Huge fall in number of people moving house

AROUND A million fewer people moved house in the 2000s than in the 1970s, new research shows.

An ageing population and changes in the housing market were partly responsible, Queen’s University Belfast said.

About a third of the fall in England and Wales was due to population shifts but the remainder was down to a transformation in behaviour including longer commutes and better technology, the study found.

Researcher Dr Ian Shuttleworth said: “One cause of the decline in migration rates in England and Wales is the changing make-up of the population.

“Some people are more mobile than others; for example, older people tend to change address less than younger people, whereas those with more education tend to move more than those who lack it.”

The international project lasted three years and the Queen’s researcher worked with Professor Tony Champion, of the University of Newcastle, and Professor Thomas Cooke, of the University of Connecticut.

Dr Shuttleworth added: “There has been a decade-on-decade decrease in people moving home.”

Using statistics from the Census, the team measured the proportion of people changing addresses and found that this fell from 55 per cent between 1971 and 1981 to 45 per cent between 2001 and 2011. The fall in migration has been most significant for moves of less than six miles and has been experienced by nearly all types of people.

Dr Shuttleworth said: “It is not just the elderly who are not moving as much as they did in the 1970s but all age groups. It is not only owner-occupiers but also those in social-rented housing, and falls are not just concentrated amongst the unemployed but have also been experienced by those in work.”

He said most of this decline was due to the continuing process of population ageing and the reduction in private renting in the last century, outweighing the upward push of increasing education levels and participation in higher education.

“Our analysis also points to extended lives and a delay in people moving from their parents’ house to their own home,” he added.