Brits no longer desire to escape to the country and are returning to the urban life in London.
As employees return to the office and Covid laws are relaxed throughout the UK, searches for ‘rooms to rent London’ are up 98%. Houses for sale in Cornwall and Devon are down 46% and 37% respectively, according to MediaVision.
The epidemic has ended hundreds of people’s fantasies of rural life and they are now seeking a home closer to work. Lockdown has caused many to flee London in search of greater room and better prices, causing rents to fall.
Last month, property portal RightMove found that London’s average monthly rent is now £2,142, a 10.9% increase. Houses for sale in rural and coastal locations like West Lothian and Falkirk are down almost 30%.
According to MediaVision CEO Louis Venter, “online search behaviour is such an important indicator of people’s thoughts and decision-making process, especially when it comes to home-buying and property rental”.
Many people in England and Scotland want to return to the workplace now that working from home is no longer essential. While Covid caused many to leave the city, research reveals individuals aren’t as excited about seaside and commuter town living as previously imagined.
In the next years, it will be fascinating to see whether people return to the UK’s big cities.
“To see new buyer inquiries of this scale at the beginning of the year is truly remarkable,” said London estate agency Chestertons’ CEO Guy Gittins.
Renting or purchasing in London is expected to skyrocket in the next year. RightMove anticipated a 5% rise in rentals, while Chestertons claimed there were 51% more new buyers seeking homes, but 8% fewer properties available for sale.