More home buyers currently living in some of the biggest UK cities are planning their escape to the country, according to new data out today from Rightmove.

The uplift in city dwellers enquiring to move out of the city they live in to a village is outperforming the uplift in home-hunters enquiring to move out of the city they live in to a town.

Across June and July, the number of buyer enquiries from people living in ten cities increased by 78% overall compared to the same period last year as the market picked up, and the breakdown of where they are enquiring to shows village locations up by 126% compared to towns, up by 68%.

The number of enquiries from Liverpool residents looking for a village lifestyle has almost tripled (+275%) compared to last year, versus a 63% increase in enquiries to towns.

This city is followed by Edinburgh where village enquiries are up 205%, and Birmingham, up 186%.

Only one out of the ten cities – Leicester – has seen a bigger increase in enquiries to move to towns than to villages.

Back in April we started to see a year-on-year shift in the proportion of total enquiries from people living in cities that were looking to move outside of that city rather than stay in it.

In some locations there are still more people in total looking to move within the city than outside of it, but for the majority the proportion looking to stay in the city has dropped.

The most notable shift is in London, where last year 45% of Londoners were looking to move outside of London, and this year it’s 54%.

Where are they escaping to?

Most of the top village destinations that people in cities are moving to are still within a commutable distance to their city, but with the appeal of a quieter way of life.

For many the move doesn’t appear to be driven by a desire to save money as the average asking prices of the most popular villages people want to move to from each city are on the whole more expensive than the city asking price.

It may be that homeowners living in these cities have benefitted from strong house price growth over the years and are now able to trade up and out to the country.

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said:

“The lure of a new lifestyle, one that is quieter and has an abundance of beautiful countryside and more outdoor space, has led to more city dwellers choosing to become rural residents.

“We saw a shift as early as April in more people living in cities enquiring about moving out of that city, and this trend has continued.

“The most popular village moves are still within the same region the home-hunters are currently in, as it’s likely they’ll keep their current job but may have the flexibility to commute less.”