Sharp drop in number of home movers

The number of home movers has fallen sharply over the past 12 months and is still far lower than before the financial crisis.

But the number is still up by a third since the depth of the recession in 2009, according to new research from Lloyds Bank.

An estimated 155,000 people moved home in the first six months of 2015, according to the Lloyds Bank Homemovers Review, a fall of 9% on the same period in 2014.

That is less than half the 327,600 home movers in the first half of 2007, directly before the credit crunch.

The number of homemovers has increased lately, up 32% in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2009.

Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, said the drop in the number of home movers reflected a softening housing market.

“Whilst the number of homemovers has risen significantly since 2009, it remains well below previous levels and has recovered less strongly than first-time buyer numbers.

“This is likely to partly reflect the high costs associated with moving home, as well as highlighting the difficulties that homeowners can face in finding somewhere suitable to move to due to the shortage of properties available for sale.”

The average price paid by a homemover grew 25% from £208,654 in 2010 to £261,524 in 2015.

That is an increase of £52,869, equivalent to a monthly rise of £881. Homemover property prices have increased by 6% over the past year.

The average deposit put down by a homemover in 2015 was £87,954, 8% higher than in 2014.

Recent changes to the stamp duty system have reduced the tax bill for someone buying the average homemover property, which is worth £261,524, from £7,845 to £3,076, a saving of £4,769.

Savings in London, however, where the average home mover property costs £492,882, are a mere £142.