London and Leicester have the lowest turnover in England when it comes to the number of homes sold over the past five years, according to research from property purchasing specialist House Buyer Bureau.
House Buyer Bureau analysed the number of homes sold over five years across each area of England and what this equated to as percentage of total dwellings.
Across England as a whole, the total number of homes sold equated to 15.7% of total housing stock.
At regional level, London had the slowest market, where the fewest properties changed hands over the past five years, equating to just 11.6% of total stock.
The slowest markets by local authority were often London boroughs – accounting for 16 of the top 20.
The worst offender was Brent in the North West of the city, where just 7.2% of stock was bought and sold in the last five years,
The figures were similar in Newham (8.1%), Westminster (8.1%) Camden (8.4%) and Kensington and Chelsea (8.7%).
Outside of London, sellers are likely to struggle most in their search for a potential buyer in Leicester.
Just 10.3% of total housing market stock changed hands there over the past five years, with Slough (10.7%), Oxford (10.9%), Cambridge (11.4%) and Sandwell (11.5%) also making the top five.
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said: “The key to a successful sale in any market is the ability to find a buyer and this has been the biggest factor impacting the property market in recent months.
“The higher cost of borrowing and wider market uncertainty has caused many buyers to reevaluate their position in the market and their intentions to purchase, which has caused the market to slow.
“However, as our research shows, some areas of the market are already home to a far lower churn when it comes to the proportion of housing stock changing hands and it’s these areas where sellers are most likely to struggle in current market conditions.”
