Table 1: Annual number of home movers
| 2007 | 653,700 | -8 | 359,900 | -11 |
| 2008 | 320,600 | -51 | 192,300 | -47 |
| 2009 | 315,000 | -2 | 196,700 | 2 |
| 2010 | 340,000 | 8 | 199,400 | 1 |
| 2011 | 315,800 | -7 | 193,700 | -3 |
| 2012 | 326,400 | 3 | 217,900 | 12 |
| 2013 | 336,200 | 3 | 268,100 | 23 |
| 2014 | 361,800 | 8 | 307,900 | 15 |
| 2015 | 363,500 | 0 | 309,200 | 0 |
| 2016 | 361,300 | -1 | 339,600 | 10 |
| 2017* | 370,300 | 2 | 359,000 | 6 |
Note: *Lloyds Banking Group estimate. Source: CML. Copyright: Money Management
Why is this significant? Last year, UK Finance published research that identified 400,000 “missing transactions” a year following the financial crisis, as Table 1 shows. UK Finance suggested 80 per cent of those missing transactions were mortgaged movers – people already on the housing ladder who were unable or unwilling to move, largely due to insufficient equity or borrowing capacity.
The lack of confidence and mobility among home movers has implications for the entire market. Since activity in new-build housing remains minimal, the secondhand housing market accounts for 90 per cent of transactions. Therefore, a low turnover among home movers represents “a barrier to an efficiently functioning housing market”.
In other words, the continued perception of a struggling UK economy, high house prices and an expectation of more interest rate rises are contributing to a subdued outlook and lack of confidence among an important group of borrowers.
