News
Homemover numbers at highest since 2007 – Halifax

The number of people moving home more than doubled to 265,070 in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period last year.
According to the latest Halifax Homemover Review, the number of home moves also hit a record high in the year to June at a total of 461,010. This was a rise of 52 per cent annually and the highest yearly total since 2007, when it hit 716,650.
This leap in property transactions comes after several years of flat or falling numbers. The total number of moves in the 12 months to June exceeded any total seen for any period in a decade by 100,000.
Additionally, the number of first-time buyers rose by 74 per cent to 210,900 in the first half of the year compared to 2020. Those stepping onto the property ladder also accounted for two-fifths of all sales during the period.

How the housing landscape is set to shift
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
‘Race for space’
Andrew Asaam (pictured), Halifax mortgages director, said: “The rate and scale of the growth of the homemover market is quite remarkable. After several years of flat transaction numbers then a marked fall at the start of the pandemic, we’re now at a level not seen since 2007.
“There are many factors that have driven this activity, perhaps the biggest of which is the ‘race for space’ amongst those planning to work from home in the long term. The timing of some these moves will also have been influenced by people wanting to benefit from the stamp duty holiday.
“It is important to recognise the boom in sales was not limited to movers. There were more first-time buyers in the first six months of this this year, than in the first half of any of the last 10 years. Those getting on to the housing ladder accounted for almost half of all mortgage-backed purchases, which is in line with the long-term average.”
Prices and deposits
The average price paid by homemovers rose 11 per cent in the 12 months to September 2021, to £387,485. Wales, East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber all saw prices rise by 16 per cent over the year, to £276,849, £320,715 and £284,268 respectively. Meanwhile, Greater London saw prices rise by just five per cent to £699,864, the lowest of any region.
Homemovers put down an average deposit of £134,227, equivalent to 35 per cent of the purchase price. Average deposits were worth at least 30 per cent of the property in all UK regions. Highest deposit levels were in the South West at 38 per cent, with the North having the lowest at 30 per cent.