According to new research by conveyancing services provider, My Home Move, the majority of Greater London home buyers (57%) are happy to stay within the capital.

Having analysed the home-moving habits of 26,000 people over a five year period, My Home Move also discovered that the boroughs of Croydon, Kingston-on-Thames and Watford proved the most popular to move to for those who chose to stay within the capital – all locations in zones five and six which have been ear-marked for regeneration.

Those who already owned homes in Watford, Croydon and Twickenham demonstrated their loyalty to their postcodes, choosing to benefit from staying local by buying new homes in their current neighbourhoods.

Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move said: “London has always been a centre for social and economic migration and as such we would expect the pace of the property market to reflect this. During this period it accounted for 14%* of all homes sale in the UK. However, as prices have risen across the capital, home movers have been forced to look outside zones one to four where they can get more home for their money.

By choosing locations like Croydon, where an average priced home costs half of that in somewhere like Hammersmith, savvy Londoners can take advantage of up-and-coming locations with good travel links to the city.”

For those who chose to move out of the London area (43%), locations in the East of England and South East became the go-to destinations, as prices across the capital rocketed by 44%. Chelmsford, Southend-on-Sea and Tonbridge topped the list, offering movers from the capital more property for their pound, as prices across Essex and Kent rose in comparison, by only 20%.

Commenting further, Doug Crawford, said: “As the capital’s jobs market returned to health following the recession, house prices rose astronomically – meaning that for those looking to make their money work harder for them, while staying close to London for work, the costs of buying inside the M25 have become too prohibitive.

The East of England and South East have become the destination for social migration, as people have opted to buy in towns like Chelmsford and Colchester where an average priced home costs around £220,000 compared to nearly half a million in London. In fact, during the past five years Chelmsford has become the place to relocate to – for as some would say, the only way is Essex!”