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Is a London Exodus Around the Corner?

A new research report by LonRes and Hamptons International called London Moves, looks at the link between London’s housing market and the rest of the country.

Last year, 73,000 Londoners moved to buy a home outside the capital, which was roughly twice the amount that moved out of London each year between 2008 and 2013. However it’s the gap between house prices in London and the rest of the country that often determines the feasibility of this move.

Tired of London, tired of…renting?
Historically London leavers moved out of the city as they hit life stage milestones such as needing more space for a growing family, an improved work/life balance or even to retire. But for today, leaving London has become the only route to getting onto the housing ladder. As a result, the average age of someone leaving the capital to purchase a home has fallen to the lowest level on record – just 39 years old, down from 47 a decade earlier.

Back in 2005, the average home in London cost 41% more than one outside of the capital, but fast forward 10 years and the ‘London premium’ had risen to more than double the national average. Over the last decade house prices in London rose 84%, considerably outpacing 33% outside of London. In fact, the average household selling up in London last year sold their home for £250,000 more than they paid for it.

However, despite these homeowners having a considerable amount of equity, often buying the home they want in the capital is still not possible. For example, the research found that trading up from a flat to a semi-detached home in inner London would cost nearly £400,000 more. For those looking to leave London today price premiums aren’t quite as high as they were back in 2016. However at the end of 2019, the average home in London still cost 91% more than one outside of the capital.

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