London’s house prices have surged by 85% since 2009 and rising prices are driving couples and families – not young millennials – out of the capital, according to luxury estate agency Savills.
Much has been written about how young people are being priced out of London by rocketing prices. But Savills’ analysis shows that an increasing number of over 30s are leaving the capital too.
Savills analysed Office for National Statistics data and found a mass exodus from London is happening. The Savills report, cited by The Financial Times, discovered that people over the age of 30 are taking their money elsewhere round the UK in order to get more for their money when it comes to property.
The Savills analysis showed:
- In 2015, 66,000 people aged 30-years-old and over left London. This compares to 51,000 in 2009. The number of people aged 35 to 39 leaving London rose by 18% over the last two years. Savills said: “We are seeing a major migration of London housing wealth into other markets.” 4% of those moving out of the capital each year are going to the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey. Other favourite places for people moving out of London, but likely still work in the capital, are Canterbury and Cambridge.
The average UK house price stands at £218,000 as of September 2016, according to the ONS. Here you can see the huge rise in prices since the recovery from the credit crisis.
But the rise has been even steeper in London, where the average house price currently stands at £488,000. Here you can see how much London's property prices have rocketed, compared to other regions around the UK: 
Savills still expects London property prices to rise by 11% over the next five years. London suffers from a huge shortage of housing, which means that demand is outweighing supply and therefore pushing up prices.