Recent data has shown that property experts’ fears of homebuyers flocking to the country during the aftermath of the Pandemic are unfounded.
A whitepaper entitled Covid City Exodus – Reality or Urban Myth claims that urban sales are seven percent more than those of rural and country regions.
After successive Covid lockdowns, it is now that property sales in rural areas have outpaced those in urban centers by 10 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
However, this lead fell to just four percent in the second half of 2021 and disappeared entirely during the remaining six months.
This latest data shows that remote work is becoming more popular among workers.
Bob Pannell (author of the paper, economist at Atelier) writes that the most recent data disproves the notion that Britain’s cities have fallen.
Covid City Exodus, Reality or Urban Myth is a whitepaper that claims urban area sales now outpace rural or country ones by seven percentage points. (Pictured, Bob Pannell, author and economist
The successive Covid lockdowns created a “race for space” as millions of workers began to work from home. Property purchases increased by 10% in the second half 2020, which led to a rise in rural property sales. (file image)
“Already the race for space is ending and London’s property market is recovering.
“There are few signs that the paradigm shift in housing preferences is occurring as many believe.”
For 2022, the report forecasts continued growth of urban housing market.
It comes after Google announced this month that it had purchased its office building for £730million in London’s West End which will be renovated to feature ‘campfire’ meeting areas and covered outdoor working areas for staff.
It is part of a plan to lure workers back into the office following work from home. This week, Guidance was scrapped in England.
Graham Emmett co-founder of Atelier said that he was convinced the many obituaries, which were written to our cities, were premature.
It comes after Google announced this month that it had purchased its office building (pictured) for £730million in London’s West End which will be renovated to feature ‘campfire’ meeting areas and covered outdoor working areas for staff.
Graham Emmett (pictured), founder of Atelier said that he was not surprised by the number of obituaries about our cities.
Cities are still great places for people to live, work and invest.
“Despite uncertainty over the past 2 years, the long term outlook for property markets in the UK’s major cities seems favourable.
“This data is a striking reminder of the importance traditional populations have for economic recovery.
In London, prime real estate has continued to outperform, with the number of £5million luxury homes sold reaching record highs in 2021.
Between October and December, some 163 homes worth £5million or more were sold in the capital, out of a total of 522 such sales that year.
Further support for the capital was provided by Michael Gove, Secretary to State for Housing. He announced bold plans that would end the impasse in the flat markets and make developers pay for unsafe cladding repairs.
Business giants have begun calling employees back into offices every week since Boris Johnson abandoned work-from-home guidance.
Large banks, advertising firms and insurers announced plans to return to the office – although most said flexible working arrangements would remain in place, at least for the time being.
HSBC stated to Daily Mail that their staff had begun coming back to work this week
KPMG, a Big Four accounting firm, stated it was happy to see the Government’s guidance end and asked staff from England to visit the office at most two days per week.
Citi Investment Bank sent an email to its staff, highlighting some of the many benefits to office work. This included the ability to more effectively generate energy and a collaborative spirit that thrives.
Workers were instructed to go back to work at least 3 days per week, while taking periodic tests.
HSBC claimed that employees returned to their offices on Thursday. Standard Chartered, however, asked for staff to return to work starting Monday. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and others said that they would also resume their office work.
As hospitality managers highlighted the detrimental impact of working from home on cafes, bars and shops in the centre, the announcements were made. With the hope that the bank sector with higher earnings will provide an important boost,
Sacha Lord (Night-Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester) said the high streets are lacking much-needed footfall.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls stated that the sector requires the support of the communities “more than ever.”
She said: “The elimination of work from home guidance is a tremendous boost to hospitality operators as they began 2022 low in cash after a second cancelled holiday, in deep debt after two years’ of restricted trading and faced soaring expenses on many fronts.