Property platform Rightmove has suggested the increase in web traffic for homes outside cities could mean people are looking to move in their masses.
According to Rightmove, there has been a significant increase in searches by Londoners on the site for homes outside of the city. Searches indicated a 51% increase compared to 42% last year. However, it is not just London residents looking outside their city boundaries, as searches by people in Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Glasgow are also up.
Miles Shipside from Rightmove said “It’s not unusual for there to be a large proportion of would-be buyers considering a move out of a city if they’re looking for a more affordable place to buy for the first time, or to trade up but get more for their money, but there’s been a notable shift during the lockdown of more contemplating out-of-city moves.
“It remains to be seen how people’s commutes may change when the lockdown is over. Some people may already be thinking of moving further out from their current place of work if they can perhaps work from home a few days a week, which opens up a number of new areas they had never considered before.”
The estate agents have also noticed increases in these searches, and Head of Research Lucian Cook highlighted that it was “understandable given the practical implications of a lockdown and people’s desire for more space”.
Short term renting outside the city
One option of moving outside of the city includes short terms rents after lockdown has been lifted. Mark Collins, the owner of Collins Independent Estate Agents, noted: “I’ve heard of a lot of people paying for short-term lets in Surrey for six months just to get out of the city. We’ve seen lots of interest in the sales side from people up in London. People are realising that they don’t need to be in the thick of it to be operational.”
While Sales Manager Helen Burley at Fine & Country said that she was in contact with people that couldn’t wait to move out of the capital.
Housing market lockdown
Although the housing market lockdown has affected people in the process of buying and selling their home in the interim, that hasn’t stopped searches for properties. It is expected that many of the home sales that were in progress before the lockdown will still go ahead. Plus, Rightmove has said many of the properties listed before the restrictions are still available.
However, it was recently reported that renters are staying put at the moment, even though searches for rental properties in recent weeks has increased. Many people that saw their tenancy expire in March decided to renew amid the uncertainty.
Estate agents have also suggested that people will be looking at their life after lockdown and perhaps thinking about priorities differently. This comes after it was suggested that businesses could potentially reopen at the end of May. It still remains to be seen how this might affect how people work or commute.
