Londoners flock to the country, snapping up £30bn of property outside the capital in 2018

Londoners left the capital in their droves this year, buying £30bn worth of property outside the city as they sought to sidestep expensive house prices.

The value of property bought outside the capital by Londoners was at its highest level since 2007 when the figure was £37bn, the highest on record.

This year, 74,350 Londoners bought outside the city, a 3.8 per cent rise year-on-year, but still 39,390 less than in 2007, according to research by estate agent Hamptons International.

But despite house prices in the capital dipping 0.5 per cent year-on-year, the average price of homes bought outside London was the highest on record, at £398,910.

Most Londoners fleeing high property prices remained in the south of England, with more than three-quarters (77 per cent) leaving for the south-east, south-west or east of the country.

But with affordability in the capital stretched, more Londoners than ever moved further afield. This year one 21 per cent moved to the Midlands and north of England, up on 15 per cent in 2015 and just 7 per cent in 2008.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International said: “Historically most people moving out of London have done so because of changing priorities, such as starting a family or generally wanting a slower pace of life.

“But increasingly as affordability in the capital is stretched, more households are looking beyond the confines of London to buy their first home. For many this means moving further afield to areas such as the Midlands and North where they can get more for their money.

“Despite a rise in the number of London leavers this year, 2018 is likely to be a peak. A slower housing market in 2019 will likely mean that we see fewer Londoners buying homes outside of the capital than in 2018.”

Hertfordshire commuter borough Broxbourne drew the most London leavers in the east of England, while Sevenoaks was the most popular location in the south east. Bath and north east Somerset were the most popular locations in the south west.