Some 4% fewer Londoners are buying homes outside of the capital than in 2016.
Fewer Londoners are leaving the capital to purchase homes, Hamptons International has found.
Londoners bought 73,000 homes outside the capital in 2019, which represents 4% fewer leavers than the most recent peak in 2016 at 75,690.
However, despite the fall in London purchases the figure is still considerably higher than 10 years ago when 41,090 homes were bought by Londoners.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International, said: “The number of Londoners purchasing a home outside the capital has fallen by 4% since the most recent peak of 2016.
“2016 was the prime time for Londoners to cash in on their property and move to the country.
“This was when the price gap between a home in London and one elsewhere in Great Britain was at its widest.
“However, since then, house prices outside of London have risen faster than those in the capital and this has resulted in more London homeowners staying put.”
The average Londoner spent £358,650 on their new home outside the capital, equating to a collective total of £26.2bn over the year.
This is a decrease from £29.6bn in 2018.
Affordability barriers in the capital mean that people are leaving London at a younger age.
The average age of a London leaver purchasing a home has fallen to 39 years, the lowest on record.
While many take advantage of being able to buy larger homes for their money, for others, leaving London is the only way of getting onto the housing ladder.
Nearly one in four (24%) Londoners who purchased a home outside the capital in 2019 were first-time buyers, up from 22% in 2016 and considerably higher than the 14% recorded in 2013.
Most London leavers stay in the South of England with 69% of Londoners purchasing homes outside the capital in 2019 buying in the South East, South West or East of England.
The South East was the most popular destination for London buyers, with nearly one in three (32%) London leavers moving to the region last year.
However, affordability barriers in the South have resulted in a record 13% of London leavers buying homes in the North of England in 2019 and 15% buying in the Midlands.
Beveridge added: “Historically most homeowners leaving London did so for lifestage reasons and to take advantage of being able to buy a larger home, but for others, leaving London is the only way of getting onto the housing ladder.
“As a result, the average age of someone leaving the capital to purchase a home has fallen to the lowest level on record – just 39 years old.
“For many first-time buyers it also means moving further afield to areas such as the Midlands and North where they can get more for their money.”
