More than one in 10 homeowners in the UK have tried to move property but decided against it after encountering issues with stamp duty or mortgages, fresh research has revealed.

Some 11% of the 1,073 homeowners surveyed said that they had given up on the idea of moving home within the past three years due to financial issues, which is equivalent to around 1.2 million homeowners choosing not to move property, according to the study conducted by the Nottingham Building Society.

Some 8% were put off by what they considered to be the high cost of stamp duty, while 3% of respondents saw their mortgage application rejected.

However, a lack of suitable homes for sale on the market was identified as the number one reason why people decided against moving home, with around a quarter of homeowners questioned insisting that they had looked but could not find a suitable property.

About 30% of homeowners surveyed said that they cannot currently afford to move home and so are concentrating on improving their existing home instead, with around 20% saying that they cannot find a better property to move to.

Ian Gibbons, senior mortgage broking manager at Nottingham Mortgage Services, part of The Nottingham, said: “The mortgage market is generally performing well with growth in remortgaging and for loans to first-time buyers with strong competition from lenders.

“There are a wide range of deals and advice available for all types of borrowers but the home moving market is still not expanding which points to wider issues than simply mortgages or stamp duty as the blocks in the market.

“Home movers clearly are also struggling to find suitable homes to move to which turns the spotlight on improving their existing homes rather than moving. The key to remortgaging successfully is to search the market for the most appropriate deal and to get advice on options particularly for older borrowers who may need to extend their loan into retirement.”