10 Statistics That Tell the Story of 2023 for UK Home Movers

2023 has been a tumultuous year for the UK housing market, with inflation rising along with interest and mortgage rates. The year also marked the final end of the Help to Buy scheme as well as a boom in people buying property at auction.

But what does all this mean for the average mover in 2023? Where did they move to? When did they move? And how much did they spend?

Over 570,000 quotes were generated for reallymoving customers in 2023, for conveyancing solicitors, surveyors and removals firms. Using data from all these quotes we discovered the following 10 facts:

Accessibility Footnotes

1. The busiest day of the year for moving home is typically the last Friday in August. In 2023 it was the last Friday in June (30^th).
2. The median distance moved by homebuyers in 2023 was 15 miles, an increase of 1 mile from the 2022 average
3. The top 5 locations where the most properties were bought in 2023 were: Birmingham (3%), South East London (2.6%), Manchester (2.4%), Sheffield (2.1%) and South West London (2.1%).
4. Between July-December 2023, the proportion of First Time Buyers grew by 1% compared to the same period in 2022. Over the year, First Time Buyers made up 54% of all buyers in the market.
5. While just 12.3% of First Time Buyers opted for a new build home over an older property, 87% of First Time Buyers obtained a mortgage to purchase their home.
6. The average house price in England and Wales was £323,717 across 2023, not too dissimilar from to £323,887 in 2022
7. Home movers (those buying and selling at the same time) sold their homes for an average price of £371,259 and bought for an average price of £422,995.
8. The proportion of First Time Buyers in England liable to pay stamp duty fell from 33% to just 14%
9. The cost of moving home (buying and selling at the same time) in England fell by 12% in 2023.
10. Those buying and selling a home typically paid £2,038 in legal fees (-1.7% from 2021-22), including expenses and disbursements, while First Time Buyers paid £1,314 on average (+2.1%)