January 15th, 2024

Are You Joining 1m Brits Expected To Move In 2024?
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Many people start the new year by wanting to make big changes to their lives, whether that includes getting a divorce, launching a new career, or moving home. 

That is why an estimated one million people are expected to buy a new house or flat this year, which is roughly the same number as in 2023. 

Drop in house moves

While this is 15 per cent lower than the annual average house moves from 2015 to 2019, this decline can be explained by sky-high mortgage rates and the subsequent uncertainty among homeowners to put their house on the market themselves, as they are not sure they would be able to afford the mortgage on their next property. 

Head of analytics at UK Finance James Tatch told Today’s Conveyancer: “2023 was a challenging year for both prospective and existing mortgage borrowers, facing affordability pressures from higher interest rates and the increased cost-of-living, as well as house prices still at elevated levels relative to income.”

Indeed, although the media has focused a lot on falling house prices, due to a lack of interest from homebuyers who cannot afford mortgages, they are still significantly higher than they were before the pandemic. 

Although house prices had dropped by 0.8 per cent between November 2022 and November 2023, they are still more than £45,000 more expensive than they were at the beginning of 2020, according to the Halifax House Price Index. 

People are still moving

Despite this slowdown of the market, life still goes on - families continue to expand and they need bigger homes, and young adults still want to establish their roots and get on the property ladder. 

That is why a further 1.03 million people are also expected to move home in 2015, even though there is no guarantee house prices or mortgage rates will have fallen by then. 

In fact, Rightmove noted that buyer demand had recently increased by six per cent, as some housemovers had put their search on hold as they waited for better market conditions. 

Spurred on by the settling of mortgage rates, and the impetus of starting a new year, more people could be enquiring about properties for sale, solicitors, conveyancers, and house removal services so they can get their dream home in 2024.

Record number of listings

Rightmove even revealed there was a record number of homeowners who put their property on the market on Boxing Day, with sellers not being able to wait any longer after Christmas to advertise their house. 

According to the online property search website, there was a 26 per cent increase in new seller listings compared with the same day in 2022.

At the same time, it reported an eight per cent increase in people visiting the website in comparison with last year. 

Estate agents also revealed a 17 per cent jump in the number of enquiries they received on December 26th compared with the same day in 2022, showing there is a big demand for relocating this year.