The number of Londoners purchasing properties outside of the capital declined by 4 per cent in 2019, according to Hamptons.

Data collected by the firm shows that Londoners bought 73,000 homes outside of the capital last year.

In monitory terms, the average Londoner spent £358,650 on their home outside the capital, which equates to a collective total of £26.2bn over 2019.

Furthermore, the average age of an individual living in London who purchased a property outside of the capital in 2019, dropped to a record low of 39.

A quarter, 24 per cent, of those were first-time buyers and 69 per cent bought homes in the south of England.

However, a record number of Londoners purchased properties in the north of England last year, rising to 13 per cent.

Hamptons International head of research Aneisha Beveridge says: “The recent peak in 2016 was the prime time for Londoners to cash in on their property and move to the country.

“This was when the price gap between a home in London and one elsewhere in Great Britain was at its widest. However, since then, house prices outside of London have risen faster than those in the capital and this has resulted in more London homeowners staying put.

“Historically most homeowners leaving London did so for life-stage reasons and to take advantage of being able to buy a larger home, but for others, leaving London is the only way of getting onto the housing ladder.

“As a result, the average age of someone leaving the capital to purchase a home has fallen to the lowest level on record. For many FTBs it also means moving further afield to areas such as the midlands and north where they can get more for their money.”