AnyVan, the UK's leading moving service, recorded a 34% surge in households trading up to homes with more bedrooms last year, reversing a national trend towards downsizing in the previous year.

That momentum built against a backdrop of gradually falling mortgage rates and growing confidence that the Bank of England would continue cutting through 2026. However, recent industry developments have begun to shift that picture, with swap rates jumping in early March, prompting major lenders to withdraw hundreds of mortgage products and reprice at higher levels - the largest product withdrawal since the aftermath of the 2022 mini-Budget. 

AnyVan's data offers a timely snapshot of how British households were moving last year, with nearly two in five movers (39%) upsizing to a larger home, compared with 12% downsizing. It highlights the scale of the upsizing trend in 2025, despite a changing mortgage landscape.

AnyVan, who completed over 320,000 moves last year, crunched the numbers to uncover where in the UK movers are choosing to move up and down the property ladder.

Moving on up the UK property ladder

Bedford was crowned the biggest hotspot for upsizing in 2025 with 42% of moves to larger homes, closely followed by Bristol and London. Nationally, the most common upsizing move was from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom property. With movers typically increasing by just one bedroom at a time, it suggests the upsizing trend is about growing families and young professionals making sensible moves for more space, rather than major jumps up the ladder.

Angus Elphinstone, founder of AnyVan comments: “After a period where scaling back had become popular, we’re now seeing a return to more households opting to move up the property ladder. While most of the UK has shown strong demand for larger homes, cities in particular are driving the change. With the largest network of removal teams nationwide, we’re preparing for a busier year ahead for home removals and expect to see upsizing continue to rise in 2026 while the base rate stays below 4%.”

Scaling back still holds appeal in rural areas and smaller towns

Despite downsizing accounting for only 12% of moves nationally in 2025, some areas favoured smaller properties with fewer bedrooms, typically moving from a three-bed to a two-bed property. The Scottish Borders topped the downsizing charts, with 27% of moves here involving a shift to smaller homes – more than double the national average. Three other areas of Scotland ranked in the top 10 for downsizing, alongside more rural areas, reflecting the smaller number of families and young people in these locations.

Angus continues: “There’s so many local factors at play, so it’s never the same across the UK, and we get to see this firsthand. Most downsizers are only scaling back by one bedroom, showing this is about right-sizing, rather than anything radical.”