,135 a month. The UK sets no cap on the payment; no more than 15% of new mortgages may lend over 4.5 times income.

Payment, two incomes
19%
Payment, one income
38%

Owning the average home costs less each month than renting it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is the average of all private tenancies. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.

Rent per month
£1,374
Owning per month
£1,158

134.8% more homes were started in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.

Started, 12 months
270
Per 1,000 residents
1.3

Figures for United Kingdom: Portsmouth has no reliable figures of its own.

Buyers living abroad bought 1.8% of the homes sold here in the four quarters to Q1 2025.

Bought by buyers abroad, 12 months
1.8%

Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more 4 times since 1995. The deepest began in July 2007.

Deepest fall
−22.9%
Recovery from the low
67 months

In 2025 the population fell by 1,355 while 180 homes were finished.

Homes finished, 2025
180
Population change, 2025
−1,355

In 2025, 40% of the homes added came from existing buildings rather than new ones.

Homes from existing buildings, 2025
40%