Home movers overtake first time buyers

According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), almost half of all mortgage lending in the first three months of this year (2021) went to home movers, this is the highest share since records began.

Around 42% of mortgage lending was made out to advanced to home movers, up 15% from the same period in 2020, and nearly double the share advanced to first time buyers. Just 22% of mortgage advances were to first time buyers between the first quarter this year, up just 2%points compared to the first quarter of last year.

Buy to Let investors mortgage advances fell to 11.7% in the first three months of 2021, down 2.3 points compared to the same period the previous year, whilst the share for remortgages stood at 18%, down 14.2 percentage points from the first three months of 2020.

Race for space drives home movers

As a result of the pandemic, demand for home mover is thought to be driven by changing priorities with many people looking for bigger homes and more outside space.

According to research by insurer Royal London, 1/6 (17%) people actively moving, or are looking to move, to a new house in the United Kingdom said that Covid-19 has changed the ay in which where they want to live. More than half of these said that they were moving because they wanted more indoor space, and 46% said they wanted more outdoor space.

The research also showed that house movers are increasingly searching for properties with home offices, and high-speed internet, as well as those with more open floor plans and more parking.

Though many home movers are going for the country and more rural areas, others, particularly those living in the London area are looking to move closer to a city. 

First time buyers are taking more advantage of the stamp duty holiday which has helped to hike house price. 

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