A third of first time buyers from London move away to purchase

Some 31 per cent of first time buyers residing in London ended up moving away from the capital to purchase a property according to research from Hamptons International.

The 31 per cent - the figure for the first half of this year - was almost double the proportion that left London to buy their first home just five year ago. 

Hamptons says the government’s stamp duty relief and the widespread availability of Help to Buy have acted as a support for first-time buyers wanting to stay in the capital, but the agency admits many are being priced out of the south of England completely. 

In the first six months of this year 85 per cent of first time buyers leaving London moved to the East or South East to maintain their London connection, but this is down from 95 per cent just four years ago.

Now, around one in eight first time buyers leaving the capital are moving to the North or Midlands, four times the proportion in 2010.

“The proportion of London leavers heading North has tripled in the last 10 years.  More people are making a bigger move and buying a larger home sooner to avoid having to pay stamp duty on additional moves as they trade up. But for many, this means heading further north” explains Aneisha Beveridge, the agency’s research analyst. 

“Raising a deposit remains a hurdle for many, which helps explain why increasing numbers of first-time buyers who leave London are heading north” she adds.