British homemovers are a nation of ‘homebodies’ new research reveals
June 9, 2016- On average, 70% of all homemovers move less than 20 miles from their old property
- Of those who do decide to move further afield, most choose to travel no further than into the next region
- Homemovers are happiest moving across the country (East to West and West to East) strengthening the North-South divide
British homemovers are a nation of ‘homebodies’, according to research by My Home Move, the UK’s leading provider of mover conveyancing services – as 70% of those who sold a property in the last five years, chose to purchase a new home less than 20 miles from their old postcode.
Having analysed the home moving habits of 26,000 people over a five year period, My Home Move discovered that those in the North East, East of England and South West are the most loyal to their location, with c.90% of homemovers choosing to stay within their region.
Commenting on these findings, Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move said,
“It would seem that we really are a nation of ‘homebodies’ preferring to move no further than 20 miles from our old postcodes. The last five years have presented some real challenges for homemovers, with rising house prices, gazumping on the increase and a lack of stock leaving many questioning if now is the right time to move so we are not surprised people feel more confident in buying in places they know well.”
The research also revealed that for those who did decide to move further afield, most still opted to stay within 75 miles of their former home, by moving over the border and into the next region. The only exception being homemovers who chose to chase the ‘good life’ by leaving London for the South West, jumping a region and travelling over 100 miles to settle in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.
Regional Movers Map -showing where the majority of homemovers who left their region, moved from and to, between 2011 and 2015
Continuing Doug Crawford said, “Our research has also revealed that the North-South divide is alive and well. In the majority of instances where people did decide to move out of their region, they chose to move either East or West, with very few opting to travel either up or down the country, showing that people’s sense of identity is still strongly rooted in where they live and where they have come from.”