The post-pandemic ‘race for space’ to leave London slowed in 2023 with fewer people buying properties outside the city according to the latest figures.
According to a report in The Times, the number of buyers leaving London moving to live elsewhere has fallen by a third since 2021 to its lowest level in nine years.
The paper used data supplied by estate agent Hamptons, which found 69,190 homes were bought outside the capital by Londoners in 2023, down from a record 100,980 homes in 2021.
Overall, Londoners spent £28.7bn on countryside homes in 2023, down by 41 per cent from £48.8bn in 2021, and down by 29 per cent year on year.
Those who bought outside of London travelled on average 25.5 miles outside the capital in 2023, up from 20.8 miles in 2019, Hamptons found.
The Covid-era “race for space” saw many buyers leaving the capital in search of green spaces and cheaper prices. The work-from-home pandemic culture also led to a rise in remote workers being able to head further from their offices (although this is now changing).
Plus, cheap mortgages and then-chancellor Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday boosted buying across the country.
This year, buyers have been hit hard by rising mortgage rates due to high interest rates; mortgage rates hit a 2023 high of 7.79 per cent in October.
Workers are increasingly expected to be present in the office at least three days a week, meaning that commuting from the countryside has been taking up an increasing amount of time and money.
Earlier this month, property analysts LonRes found “signs that buyer sentiment in the prime London sales market is improving.”
The number of enquiries from buying agents has tripled since 2019 and rose again in November 2023, and LonRes expected sales activity in 2023 to be only slightly below the yearly average.
House prices are expected to fall by two per cent next year, according to the latest data from Zoopla.
