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As the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic recedes and restrictions come to an end, London property is back in vogue as a return to the office fuels demand for homes in the U.K. capital. Insights from Rightmove Plc, a commercial property website report on Monday said that the buyer enquiries and asking prices both skyrocketed this month. And that, the jump represents a turnaround for the London property market, which underperformed other parts of the country during the pandemic.
With Covid-19 restrictions phasing out, many firms asking workers to spend part of the week in the office making buyers looking to live within a “comfortable" commuting distance. The number of house hunters enquiring about a home in London is up 24% from a year earlier, the biggest gain of any region, Rightmove said. Meanwhile sellers raised their asking prices by 6% to a record 667,001 pounds ($910,000) on average.
Rightmove Plc report said, "more businesses are making plans to return to the office, with demand for office space 15% higher than in January 2020 before the pandemic started. 2021 saw many businesses delay action on future office requirements driven by pandemic uncertainty. The emerging new normal means office plans are now taking on a new urgency, with businesses contacting agents and landlords with requirements."
"While some may be downsizing, the emergence of more hybrid working policies and some companies returning to the office full-time means many are looking to upgrade the quality of their office by taking up similar or larger square footage," the report further highlighted.
The buoyancy of London was mirrored across the country, where asking prices rose 2.3%. That’s an increase of 7,785 pounds, the most in at least two decades of reporting by Rightmove. Annual growth rates in London and the U.K. as a whole are running at their fastest pace since the middle of the last decade.
“The rising cost of living is undoubtedly affecting many people’s finances, especially those trying to save up enough for a deposit to get on the ladder or to trade up," said Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove. “However, despite rising costs and rising interest rates, the data right now shows demand rising across the whole of Great Britain, with many people determined to move as we head into the spring home-moving season."
In a positive sign for buyers, a dearth choice appears to be easing as more people put their homes up for sale in the hope of making it easier to secure a new property. “Agents are reporting many cases of movers who have missed out on their dream home because they did not already have their current home on the market or sold (subject to contract), and were pipped to the post by a competing buyer in a better position to proceed with a purchase," Rightmove said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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