Insights: property data
The J Scott Move Index 2026: what home buyers asked us to quote for
One in four buyers who asked J Scott for a purchase quote in 2026 were selling a home at the same time. The J Scott Move Index 2026, based on 387 purchase quotes generated by J Scott between January and November 2026, also found that more than a quarter were buying leasehold, nearly one in five had no mortgage, and three in ten were spending more than £500,000.
Last updated November 2026 | By Tamseel Din, Director, J Scott & Co Solicitors
- Also selling a home (buying in a chain)
- 24.3%
- Buying leasehold
- 26.9%
- No mortgage
- 17.6%
- Median quoted purchase price
- £418,000
Who is buying
| Measure | Share of purchase quotes |
|---|---|
| Also selling a home | 24.3% |
| Buying leasehold | 26.9% |
| Buying without a mortgage | 17.6% |
| Spending over £500,000 | 29.7% |
| Buying a new build | 8.4% |
| Buying through shared ownership | 6.4% |
| Buying to let | 5.4% |
New build, shared ownership and buy-to-let shares are based on the 299 quotes where these were recorded.
By postcode area
| Area | Quotes | Median price | Leasehold | No mortgage | Also selling | Over £500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All purchase quotes | 387 | £418,000 | 26.9% | 17.6% | 24.3% | 29.7% |
| SL (Slough, Maidenhead, Windsor) | 74 | £430,000 | 36.5% | 14.9% | 9.5% | 25.7% |
| SL6 (Maidenhead) | 35 | £450,000 | 34.3% | 5.7% | 8.6% | 31.4% |
| TW (Twickenham, Staines, Hounslow) | 67 | £435,000 | 31.3% | 19.4% | 17.9% | 35.8% |
| RG (Reading) | 38 | £347,500 | 23.7% | 10.5% | 13.2% | 18.4% |
| HP (High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead) | 27 | £390,000 | 25.9% | 11.1% | 22.2% | 29.6% |
| LU (Luton, Dunstable) | 24 | £327,500 | 29.2% | 29.2% | 8.3% | 8.3% |
| SG (Stevenage) | 21 | £325,000 | 23.8% | 9.5% | 19.0% | 19.0% |
| Area | Leasehold |
|---|---|
| SL | 36.5 |
| TW | 31.3 |
| LU | 29.2 |
| HP | 25.9 |
| SG | 23.8 |
| RG | 23.7 |
What it tells us
- Leasehold is a bigger part of the market around Maidenhead and Slough than anywhere else in our data: 36.5% of SL purchases. Leasehold purchases need more legal work, so buyers there should expect the managing agent’s pack to set the pace.
- Cash buyers are common in Luton: 29.2% of LU purchase quotes had no mortgage, against 17.6% overall. Cash purchases can move faster, but the conveyancer still has to check where the money comes from.
- Price points sit close to the first-time buyer Stamp Duty limits. Three in ten purchases were above £500,000, where first-time buyer relief does not apply at all.
- Of the leasehold quotes where the building height was recorded, 97% were in buildings under five floors, so most leasehold buyers are not buying in the tall blocks covered by the Building Safety Act’s extra protections.
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What this means for your purchase
- Buying in a chain? Ask your conveyancer to line up exchange dates on both sides early; chains are the most common cause of delay.
- Buying leasehold? Budget time for the leasehold pack and a lease review before you set a moving date.
- Buying with cash? Have bank statements and proof of where the money came from ready on day one.
How we worked this out
The Move Index uses 387 purchase and sale-and-purchase quotes generated by J Scott & Co Solicitors between 26 January and 12 November 2026, 296 with a full postcode. Quotes are not completed sales, as some buyers do not go ahead. We report percentages and medians only, never individual cases, and show no area with fewer than 20 quotes. We do not report monthly totals because they reflect our own marketing activity rather than the market.
Cite this data
J Scott & Co Solicitors, Move Index 2026, jscottlegal.co.uk/insights/move-index-2026.
Frequently asked questions
What share of home buyers are in a chain?
In the J Scott Move Index 2026, 24.3% of buyers who asked for a purchase quote were also selling a home. Buying and selling together means exchange and completion have to line up on both sides, which is the most common cause of delay.
How many buyers buy without a mortgage?
17.6% of purchase quotes generated by J Scott in 2026 were for buyers without a mortgage, rising to 29.2% in Luton and Dunstable postcodes.
What share of purchases are leasehold?
26.9% overall and 36.5% in SL postcodes (Slough, Maidenhead and Windsor). Land Registry data shows 26.9% of Maidenhead sales and 30.1% of Reading sales were leasehold in the 12 months to June 2026.
What is the typical purchase price buyers are quoting for?
The median was £418,000 across all purchase quotes, £450,000 in SL6 Maidenhead and £327,500 in Luton and Dunstable. These are the prices buyers asked us to quote for, not completed sale prices.
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