Moving to a larger home involves comparing two sides of the market: the property being sold and the property being bought. Rightmove’s March 2026 analysis highlighted the distance between two of its asking-price categories. This archive report was reviewed on 15 October 2026.
What the record referred to
The research put a typical first-time-buyer property, defined as having zero to two bedrooms, at £226,955. Its three-to-four-bedroom second-stepper category averaged £345,857. The percentage difference was 52%, the highest in the series dating from 2001.
The cash difference was £118,902. That was not a cash-record claim: Rightmove said the monetary gap had been higher in May and June 2025. These are asking-price categories, not the actual buying and selling history of every household.
Build a personal moving calculation
Our practical recommendation is to start with an achievable sale estimate for the existing home, rather than assuming it has risen in line with another category. Then set out the target purchase price and the money available after the sale.
Keep a separate allowance for moving-related expenditure. Writing down each assumption makes it easier to identify whether the main constraint is the purchase price, available cash or the proposed monthly commitment.
Avoid reading a guarantee into an average
A national gap cannot show what an individual lender will offer, what a particular buyer will pay or how quickly a home will sell. The figures are useful background, not a valuation or a promise of future growth.
Anyone considering a move now should obtain current local evidence and an assessment of their own borrowing position. The March snapshot remains part of the archive, with its period and limitations clearly stated.
Source: Rightmove, 19 March 2026.