0:01 AM, 27th December 2024, About 16 hours ago
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Fewer Londoners are leaving the capital as purchases outside London hit their lowest in a decade, according to Hamptons.
A report by the estate agents reveals that Londoners bought 5.7% of all homes sold outside the capital in 2024, the lowest proportion since 2013, down from a high of 8.2% in 2022.
First-time buyers also had a record year as many rush to buy a home before the stamp duty changes come into force next April.
Hamptons says falling house prices and a return to working in an office after the pandemic have reduced the number of moves taking place.
According to the estate agents, Londoners will purchase a total of 57,020 homes outside the capital this year. This is 45% or 46,200 fewer than in 2021 when London outmigration numbers previously peaked.
Pre-Covid, Londoners bought an average of 70,060 homes outside the capital each year, meaning purchase numbers are down around 19% compared to the 2015-19 average, partly due to fewer people moving home in general.
Average property prices have risen 39% outside the capital over the last decade, compared to 26% growth in London.
In some areas of the capital, particularly in central London, property prices have fallen over that period, limiting London leavers’ purchasing power and reducing their incentive to move.
First-time buyers made up a record 31% of Londoners purchasing a home outside the capital this year, a figure that has more than doubled since 2013.
Overall, London-based first-time buyers bought 17,680 homes outside the M25 this year, 69% more than a decade ago.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “The capital’s homeowners haven’t had the housing market on their side in recent years.
“They’ve had to adapt to higher interest rates and post-pandemic trends, which have shifted against them and suppressed property prices in the capital. This has weighed on their ability to move, driving down the number of people leaving London this year.
“Stagnant or falling property prices in parts of the capital have limited equity growth, while house prices elsewhere have risen much more quickly since Covid. With a trophy home slipping out of reach, many London homeowners have opted to stay put or move even further out of the capital to get more house for their money.
“First-time buyers have been the exception to the rule, with many keen to escape the capital’s rental market. As mortgage rates have fallen this year, it’s generally become cheaper to buy than rent again, even with a small deposit. However, the high income and savings bar needed to buy a home in London has pushed more aspiring homeowners to look beyond the capital for their first home.”
In search of more affordable areas, those leaving London (movers and first-time buyers) are moving further than ever before. The average London leaver moved 33.1 miles outside the capital this year, 19% or 5.3 miles further than the 2015-19 average.
According to Hamptons, first-time buyers are staying closer to the M25. The average London leaver selling a home in the capital now moves 45.4 miles, 13.7 miles farther than before Covid. Meanwhile, the typical first-time buyer moved 25.5 miles this year, slightly down from a peak of 26.3 miles in 2023.
Blackpool is among the top 10 local authorities to have seen the biggest increase in the share of buyers from London.
Londoners purchased 9% of homes sold in Blackpool this year, up from 4% in 2019. It is the first local authority in the North of England on the list, recording the twenty-fourth largest increase in the country.
However, most of these London buyers were purchasing investment properties. The average gross yield on a new buy-to-let purchase in Blackpool reached 10.1% this year, compared to 5.7% in London.
