A pretty commuter town named one of the best places to live has become one of the most popular places for Londoners leaving the capital to move to in 2024. According to estate agents Hamptons, in 2024 Epsom and Ewell has seen the biggest increase in the share of buyers from London when compared to other areas of Surrey.
A staggering 74 per cent of home buyers in the Epsom and Ewell area this year were from London. This has risen from 58 per cent in 2019, and now makes Epsom and Ewell one of the most popular local authorities in the UK for Londoners to escape the city to, as reported by Surrey Live.
Epsom and Ewell is seemingly a popular place to live for not just Londoners, in February this year, Garrington Property Finders named Epsom the third best place to live in the UK in 2024. This ranking was based on seven criteria; natural beauty, flood risk, wellbeing, heritage, schools, employment and value for money.
As part of the Hamptons data, it shows the number of Londoners moving out of the city, or buying second homes, has dropped in 2024. According to Hamptons, Londoners bought just 5.7 per cent of all homes sold outside the capital in 2024, this is the lowest proportion seen since 2013, and is down from a peak of 8.2 per cent in 2022. Additionally, the data suggests that Londoners are moving further from the capital than ever before.
Despite this, Surrey is clearly an area still appealing to Londoners looking to move. Hamptons’ statistics have also revealed that Mole Valley, which consists of towns such as Dorking and Leatherhead, has seen one of the largest increases in the UK for shares of house buyers being from London. In 2024, 35 per cent of home buyers in Mole Valley were former Londoners, this figure is up 9 per cent from 2019.
In 2024, Mole Valley was a popular place for Londoners to move to, with 35 per cent of home buyers being from the capital.
(Image: Surrey Advertiser – Grahame Larter)
It’s not hard to see why Londoners are attracted to these areas of Surrey. Both areas are based just off the M25; making them some of the closest parts of Surrey to London, this translates to a short and convenient journey to and from the capital on both trains or roads.
In many ways Epsom and Ewell and Mole Valley offer the ‘best of both worlds’ for those who don’t want to live in the hustle and bustle of the capital, but still want to access it with ease. Railway stations in both areas can get you to London Waterloo in just under 45 minutes.
Surrey was not the only county in the South East of England which saw its areas have a substantial increase in home buyers from London. Brentwood in Essex saw the largest increase of home buyers from the capital, from 23 per cent in 2019, to 47 per cent in 2024. Hampshire’s Rushmoor, which includes Aldershot and Farnborough, saw a significant bump in Londoner home buyers, from 7 per cent to 25 per cent in 2024.
Looking further afield, the only local authority outside the South of England which has seen a substantial rise in home buyers from the capital is Wychavon a fairly rural district in Worcestershire. Here, Londoners purchased 11 per cent of homes sold this year, up from 3 per cent in 2019.
Hamptons have stated that next year they “expect an uptick in London outmigration numbers”, however due to mortgage rates remaining at historic highs, “movers are likely to continue looking further afield” to buy a home.
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