Home owners ‘stay put for 23 years on average’

THE average home owner moves properties every 23 years, analysis has found.

People in Wales remain in their home the longest, taking an average of 26.8 years to move. Scotland is home to the most frequent movers in Britain, the research suggests, with the average home owner staying put for around 19 and a half years.

Property website Zoopla made the findings after working with analysts Hometrack. The research looked at sales figures across Britain and compared them with total housing stock levels to work out how often people typically move, using Land Registry and Registers of Scotland data.

Residents in Midlothian, Scotland, are particularly likely to move frequently – after just under 15 years on average, the research suggests. At the other end of the spectrum, residents of Powys in mid Wales only move around once every 33 years. Researchers said the frequency of home owners moving has fluctuated in recent years.

In 2009, after the financial crisis, people tended to move less often, around once every 26 years.

The research was released to coincide with the launch of a new “move planner” tool by Zoopla.

A separate report, from Lloyds Bank, has found that the average cost of moving home, including stamp duty, removal costs and various fees, is now more than £11,500 – rising to £32,000 in London – which could be another obstacle to some people moving home.