People who emigrated from London bought almost 74,000 houses this year

More and more people are venturing out of the capital.

In 2020, those who left London bought 73,950 houses outside the capital, the highest number in four years, according to research by the Hamptons.

There has been an apparent increase in the popularity of London emigration since the onset of Covid-19.

In the first half of 2020, London graduates bought 6.9% of homes sold outside the capital, which is equivalent to 24,480 sales.

However, in the second half of 2020, this figure rose to 7.8% and double sales (49,470).

Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons head of research, said: “Despite Covid-19 shutting down the housing market for seven weeks, the number of homes bought by Londoners outside the capital has risen to the highest level in four years.”

“While leaving London has been a rite of passage for many, often families reaching milestones in life, the effects of confinement and the desire for space appear to have increased this drift.”

Meanwhile, the lure of a doorbell holiday acted as an impetus for more buyers to anticipate future planned moves.

“The prospect of working from home more regularly has also meant that those leaving London are making more progress than ever. The average person leaving London went 10 miles more than in 2019 as shoppers prefer space over commutability.”

The average London graduate spent £ 372,860 at home outside the capital.

The typical person leaving London from May travels to Cambridge to the north, Colchester to the east, Brighton to the south, or Didcot to the west.

It looks like this is a trend that is likely to continue as we move into 2021.

Beveridge added: “We expect this emigration trend to continue also during the first half of next year.”

“But generally, as prices in the capital start to stabilize, which we forecast will happen in the second half of 2021, more Londoners decide to stay.”

“Still, given that the housing market has been anything but normal since the inception of COVID-19, we expect the total number of homes bought by those leaving London next year to reach 2016 levels.”

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