Share of London buyers from outside capital at five year high
The share of buyers moving to London from outside the capital has reached its highest level in five years.
Data from Hamptons, the luxury estate agents based in London, showed that the proportion of buyers who moved in from outside the capital jumped to 13.5 per cent for the 12 months ending June 2021. Migrated to the capital was last at this level in 2015 when the figure reached 13.9 per cent.
Aneisha Beveridge, Head of Research, Hamptons said that the pandemic has “fuelled people” into “making bigger moves.”
“One of the most typical responses to the coronavirus pandemic has been for movers to flee big cities, particularly London. But coronavirus has also brought a wave of ‘reverse movers’ who are leaving the countryside and buying in the capital,” Beveridge added.
The vast majority of people buying property in London from outside were under forty with easy access to amenities like restaurants and shops proving an attractive lure in spite of the pandemic.
In 2020, ONS data shows that 47 per cent of those who moved to the capital from outside were in their twenties, accounting for 103,888 purchases.
Hackney proved a particularly popular choice for young people moving into the capital for the first time, with 49 per cent of people who bought property in the area aged between 25 and 40. Wandsworth attracted the majority of movers in this age group, seeing 6,569 new residents flock to the area.
The rise of remote working may also have something to do with the surge as young people, able to work from anywhere, choose to relocate in bustling city centres.
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