Londoners spent a record £54.9 billion on property outside the city in 2021 after the pandemic caused the largest wave of departures from the capital in a generation.
Home buyers based in London purchased more properties outside the capital in 2021 than any other year since 2007, when £36.6bn was spent, figures compiled by real estate consultancy Hamptons show.
The main driver for the shift was the sharp rise in remote working, particularly at the start of the year when England was mired in its third lockdown, causing many chosen to abandon the city for commuter towns where larger homes with gardens are more affordable.
The year 2021 "is likely to mark the largest outmigration from London for at least a generation,” said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons.
“Over the last 20 years, more homeowners have bought outside the capital than those who own in London today. City leavers have changed the geography of not only the commuter belt, but smaller towns and cities across Southern England. And this has become increasingly entrenched in a Covid world.”
It has been a year of highs and lows for Britain’s property market, which started 2021 with the difficult task of navigating through the third lockdown in England and similar restrictions in the rest of the country.
As a result buyers based in London purchased more than 112,700 homes outside the city this year – the highest number since 2007 – with first-time buyers making up almost a quarter of that tally.
On average, London sellers spent £18,980 less on their home outside the capital than the price of the property they sold, Hamptons said, with the average "London leaver" selling their home for £525,910 and spending £506,930 on their new property.
Also helping to drive the surge outside the capital was Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday, which secured buyers a saving of up to £15,000 on the first £500,000 of a purchase price up until the end of June.
The tax break was then tapered to apply to the first 250,000 until the end of September.
St Albans in Hertfordshire was the top destination for first-time buyers moving out of London in 2021, Hamptons said, while Dartford in Kent was the main attraction for existing homeowners relocating outside the capital.
The Arun area of West Sussex, which includes Arundel and Bognor Regis, was the top destination for London-based buyers purchasing a second home, the estate agent found.
British house prices accelerated 10 per cent in November compared with a year earlier and are now almost 15 per cent higher than at the start of the pandemic despite the end of the stamp duty holiday.
The average price of a home rose 0.9 per cent to £252,687 in November from £250,311 the previous month, beating all expectations, said UK building society Nationwide.
Looking ahead, however, Ms Beveridge said there are still many uncertainties, as we still do now know what long-term impact the pandemic will have on the way we live our lives and how we work.
“It seems likely that hybrid remote working is set to continue in some form, which will keep outmigration numbers above pre-pandemic norms. However, after this year’s frenzy, we expect the numbers to fall back a little, particularly as house prices outside the capital are set to continue outperforming London over the next few years," she said.
"We expect to see the number of London purchases outside the capital average around 85,000 in both 2022 and 2023, around 10,000 more than during the five years leading up to the pandemic.”
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
