Moving: the facts and figures of 2019

When people moved, how far they went, the most popular destinations and of course what it all cost

First-time buyers were the driving force in the housing market during 2019, encouraged by cheap loans, soft house prices and schemes such as Help to Buy.

This is just one of the statistics thrown up in a study by home moving comparison site reallymoving.

The statistical study includes data on when people moved, how far they went, the most popular destinations and of course, what it all cost.

One of the most striking features was how many movers chose to stay local.

Rob Houghton, CEO of reallymoving, comments: “Most home moves remained local with a remarkable 40 per cent taking place within five miles of existing homes, suggesting that people were more motivated by extra space and more desirable properties than by major moves for new jobs or lifestyle changes.”

The study also found:

■ The busiest day of the year for moving home was Friday, August 30, followed by Friday, June 28 and Friday, September 28.

Friday was the most popular day to move throughout the year and movers tended to favour the last week of the month.

■ Those buying and selling a home typically paid £1,154 for conveyancing (excluding disbursements and expenses such as Land Registry fees).

First-time buyers paid £677 on average.

■ The median distance moved in 2019 was nine miles, while most (40 per cent) moved within a fivemile radius of their previous home. On average they paid £420 for removals services.

■ London received the highest volume of home movers in 2019, accounting for 12.1 per cent. The second most popular destination was Birmingham (3.2 per cent), followed by Manchester (2.2 per cent) and Reading (2 per cent).

■ First-time buyers were the driving force in the property market in 2019, accounting for 55.7 per cent of all home purchases throughout the year. Over a fifth used a government scheme to help them buy their first home, such as Shared Ownership (14.6 per cent) and Help to Buy (7.3 per cent).

■ The average deposit paid by first-time buyers in 2019 was £28,800 – 16 per cent of their average purchase price of £180,000.

■ Repeat movers (those buying and selling at the same time) sold their homes for an average price of £237,000 and bought for an average price of £292,500.

■ While first-time buyers across the UK largely escaped paying Stamp Duty on their purchases, repeat movers typically paid £4,625 on completion.

■ The share of EU home movers choosing the UK as their destination dropped by over two thirds (68 per cent) compared to the 12 months leading up to the EU Referendum in June 2016.

■ The most popular destination for international movers from the UK was the United States (19.4 per cent), followed by Spain (9.9 per cent), France (7 per cent), Australia (6.3 per cent) and Germany (5.4 per cent).