Londoners spend £30bn on homes outside the capital in 2018

Londoners purchased £30 billion worth of property outside the capital in 2018, the highest level in a decade, according to research from Hamptons International.

Related topics:  Property
Rozi Jones
27th December 2018
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" As affordability in the capital is stretched, more households are looking beyond the confines of London to buy their first home."

This represents a 7.8% rise on 2017’s figure when Londoners bought £28 billion worth of homes. The total value of homes purchased by Londoners peaked in 2007 at £37 billion when the number of people leaving the capital reached the highest level on record.

This year 74,350 Londoners bought homes outside the capital, 3.8% more than in 2017 but, 39,290 less than in 2007. The average price of a home bought by a Londoner outside the capital has also risen and now stands at £398,910 - the highest level on record despite house prices in the capital dipping -0.5% year-on-year in 2018. The average purchase price in 2018 was 3.9% higher than in 2017 and 37% more than in 2007.

Most Londoners leaving the capital stayed in the South of England. More than three quarters (77%) of Londoners leaving the capital moved to the South East, South West or East of England. One in five (19%) of homes sold in the East of England and one in every seven (15%) in the South East, was purchased by someone from London in 2018.

However, with affordability in the capital stretched, an increasing proportion of Londoners are having to move further afield. In 2018, one in five (21%) of Londoners moved to the Midlands and North. This compared to 15% in 2015 and just 7% in 2008.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International, said: “Historically most people moving out of London have done so because of changing priorities, such as starting a family or generally wanting a slower pace of life. But increasingly as affordability in the capital is stretched, more households are looking beyond the confines of London to buy their first home. For many this means moving further afield to areas such as the Midlands and North where they can get more for their money.

“Despite a rise in the number of London leavers this year, 2018 is likely to be a peak. A slower housing market in 2019 will likely mean that we see fewer Londoners buying homes outside of the capital than in 2018.”

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