Fewer Londoners Moving Out as City House Prices Stagnate and Offices Reopen

Fewer Londoners are leaving the capital this year as sluggish house-price growth in the city and a return-to-office trend curb moves, according to analysis by estate agent Hamptons.

Hamptons found that Londoners bought 31,620 homes outside the capital in England and Wales in the first seven months of 2025, equivalent to 5.3% of all homes sold outside London — the lowest share recorded since 2013 and down from a peak of 8.2% in 2022. That level also sits below the pre-pandemic average of 5.9% between 2010 and 2020.

Hamptons said the retreat from the pandemic-era "race for space" is only part of the explanation. A prolonged period of muted price growth in much of London has reduced the equity owners can use to move, while employers increasingly asking staff to return to offices has reduced the appeal of relocating further from the capital.

Over the past five years, average prices outside London have risen about 26%, roughly three times the 8% gain recorded across the capital, Hamptons reported. That divergence has constrained many London homeowners’ ability to trade up or relocate to larger properties elsewhere.

The composition of those leaving the capital has also shifted. Inner London postcodes now account for a record 30% of Londoners moving out, up from 25% a decade ago, reflecting particularly weak price growth in central areas where values in some parts remain lower than in 2014. So far in 2025, Londoners who left the capital spent an average of £417,660 on their new home — 25% more than in 2015. Those selling in Outer London paid an average that is 34% higher than a decade ago.

Despite the squeeze, Hamptons said sellers in London still typically buy more space when they move out. The firm estimates the typical Inner London household selling for £655,580 this year could increase their floor space by 121% — about 1,178 extra square feet — when relocating outside the capital. But that uplift has declined from a peak in 2016 when movers could nearly treble their space; an average Inner London property now buys about 553 fewer square feet than it would have in 2016, roughly the size of two double bedrooms or a one-bed flat. Outer London sellers can increase space by about 55% on average, down from 72% in 2016.

"London’s housing market has been treading water for much of the last decade, and that’s now shaping migration patterns," Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said in a statement. "The return to the office has played a role in curbing the appetite for long-distance moves, but it’s the lack of price growth in the capital that’s really clipped the wings of would‑be leavers. Many London homeowners simply haven’t built up enough equity to make the leap to where they want to go, especially as prices outside the capital have continued to climb. The result is fewer moves, shorter distances, and a growing focus on affordability over aspiration."

Geography of migration has changed since the pandemic. In 2015 and 2020 there were seven local authorities where Londoners made up more than half of all buyers; in 2025 that number fell to five. Traditional commuter towns such as Broxbourne and Sevenoaks dominated hotspots in 2015, while the pandemic pushed demand to places like Dartford, Epsom & Ewell and Epping Forest by 2020. In 2025, Hamptons said more affordable areas including Thurrock, Hertsmere and Basildon have climbed the rankings, with commuter-friendly but lower-cost locations proving relatively more attractive than prestige alone.

The shift has implications for local housing markets and transport corridors, with demand patterns concentrating on more affordable belts that remain commutable. For would-be movers, Hamptons’ analysis highlights the interaction of regional price performance, equity constraints and the evolving workplace: when prices in a seller’s local market fail to rise, the financial case for moving declines, even if buyers value additional space.

Higher borrowing costs continue to influence decisions. Mortgage rates that are elevated relative to pandemic lows limit how much buyers can borrow, increasing the importance of saved equity and downpayments. Advisers and lenders frequently recommend that prospective buyers and homeowners approaching the end of a fixed mortgage deal review options early and compare rates and products to manage costs, and that landlords also plan remortgages well in advance.

The trends recorded by Hamptons suggest the post‑pandemic redistribution of households that boosted outer‑commuter and suburban markets is losing momentum. With London’s price performance trailing much of the country and office-based work recovering, the agency’s data indicate a turn toward shorter moves and greater emphasis on affordability rather than the large spatial gains that characterised the early pandemic period.