We knew people were leaving their city pads – and London in particular – to head into the country last year as a result of coronavirus. We just weren’t exactly sure where they were heading. Until now, that is.

The results show that actually, many of them were heading to Cambridge, and the commuter town of Huntingdon in particular. Further north, Pontefract in West Yorkshire was also popular and so too was the Norfolk seaside town Great Yarmouth. 

Those were the top three locations (in order) for property purchased during 2020 in England and Wales according to government statistics and research carried out by specialist mortgage company Haysto.

Paul Coss, specialist mortgage broker at Haysto confirmed Covid-19 had altered the landscape when it came to UK property. 

He added: “I truly believe that when we come out of lockdown and the economy starts to bounce back, this could be a good year to move or get on the property ladder.”

Also hitting the high popularity spots were (also in order) Preston, Chichester, Chorley, Doncaster, Bury St Edmonds, Spalding and Bedford.

The top 10 table was based on the number of properties sold per 10,000 people. The numbers for Huntingdon, with a population of 26,000 people, was 400 properties per 10,000, Pontefract was 328 and Great Yarmouth, 320.

Cities losing out to countryside yearnings

Interestingly, all of the places featuring in the top 10 property popularity purchases – with the exception of Preston and Doncaster – all had populations of less than 100,000. Whereas bigger cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Portsmouth saw demand for housing fall in comparison. 

The desire to move to more rural locations as a result of increased flexible working and a change of lifestyle, was also noted by popular property portal Rightmove last week. They announced that the most searched for location on its search engine in February was Cornwall, closely followed by Devon. In fact, searches for the village of Stithians near Truro was up 224% compared with last year, just before the pandemic in the UK. Other areas proving popular include the Isle of Skye, Norfolk and quiet villages in neighbouring East Sussex.

Exodus to country affecting commercial property

And it’s not only residential properties in further-flung locations that are proving popular – owners of commercial property have also witnessed a move from city to country. Office space company IWG had noted an additional one-fifth of queries concerned offices in country locations and as much as one-third for suburban offices. In contrast, demand for city offices had fallen by as more than one-tenth.

Whether this continues once lockdown is lifted remains to be seen. Although, new government legislation espousing flexible working is expected to be announced at some point later this year. The Bill, which makes flexible working the default position for companies, was announced in the Queens Speech in 2019. 

It’s believed this will include logging in from home and other forms of remote working. What it means in effect is that companies will have to come up with a good reason not to allow employees to work flexibly. And that can only mean more interest in property in quieter, countryside locations.

Those looking to sell their current property are perfect placed in the market right now – provided they already have somewhere to move to.

That’s because the latest House Price Index from the property portal Rightmove shows the biggest gap between supply and demand in more than a decade.

It also reveals the website received seven million visits a day last month – an increase of 40% on February last year and before the pandemic and first lockdown had begun to kick-in.

Around 17 viewers per property in Wales

Rightmove executives say there is more buyer interest per property than there has been since 2011 – 34% more, in fact, compared to the same time last year. And in Wales, there are 17 viewers for every property on the market. 

This means, of course, that asking prices have once again increased. Last month they rose 0.8% on the previous month, with the average property in England now sitting at around £321,000. It’s worth noting though that the Rightmove Index bases its scoring on asking prices, rather than what buyers paid for the property. 

The extension of the Stamp Duty Holiday provided impetus for UK property as a whole, while the imminent ending of lockdown is resulting in more sellers – as well as buyers – coming to market. After June the ‘no stamp duty on the first £500,000 of a property’ rule will be amended to the ‘first £250,000’ for a further three months, before reducing to the standard £125,000 in October.

Only in Scotland will the Stamp Duty Holiday end at the end of March, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak originally intended. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes explained that the ‘Holiday’ was introduced in order to ‘shore up’ the property market. That had indeed happened, she said, so there was no need to continue the initiative north of the border. Even during the original ‘Holiday’ period, the threshold for Scotland was only half that of England and Wales, at £250,000.

Housing deficit continually pushing prices up

As has been the case for so long, there remains a housing shortage. This, coupled with continued buyer demand for gardens and bigger homes, is giving sellers the upper-hand. Traditionally Spring has always been the best time to sell and this year looks as if it will be no exception.

Ongoing low interest rates and the introduction of the 95% mortgage initiative – where the government is encouraging lenders to provide high loan-to-value mortgages – is helping to fuel the demand. As well as first-time buyers, the mortgages will also be made available to second steppers looking for a larger home.

Rents income ‘up’ – except in London

Last month a report by upmarket property company Hamptons revealed an 8% increase in rental income in all areas of the UK with the exception of London. That was the highest rise in nearly a decade. 

Rents had actually fallen in the capital by 17.7%. They also fell in Greater London, although to a lesser degree at 0.2% in comparison to the same month in 2020.

Lloyds is the latest familiar High Street name to announce plans to expand into the private rental sector. 

The banking group’s landlord scheme, referred to as Project Generation, involves buying and renting out properties to individuals and families throughout the UK. They intend to have their first tenants moved in by the end of the year.

Low interest rates have hit the banking sector hard in recent months and it’s believed the landlord initiative is a bid to find alternative income to boost profits – in the form of high rental yields and capital appreciation.

According to a recent report in the Financial Times newspaper, senior management at the bank want to become major players in an industry which is regarded by many as ‘fragmented.’ They also believe they can provide a more professional, and quality service than that which currently exists in much of the private rental sector.

The paper reported a Lloyds spokesman saying: “As we stated in our full-year results and our strategic review last week, we are committed to broadening access to home ownership and exploring opportunities to increase our support to the UK rental sector.” 

An opportunity to ‘cross-sell’ products

Lloyds, which owns other well-known financial brands such as the Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows, plans on cross-selling loans and insurance to its tenants. 

The company isn’t completely unfamiliar with the housing market, having previously funded small developments. Many of its mortgage clients are also some of the UK’s largest housing developers.

Following in John Lewis’ footsteps

The Lloyds move is following in the footsteps of retail giant John Lewis who announced their intention to become private landlords last October. Again, this was in response to low profits – this time in the failing physical retail sector.

And, like Lloyds, they also have a form of cross-selling in mind where they will furnish the properties with John Lewis products and locate them near existing Waitrose stores (which they also own). The idea is renters will then shop at the supermarket too. 

Unions concerned for bank’s reputation

The Lloyds move hasn’t got everyone’s approval within the company. Independent banking union BTU, which represents many of the bank’s staff, say the landlord move could prove disastrous for Lloyd’s reputation if tenants had unpleasant experiences with those managing the rental properties.

Room for expansion in UK property

Around 5.4m homes in the UK were recorded as privately rented last year. And that figure is only expected to increase over time – despite the government’s new homes’ funding initiatives.

The current biggest provider of private rental property in the UK at the moment is Grainger. It recorded a 45% growth in its rental income in 2019, bringing the figure to £63.5m, with a 30% rise in pre-tax profits sitting at £131.3m. 

The group has developments in Bristol, Manchester and Sheffield. It also has a large presence in London, with a joint venture with Transport for London to create 3,000 new rental homes. It altered its business strategy in 2016 to build on its private rental portfolio, more than doubling its rental stock between then and 2019.

From today landlords will no longer be able to refuse a tenant with a pet from renting their property – unless they have a very good reason.

Changes to the government’s new Model Tenancy Agreement puts an end to blanket bans on cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals. Most landlords automatically exclude pets when letting out their house or flat on the grounds the animal may cause damage or annoy neighbours. Now they will no longer be able to do this.

Landlords have 28 days to lodge pet objection

That’s because from today, the right for a tenant to live with a pet will be the default position. A landlord who insists he or she doesn’t want their tenant’s pet in their property will have 28 days to write to their tenant and outline why they feel this way. 

But that reason has to be a good one, such as the property being too small to house a large dog or the sheer impracticality of having a pet. A continually barking dog annoying neighbours may also qualify as a justifiable reason.

Only 7% of tenancies ‘pet-friendly’

At present, figures show more than 50% of householders have a pet and yet only 7% of private landlords advertise their property as ‘pet-friendly.’

The move was introduced by Housing minister, Rt Hon Christopher Pincher who noted that over the past year in particular pets have brought comfort to many householders.

 “But it can’t be right that only a tiny fraction of landlords advertise pet friendly properties and, in some cases, people have had to give up their beloved pets in order to find somewhere to live,” he said.

He went on to add: “This strikes the right balance between helping more people find a home that’s right for them and their pet while ensuring landlords’ properties are safeguarded against inappropriate or badly-behaved pets.”

Move applies to “responsible” owners 

Pincher pointed out the ruling is for “responsible” owners with “well-behaved” pets. Landlords will still be able to claim compensation through the tenancy deposit for damage caused by pets, such as chewed skirting boards and torn curtains etc.

Landlord and estate agent representatives, such as Mark Hayward, chief policy adviser at Propertymark, admitted having a pet in a property would probably encourage a tenant to stay there longer. 

Landlord agent question tenancy deposit cap

But he questioned whether pets being the default position in a Tenancy Agreement was a good idea considering the government’s current cap on a tenant’s deposit. 

“…even the best-behaved pets will have an impact on a property,” he said. 

He also objected to the blanket ban saying the issue was far more complex and that it should really be determined on an individual basis. Concerned landlords, he said, should approach their letting agent for advice.

At present the changes to the right for tenants to own a pet when renting apply only to tenancies in England. However, they may also be rolled out in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in due course if the move proves successful.