Ahead of the 2024 general election, Rightmove asked home movers what they wanted a new government to change. Its May 2024 account drew on research involving more than 14,000 people, alongside views from estate agents and its own specialists. The result was a connected set of concerns about finding a home, paying for it and completing the move.
The first theme was housing supply. Rightmove argued that a smoother planning process could help deliver more homes while maintaining quality. The source presented this as relevant to renters and existing owners as well as first-time buyers. A shortage at one part of the market can limit the choices available to households trying to move elsewhere in it.
Support for first-time buyers was another priority. The report described the difficulty of paying rent while accumulating a deposit and meeting mortgage affordability requirements. Its mortgage specialist favoured lasting changes developed with regulators and lenders, rather than relying entirely on short-lived schemes. These were proposals and opinions from the pre-election debate, not a statement that particular reforms had subsequently been implemented.
Moving costs also featured prominently. Homeowners and agents wanted a review of stamp duty, with Rightmove suggesting that regional differences in prices deserved greater consideration. This historical discussion should not be used to calculate a tax bill today. The tax thresholds mentioned in the original article belonged to its publication period and are deliberately not reproduced here as current guidance.
Energy improvements formed a further part of the agenda. The source argued that owners needed clearer information about suitable changes and more accessible financial support. Upfront expenditure was identified as an obstacle, while the varied nature of UK homes made a single standard package of improvements impractical.
Finally, respondents wanted a simpler and faster buying process. Rightmove described lengthy transactions as a source of stress and uncertainty. That concern connected the administrative experience of moving with the broader questions of affordability and supply.
The value of this archived research is the way it brings those issues together. More choice alone would not remove transaction delays, while a faster process would not solve an unaffordable deposit. This is a retrospective of the priorities reported in May 2024, preserving the distinction between public preferences, industry recommendations and enacted policy.