Homeowners struggle to move due to a lack of suitable housing at affordable prices and are opting to improve instead.

The survey by Lloyds Bank shows the numbers of home movers is falling as homeowners struggle to find suitable housing and the cost associated with moving.

Of those surveyed 22% of homeowners say that the cost of moving is the key blocker for buying their next home and 20% were unable to find the right property within their budget.

About 19% said stamp duty costs were high and this compares to the government abolishing stamp duty on the first £300,000 of a property value for first time buyers.

Home movers will need to overcome financial pressures to buy with 32% stating that they would need a significant pay rise to help make the jump.

This is the same problem faced by first time buyers as they typically require a higher deposit, larger mortgage or higher earnings to purchase their first home.

More difficult to move home

The research shows that 62% of homeowners feel moving to a new house has become more difficult over the past 10 years and 59% believe that people are now moving less frequently.

With competition from buy-to-let investors and reduced supply of suitable properties, home movers are remaining in their existing home and saving for a bigger deposit.

So far this year the number of home movers are 1% lower at 367,000 reducing from 371,900 over the same period a year earlier.

From the homeowners about 43% said that the process of finding a suitable home discouraged them from looking to move causing more people to hang on to their properties instead of selling.

The housing process discouraged them from looking to move with 25% dislike dealing with estate agents and 27% did not want to be uprooted from their local community.

Andrew Mason, mortgage products director at Lloyds Bank said the combination of the increased cost of moving and a lack of fresh stock coming to the market appears to be making it harder to move.

Of the 40% of homeowners not looking to move 59% say that they intend to renovate and make improvements to their home adding value to their homes instead.

It may be easier for remortgage buyers to stay in your existing home if you can to avoid the costs of moving and paying stamp duty tax.

Homeowners motivated to move

There are still important reasons for homeowners to move and 26% want to relocate to a better area and 25% want to buy a bigger property.

For families being close to good schools 22% said this was the key driver and for those aged over 55 years, 44% said downsizing was the main motivator.

For older homeowners there is higher activity with equity release buyers using a lifetime mortgage to access wealth in their property to improve your quality of life or gift a child or grandchild the deposit to buy their next home.

Since hitting a market low of 275,000 in the same 12 month period in 2009, the number of home movers has grown by 33%, however, this remains 48% below the 705,900 seen in 2007.

The survey also revealed 71% of homeowners are not concerned by the Bank of England base rate and 79% say that the interest rate rise has had no effect on their desire to move home.

What are your next steps?

Speak to our LCM mortgage advisers if you are planning to move home, buying your first home, remortgaging your existing home to a new cost effective mortgage deal or are a buy-to-let investor.

For equity release buyers our London City Mortgage brokers can recommend lifetime mortgages allowing you to receive cash from your property to repay an interest only mortgage, pay for care at home or gift to a family member.

Learn more by using the mortgage cost calculators, equity release calculator and property value tracker chart. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.

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