Londoners fleeing high rents are moving to Wiltshire towns

Chippenham, Trowbridge and Swindon are three of the top 10 postcode areas in the sights of buyers fleeing soaring rents in inner and outer London.

They are being targeted by buyers in search of more space for their money as well as a better work-life balance and convenient links to London via the M4 motorway and the rail network.

Upmarket estate agency Hamptons said the growth in London buyers between 2019 and 2022 was higher in Wiltshire than in any other local authority in England.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “This year London outmigration has increasingly been driven by need over want as higher mortgage rates reduce buyers’ budgets, pushing them in search of smaller homes in more affordable areas.

“Most of these movers still look to retain strong links with the capital. This has supported values of smaller homes in some of the more affordable towns within an hour’s commute of London.

“Looking ahead, the likelihood that mortgage rates will stay higher for longer may keep the pace of London outmigration up.

“We’re also reaching the point where a large number of households who bought a home at the peak of the London market between 2014-2016 might be looking to move over the next few years.

“And with property prices in parts of the capital lower today than when they bought, trading the city for a cheaper area outside the M25 might be the only option for those needing to upsize.”

Some of those Londoners leaving the capital have been buying Wiltshire’s most expensive properties, with several ‘under offer’ on the Hamptons website.

This four-bedroom detached house in Hilperton Road, Trowbridge, is for sale through Hamptons for £1.3 million. (Image: Hamptons Estate Agents)

Hamptons data collected for Bricks & Mortar shows that in some areas so far this year nearly 50 per cent of new renters came from the capital and its suburbs.

They are desperately trying to escape rocketing rents in London that have increased by more than 10 per cent over the past 12 months as landlords push up their rates.

Rents are rising faster in London than anywhere else, according to Hamptons. The average monthly cost of renting a property in the capital was £2,376 pcm or 15.7 per cent more expensive than it was at the same time last year.

In Wiltshire’s county town, Trowbridge, one in two new rentals this year were agreed by people who had moved out of London, Hamptons says.

With a population of more than 37,000 and a woollen industry heritage, Trowbridge lacks the country charm of neighbouring Georgian market towns such as Bradford on Avon.

But housing in Trowbridge is cheaper than in many other Wiltshire towns and one of the main attractions for renters and purchasers is that London is only a 90-minute train ride away.

Rents in Trowbridge are a lot cheaper at £862 pcm on average last year, but the figure has since gone up to £947 pcm — a 10 per cent increase.  But that still makes the area attractive to renters paying more in London.This completely renovated house in New Terrace, Trowbridge, sold within hours of going on the market. Photo: Trevor Porter 70316-3 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Charlotte Taylor, sales manager of Town and Country Estates in Trowbridge, said: “There has been a definite increase in sales enquiries from London buyers.

“They know they can get more space for their money in these areas. Their budget allows them to buy houses they could not possibly afford in London.”

And George Nares, of Savills estate agents, said: “Since the pandemic, an ever-increasing number of London buyers have been able to fulfil their dream of moving to rural life.”