Don't move, improve: number of homemovers drops for first time in five years as the cost of selling up continues to soar

A new report reveals more home owners are opting to stay put rather than trade up - or down - the ladder, as the cost of moving continues to rise.
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Jess Denham20 January 2017

The number of people moving house in the UK has fallen for the first time in five years, with half as many home owners moving on last year than a decade ago.

During 2016, the number of properties listed for sale in London dropped to a record low, as 13,000 fewer home owners relocated than the year before, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Homemover Review.

Many home owners opted for the "don't move, improve" approach rather than facing the high cost of moving and stamp duty taxes.

In London, homemovers are now putting down a whopping £192,000 deposit on average to move up the housing ladder, up by £82,000 since 2009. Meanwhile, the average price of a property in the capital has soared by 75 per cent since 2009 to reach £560,000, the highest on record.

Miles Shipside, housing market analyst at Rightmove said: "Owners now seem well aware of the more challenging conditions, with high Stamp Duty costs and Brexit uncertainty perhaps making them hold back from trying to sell. While it is too early to say that this is a trend that will continue for the rest of 2017, for the moment some Londoners seem to have lost that moving feeling."

Rising house prices across most regions in England and Wales have pushed the average home mover deposit up to £96,968, a rise of six per cent in the last year, says Lloyds.

The average homemover deposit is also higher than £100,000 in East Anglia, the South West and the South East.

This year has got off to a more positive start on the moving front, however, with Rightmove visits since Boxing Day up by 5 per cent year-on-year, despite being compared to the buy-to-let surge ahead of the second-home stamp duty deadline.

First-time buyers may be seeing a window of opportunity, with less competition from buy-to-let investors and stronger negotiating power with sellers open to lower offers.