A new study has found nearly half of all homeowners bought somewhere more expensive when they last moved home.

The Royal Mail study, one of the largest of its kind, found 45% traded up when moving, down slightly from last year’s figure of 51%.

Funding the move

The study points to a divide in the market with the two most popular price increases being £50,001 to £75,000 (12% of people) and over £250,000 (also 12%).

To fund this step up the housing ladder, 61% borrowed against a mortgage, up from 58% last year, while 15% used savings, down from 18%.

Of those who saved, 24% managed to amass funds up to £25,000, while 6% saved more than £250,000.

It took a quarter of the people surveyed between 5 and 10 years to save for the move, while 16% took over a decade.

When to move

Knowing when to move is important to get the most for your money. The study found that 2% of buyers were inspired to move by the changes in stamp duty in December 2014.

However, not everyone could respond so quickly with 44% waiting longer than they had planned to move. Among these, 56% waited more than a year and 7% waited more than 5 years.

1 in 3 people say they waited so long because of a shortage in suitable properties while 22% almost bought, only for the sale to fall through.

It seems it was worth it in the end, with 80% of people happy with their purchase. 

The importance of kerb appeal was also highlighted in the survey with nearly a quarter (23%) of buyers claiming to have known it was the house for them before they’d actually been inside.

Jim Conning, Managing Director of Data Services at Royal Mail, welcomed the fact consumers are keen to take a step up the housing ladder.

He says the results in the survey are reflected in recent reports that mortgage approvals are up.

Motivations for moving

Strutt & Parker recently completed its own Housing Futures survey which analysed people’s reasons for moving. These tended to change depending on age group – with the highest number of respondents aged between 18-29 naming  a growing household (e.g. marriage, birth, adoption) as the most common reason for moving at 45%, followed by being close to work (44%) and requiring a bigger home (44%).

Strutt & Parker’s respondents who were between the ages of 30-39 felt that a bigger home was the largest driver to moving at 62%, followed by a growing household (e.g. marriage, birth, adoption) at 49% and better schools (38%).

However, respondents in the ages of 40-59 felt that lifestyle change at 54% becomes the strongest motivation followed by a bigger home (35%) and access to shops/amenities and broadband connectivity (both at 34%).

Finally, those that were over the age of 60 also felt that lifestyle change at 49% was the highest motivator but that retirement and access to shops/amenities both closely followed at 47% respectively and for the first time downsizing to a smaller home (46%) and reducing running costs (43%) appear toward the top of the list.