According to Halifax’s Homemover Review, nine out of 12 regions experienced growth at “similar rates” over the past decade, with only Scotland, Wales and the North East below double digit growth.

The South East saw the largest rise in pricing over the last 12 months, with pricing going up by 12% annually to £291,247.

In the North East, prices remained stable over the last year, increasing by 1% year-on-year to £255,223.

Deposits growing, transactions falling

The average deposit for a homemover is estimated to be around £150,497, which is up by nearly half on 2018 figures.

London homemovers needed the largest deposit at £261,995, and the North East had the lowest at £81,594.

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Homemover transaction figures for the first half of the year came to 112,459, which is the lowest recorded by the report and down nearly a third on the same period last year.

The report said that the previous low was in the first half of 2020 at 114,020, when the market closed due to the pandemic.

Nearly all regions saw a fall of around 30%, barring Northern Ireland, which dropped by around 65% year-on-year.

Detached homes grow in popularity

Detached houses were the most popular type of property among people moving homes in the last year, accounting for just under a third. This is up from a quarter a decade ago.

The report attributed this to buyers wanting more “space, peace and privacy”.

This was followed by semi-detached homes at 28%, terraced houses at 21%, flats with 12% and bungalows at 7%.

The highest proportion of detached housebuyers were in East Midlands at 45%, Northern Ireland at 42% and West Midlands at 38%.

The South East rose from 24% to 34%, which the report said was due to buyers leaving the capital for more space for their money.

Semi-detached properties were most popular in the North England and flats were more popular in London.

Homemover age falls two years in a decade

The report said that the average age of a UK homemover was 39, a year younger than 12 months ago, and two years younger than a decade ago.

The falling age, Halifax said, could be due to race for space as more businesses adopt homeworking and homeowners having more flexibility with location and money that doesn’t need to be spent on a daily commute.

It could also imply that older homemovers are choosing to extend homes as opposed to move, as they daily sales to maximise their equity prior to downsizing.