According to the findings of research carried out by property services groups, Leaders Romans Group, simply 'getting on the property ladder' was the main driving force for moving home in October 2020.
LRG found that 25% of movers say that getting on the property ladder is the most influential factor for moving. Coming in as the second and third most popular reasons for moving was to get a bigger home – for example, for family – and a change in relationship, both of which were cited by nearly a fifth (20%) of respondents.
The survey also highlighted that ‘getting on the property ladder’ was unaffected by the influence of the Stamp Duty Holiday. In fact, the Stamp Duty Holiday is on a par with both second-home buyers and buy-to-let investors taking advantage of the tax cut and benefitting as a result.
Kevin Shaw, Group Managing Director of Residential Sales at LRG, comments: “It’s great to see that even in a challenging year, first-time buyers are still getting onto the property ladder. So far this year we have seen increased activity in the £150k-£350k price range, particularly freehold, where there have been a number of cases of multiple offers from different buyers.
"An increase in first-time buyer registrations is also extremely positive for the market as a whole, as their presence and ability to buy enables many more people who want to sell and move up the ladder the chance to do so by selling to a first-time buyer.”
The pandemic has caused seismic shifts around the world, forcing us to reconsider the way we live and the homes we live in. Following months of lockdown, the property sector saw a vast increase in demand for more space, bigger homes, gardens and additional rooms to work from home, with ‘needing another room to work from home’ also cited as a key reason for moving home.
From March this trend increased with more people preparing for working from home, long-term. And with many more people having spent the majority of the last year at home due to pandemic restrictions, less than 5% expressed that ‘new location for job’ was a prominent reason for moving home.
COVID has also changed tenant priorities, with many now looking for bigger homes with gardens and a separate space to work in.
Michael Cook, National Lettings Managing Director at LRG, comments: “Demand for rental stock outside of London has outpaced that shown in the capital, with people increasingly seeking homes in areas around one hour away from big cities, with good transport links, facilities, and lots of green space. We have seen houses increase in demand over flats with people looking to rent properties for longer, increasing average tenancy lengths.”
