House sellers ‘leave Blackpool far behind’

People in Blackpool and the Fylde Coast, with a postcode of FY, move an average of 259 miles when they move house, according to a report by reallymoving.com.

The only area with a longer average move was Inverness. The place with the shortest average move was Halifax. The quarterly Migration Monitor is based on data from 33,425 registrations for quotes for moving services such as conveyancing, home removals, HIPS and surveys in the first quarter of 2010.

The long distance move from the Fylde Coast is more than three times the average UK move of 70 miles and could be due to seeking work in London and other markets outside the North West, the report's author said.

Rosemary Rogers, director of reallymoving.com, said: "The average distance moved in the UK is surprisingly large at just over 70 miles. It seems likely that this is in part due to the recession as, with fewer jobs available, people are forced to look beyond their immediate local area when searching for work. I would anticipate this trend to continue in the medium term as structural changes in the UK economy caused by the downturn affect the location of industry and, therefore, patterns of internal migration."

The HX postcode of Halifax and hinterland – including trendy moors commuter towns such as Hebden Bridge – keeps people on a tight leash of just 34 miles on average, because of its central location between two large economic patches.

Rogers added: "Halifax benefits from being placed between the two major economic centres of Leeds-Bradford and Manchester, with good transport links to both. It is also close to the more attractive and desirable towns of Harrogate and York. Halifax's prime position at the heart of the industrial North means that the shifting economic fortunes of the town itself have not translated into significant migration away from the area."

Liverpool and Manchester average the same distance, around 65 miles for a typical move.