Property tax specialists Cornerstone Tax has commissioned research into how UK trends have shifted because of the pandemic, due to increased levels of working from home. They found that the pandemic has caused people to seek out cheaper costs and more living space, which could be good news for businesses wanting the home improvement sector boom to continue.
According to Cornerstone’s research, over the past year, 10% of Brits have moved away from a city or urban area; 44% indicated that the coronavirus pandemic had made living in a city less appealing, and 24% indicated that they will no longer commute into a city for their job post-pandemic. According to Cornerstone Tax, the findings represent an uneven distribution of demand, reflected in regional disparities in the property market. Further, Savills estate agents forecasted that largely rural areas are experiencing the biggest growth in property prices, with London being the worst performing region.
David Hannah, principal consultant at Cornerstone Tax, said: “The stamp duty extension and the 95% government-guaranteed mortgage scheme was good news for homeowners-to-be, particularly first-time buyers. Although more permanent reforms need to be made, this was a temporary fix and one welcomed by the property market. However, now, a lack of supply could threaten this growth.
“The trend of deurbanisation that our national research illustrates will mean that property prices will not grow evenly – as demand is focussed on more rural, less urban, and certainly less London locations, now people can work from home and not have to commute. Many have said Covid-19 and the various restrictions it has caused will lead to Britain’s biggest cities having a permanent loss of appeal.
“Although I can’t talk about how permanent these sentiments may be, it seems that the pandemic has caused people to search out cheaper costs and more living space. This has caused a regional disparity in demand for property, with London looking like the city lagging behind in price forecasts.”
