First-time buyers flee London

THE number of Londoners ditching the capital in a bid to get on the property ladder has hit a record high.

More than 40,500 Londoners have bought outside the capital so far this year.

Thousands of first-time buyers have left already this year, driven out by unaffordable house prices. During the first six months of 2022, 28pc of Londoners buying outside of the city were purchasing for the first time – the highest share ever recorded by estate agency Hamptons.

Buyers spent an average of £383,070 on their first home outside the capital, compared with the average firsttime buyer price of £526,600 within London.

As more people work from home and commute less often into the office, buyers are choosing to live further away from London, the estate agent said.

The average first-timer moved 23.7 miles out of the city, 2.2 miles further than before 2019, Hamptons said.

The pandemic triggered a record number of buyers fleeing the capital in search of greener spaces and bigger homes, but Aneisha Beveridge, of Hamptons, said the trend was “here to stay”.