Proportion of Londoners buying homes outside capital drops – study
Proportion of Londoners buying homes outside capital drops – study
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The proportion of Londoners buying homes outside the capital fell back this year to its lowest level since 2013, according to estimates from a property firm. Londoners purchased 5.7% of homes sold in Britain but outside the capital in 2024, according to Hamptons.
The analysis is based on sales by Countrywide estate agency brands, to track where Londoners leaving the capital have been moving to. Strong house price growth outside the capital over the last decade has reduced the amount of extra space London leavers can buy, researchers said.
Looking ahead, we expect an uptick in London outmigration numbers next year as the capital's property market begins to pick up. However, first-time buyers were calculated to have made up nearly a third (31%) of the Londoners purchasing a home outside the capital this year, a figure that has more than doubled since 2013.
Excluding second home buyers and landlords, London leavers moved 33.1 miles to their new home on average in 2024. This is 5.3 miles further than the average recorded by Hamptons between 2015 and 2019. The average London leaver selling a home in the capital now moves 45.4 miles.
Meanwhile, the typical first-time buyer moved 25.5 miles this year, down from 26.3 miles in 2023. Researchers added that Blackpool in Lancashire has seen a jump in Londoners buying properties compared with five years ago. But this is often due to investment property purchases, rather than relocations, researchers said.
