CM21 house prices

CM21 house prices are built from 7,943 sales lodged with HM Land Registry, the oldest in 1995 and the most recent on 8 Jun 2026. The median price paid across the whole record is £205,000. Across the 10 years from 2016 to 2026 the median moved +40.2% in cash — but once inflation is taken out, the change in 2026 money is +0.4%.

HM Land Registry7,943 sales1,705 with floor areaLatest sale 8 Jun 2026

The chart tracks the median CM21 house price for every year with a recorded sale, from 1995 to 2026. The dashed line restates each year in 2026 money, so the two lines separate exactly as much as inflation has eroded the cash figure.

The highest yearly median on record for CM21 is £505,000 in 2022; the lowest is £71,995 in 1995. Across the full 32-year record the cash median has moved from £71,995 to £462,500.

In 2026 money that first median is worth £159,863, so the real change over the whole record is +189.3% — about +3.49% a year after inflation. Cash growth and real growth are not the same story, and the gap is the part most price reports leave out.

Over the last decade alone the difference is stark: +40.2% in cash against +0.4% once inflation is removed. A buyer who sold at the end of that decade would have needed the real figure, not the headline one, to know whether they had actually gained.

Every row is a completed sale as lodged with HM Land Registry. The right-hand column restates the price in 2026 money, which is the only fair way to compare a sale from the 1990s with one from last year.

These addresses appear in the register more than once, so the same bricks are being priced twice. That makes them the strongest evidence of what actually happened to CM21 values — no mix of property types can flatter the number.

The mix of property types explains a large part of any area's median. CM21 is dominated by the type at the top of this table, so its overall median leans that way.

Energy Performance Certificates record a floor area for every home that has been surveyed, sold or let — far more homes than have changed hands. 1,411 certificates cover CM21, and their median floor area is 81 m².

The median across the whole register is 76 m², so homes here are larger than average — +6.6%. Size explains a large part of why one area's median price sits above another's, which is why the price per square metre further up this page is the fairer comparison.

2,597 of the sales on record are leasehold and 5,346 freehold — 32.7% of the market. Tenure is not a detail: a leasehold flat and a freehold house are different assets, and mixing them into one median hides the difference.

The median leasehold sale is £122,000 and the median freehold sale £280,000 — a gap of +129.5%. Most of that gap is property type rather than tenure itself: leasehold here is largely flats, freehold largely houses.

New builds sold for more than the median existing home — +56.1%. A new-build premium is normal: the buyer gets a warranty and nothing to fix, and the price is set by a developer rather than negotiated between two households.

A further 200 transfers for this area are on the register but are left out of every figure above. HM Land Registry marks them as additional price paid entries: repossessions, buy-to-let portfolio moves, transfers between companies or family, and sales at a discount such as right to buy. They are real records but they are not open-market prices, and including them would drag the median somewhere no buyer ever paid.

The median across the whole archive is £157,500. CM21 sits above that national figure — +30.2%.

Where an EPC floor area could be matched to the sale, the median works out at £3,113 per square metre, across 1,705 of the 7,943 sales on record. Price per square metre is the only figure that compares a two-bed flat with a four-bed house honestly.

The full range on record runs from £10,000 to £3,180,000. Extremes usually mean something unusual — a plot sold without a house on it, a transfer between family members, or a very large property — so the median is the number to trust.

Sectors inside CM21

• CM21 0£282,750 median
• CM21 9£177,000 median

This district mostly covers Sawbridgeworth.

What is the average house price in CM21?

The median price paid in CM21 across every sale on the register is £205,000. The median is used rather than the mean because a handful of very large sales would otherwise drag the average away from what a typical buyer paid.

How many homes have sold in CM21?

7,943 sales are on record for CM21, the most recent completing on 8 Jun 2026. Every one is a completed transfer lodged with HM Land Registry, not an asking price or an estimate.

Have CM21 house prices actually risen?

In cash, the median rose +40.2% between 2016 and 2026. In 2026 money — that is, after inflation — the change is +0.4%. Both numbers are true; only the second one tells you whether buying here preserved value.

When were CM21 house prices at their highest?

The highest yearly median on record is £505,000, set in 2022. That is the cash figure; measured in 2026 money the peak may fall in a different year, because inflation reshapes the series.

What is the price per square metre in CM21?

£3,113 per square metre, from the 1,705 sales where an EPC floor area could be matched to the address. Price per square metre strips out size, so a flat and a house can be compared on the same basis.

How current is this data?

The latest sale shown here completed on 8 Jun 2026. HM Land Registry publishes Price Paid Data monthly and a sale can take a month or two to appear after completion, so the most recent weeks are always incomplete.

Cite this page: Sold Price History, “CM21 house prices”, 2026. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data © Crown copyright and database right, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Inflation adjustment: ONS CPIH.