The post-pandemic world has left many under an extreme financial strain, as the cost of living continues to rise, the prices of houses also show no sign of slowing down.
As a result, many UK residents are considering moving to a different area to aid this financial pressure applied as a result of the rise in costs.
To gain a deeper understanding of the attitudes of these residents, L&C has surveyed 2,000 people across the UK, questioning whether they’d be willing to relocate and if so, why.
Firstly, those surveyed were quizzed on whether they plan on relocating in the next 12 months.
Of 2,000 surveyed 17.1% agreed with the statement ‘I plan to relocate in the next 12 months’. 29% who agreed come from sheltered housing while 25% live in private rental housing.
There was no surprise to see 29% of Londoners agree, with the city of London continuing to be one of the top ten most expensive areas to purchase a house in the UK (according to the Office for National Statistics).
There are also a number of people considering relocating in the next three years, with UK residents considering moving to a number of different areas of the UK such as;
Coast: 15%
Countryside: 15%
City: 14%
This means that a total of 61% plan to relocate either this year or within the next three years.
It raises the question of what factors are influencing a wave of relocators in the UK. Luckily L&C did focus on this topic.
The top 5 factors were:
To have a change in scenery: 15%
To afford a bigger property, to be closer to nature and to afford more outside space are all joined second place: 13%
To live in a cheaper area: 12%
To live closer to family: 11%
To live in a more family-friendly location: 9%
As seen in this part of the survey, there are a number of factors influencing UK residents to consider relocating, such as climate change and air pollution.
Speaking on the matter, David Hollingworth, Associate Director at L&C Mortgages said:
”The pandemic has changed the way that many people work. As more people have the option to work remotely it opens up the chance for relocation to an area that wouldn’t have previously been possible. That could allow a move to a cheaper area or homebuyers to afford more space. As the cost of living and rising house prices continue to put pressure on households all across the UK, it’s no surprise to see many considering the option to relocate elsewhere.
”It was perhaps unsurprising to see that many of those planning a move hoped to relocate to the coast or country, although the cities showed that they haven’t lost their appeal. There is clearly substantial variation in prices across the country whether homebuyers are planning a move to the coast, country or city.”
