‘London leavers’ head for the hills

Rural properties are being snapped up by former city residents, reports Vicky Shaw

London-based home-buyers purchased more properties outside the city during 2021 than in any year since 2007, analysis suggests.

First-time buyers made up nearly a quarter (24%) of Londoners buying outside the capital in 2021, according to the calculations from Hamptons.

The estate agent estimates that, in total, buyers based in London purchased more than 112,700 homes outside the city this year – the highest number since 2007.

On average, London sellers spent £18,980 less on their home outside the capital than the price of the property they sold, Hamptons said.

The average “London leaver” who moved this year sold their home for £525,910 and spent £506,930 on their new property.

HamptonsidentifiedStAlbans in Hertfordshire as the top destination for first-time buyers moving out of London in 2021.

For existing home-owners who were moving out of London,

DartfordinKentwasnamedastop hotspot.

The Arun area of West Sussex, which includes Arundel and Bognor Regis, was the top destination for London-based buyers purchasing a second home, the estate agent found.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “The capital’slossistheHomeCounties’ gain, with these buyers prepared to move 24% further than before the pandemic began, taking their wealthandexperiencewiththem.

“There are still many uncertainties about what longterm impact the pandemic will have on the way we live our lives and how we work.

“It seems likely that hybrid remote working is set to continue in some form, which will keep outmigrationnumbersaboveprepandemic norms.

“However, after this year’s frenzy, we expect the numbers to fall back a little, particularly as house prices outside the capital aresettocontinueoutperforming London over the next few years.

“We expect to see the number of London purchases outside the capital average around 85,000 in both 2022 and 2023, around 10,000 more than during the five yearsleadinguptothepandemic.”

And prices in Britain’s prime housingmarketsoutsideLondon surged at the strongest pace in a decadeduring2021,researchhas found.

Homes in the prime price bracket tend to make up the top 5% to 10% of the housing market by value.

As house hunters looked for more space and made lifestyle changes, price growth across the prime housing markets outside London averaged 9.3% over 2021, marking the strongest annual growth since 2010, property advisers Savills said.

Coastal areas, Cotswolds properties and commutable private estates tended to be the strongest performers in 2021.

Cotswolds country houses in the £2 million-plus market typically piled on nearly a quarter (23.4%) to their value, with demand coming from local homeowners looking to upsize, those relocating from elsewhere and aspiring second home owners.

Prime coastal markets, most notably Devon and Cornwall, recorded average price growth of 15.6% during the year, driven by high demand and shrinking supply, Savills added.

Only London’s very largest houses with at least six bedrooms have come close to the country markets for price growth, Savills added, with price growth in prime central London generally averaging 2.0% in 2021 and 3.7% in outer prime London.

“In these markets, the rarity factors: whether a rarely available type of property; the most sought after locations; or simply the very best view, have combined with high levels of buyer demand and wealth, to create pockets of extremely strong market conditions,” said Frances Clacy from Savills.

“New buyer numbers over the past month are running 1.5 times higher than at the same time in the two years pre-pandemic, suggesting that these trends will carry through into the early part of next year, at least.”