More people have moved home in 2014 than in the last seven years, Lloyds Bank says.
The number of home movers grew 8 per cent to 365,400 last year, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Homemovers Review. Since house prices also grew, people had more money from their old properties and could afford the move to another home easier.
“House price rises over the past 12 months have enabled more homeowners to make the next move on the housing ladder. The resulting higher levels of equity in their property are providing homeowners with more funds to finance the purchase of their next home.
“A steady rise in property values in 2015 should further ease the constraint on many of those who bought their first home around the peak of the market in 2006 and 2007, enabling more of them to become second steppers,” Andy Hulme, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, said.
Although the number of home movers surpassed the 2009 level by 16 per cent, it has still not recovered to pre-crisis levels. For comparison, in 2006 the number was nearly twice as high as last year (712,100) and in 2004 it was more than double 2014’s figure (886,700).
The proportion of home movers buying a new home through a mortgage has declined over the past decade, dropping to 54 per cent in 2014 from 71 per cent in 2004. This is because the number of first time buyers has grown at a quicker pace in that period.
The average home mover saved £4,958 thanks to the stamp duty changes made towards the end of 2014. The amendments in stamp duty cut the tax expense for an average home mover property of £252,064 almost three times to £2,603 from £7,561.
