By Robin Phillips, residential property partner at Mowbray Woodwards.
The Bath property market is booming. Estate agents are reporting that London buyers relocating to the city now make up some 40% of local prime sales. 
According to a recent report, the number of Londoners buying homes outside the capital has jumped 50% in a year. In 2014, Londoners spent £21bn on 58,000 homes elsewhere in the UK, the highest number since 2007 and the vast majority were bought for relocation purposes.
Bath has now been named as one of the top relocation spots in the UK and has been cited as an up-and-coming ‘new prime urban market’. But what are the drivers behind this great surge in the numbers of Londoners exiting the capital and settling in our beautiful city?
- Rising house prices
With some experts predicting that London house prices will rise more than 30% over the next five years and as the gap between house prices in London and the rest of the country widens to record highs of £282,000, a larger than usual migration has been triggered. With some London properties going up 50% in value over the past few years, many homeowners are realising that if they sell now, they can maximise their return, take their money and get more property for their money elsewhere.
- Economic ups and downs
During the economic downturn, still fresh in many of our minds, many Londoners delayed life-stage moves, restricting the natural flow of families out of the capital. Now the economy is on more of an upward trajectory, pent-up demand has been built as Londoners decide now is the time to make the break from the capital.
- Work/life balance
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that in 2013, 58,220 people aged 30-39 left the capital in 2013 – the highest number on record and a 10% increase on five years ago. The need to find a better work/life balance explains the decisions of many thirtysomethings leaving London. They are seeking to balance the competing demands of parenthood, secure well-paid jobs and moving up the housing ladder. There is also evidence that many graduates are returning to the cities and regions where they studied attracted by the booming economies of the UK’s regional cities.
- The Bath factor
It goes without saying that our beautiful city has a lot going for it. The housing market here has outperformed most other regional cities thanks to its accessibility, good schools, Georgian architecture and tourist attractions such as the Roman Baths and its rich cultural, social and sporting heritage. Potential buyers are attracted by the fact Bath has the best of both worlds – where you can be in the centre of town and have the buzz of being in a major city, with coffee shops and lots of restaurants to choose from, and in 10 minutes you can be in the countryside.
The future looks bright for the Bath property market. The electrification of the rail line to Paddington – due by the end of next year and which will cut journey times to the capital by more than 20 minutes to just over an hour – will undoubtedly drive more professionals to consider relocating here. And with more new housing stock on the horizon with the planned development on former MoD sites at Foxhill, Warminster Road and Lansdown, in addition to the recent Bath Riverside development, Bath’s standing as a new prime urban market and a top relocation spot is here to stay.
