London facing post-lockdown exodus: home buyer web traffic suggests city dwellers are planning to move to the country en masse

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London and other British cities could see a mass exodus of home buyers after lockdown, according to new data from major property websites.

Searches on Rightmove by Londoners for homes outside the capital were up to 51 per cent compared to 42 per cent this time last year.

The number of home searches by people in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and Bristol looking at property outside their cities also rose, as people in lockdown reassessed their lives.

Rightmove’s Miles Shipside 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 lockdown of more contemplating out-of-city moves.

“It remains to be seen how people’s commutes may change when 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.”

Estate agent Savills noted a similar pick-up in searches by Londoners considering a move outside the city.

Lucian Cook, Savills head of research, said this was “understandable given the practical implications of a lockdown and people’s desire for more space”.

Agents working on the ground in more rural locations near the capital supported Rightmove’s findings, reporting an increase in interest from London buyers.

Where to look for commuter homes with more space

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In Guildford, Mark Collins, owner of Collins Independent Estate Agents said: “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.”

In more rural Surrey, Helen Burley, sales manager at Fine & Country in the village of Woldingham, 30 minutes from London Victoria, said she’s spoken to several Londoners who can’t wait to move since lockdown started.

Londoners moving to Woldingham can swap a small terrace house with a postage stamp garden for period properties with “lots of acreage and countryside views”.

Ms Burley said: “When you’ve got kids in lockdown that dream of having a big garden becomes even more important. I think this whole situation is making people reassess what is important in their home life. I think they’re seeing that there is more to a house than they previously thought.”

Reece Giles, branch manager at Douglas Allen estate agents in Brentwood, said: “We’ve got lots of potential buyers coming to us from places like Hornchurch, Upminster and East Ham who are looking to move to Brentwood. We’ve got lots more green spaces and you get more value for money here because we’re that little bit further out from London.

"I think maybe some people in smaller flats want to see what they can find elsewhere. The proof will be in the pudding, but from what we are seeing right now, it seems that people are genuine about wanting to escape the inner city because that’s not the life they want anymore.”

Sold house prices in every London borough, February 2020

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Rightmove’s research also shows that 94 per cent of home sales that were under way before lockdown are expected to go ahead once restrictions are lifted.

Most properties that were for sale before stay-at-home measures were put in place remain on the market, with only 2.2 per cent removed so far.

Meanwhile, 40 per cent of 1,500 buyers and sellers surveyed in a webinar by Rightmove said their home move was going ahead as planned, while 54 per cent said they had postponed their plans but would continue after lockdown ends.

The property portal also noticed signs of a pick-up in new buyer activity, with a 20 per cent increase in visits to the website in the past week compared to the first days of lockdown.

Savills also said its web traffic was back at levels seen before the coronavirus crisis, following a dip during the first fortnight of lockdown.

The agent’s Lucian Cook said this indicated that after a number of weeks working from home, people are reassessing the suitability of their current property and starting to think about life after lockdown – although he pointed out that new buyer registrations are down to a third of their pre-crisis levels.

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