Location, location, location – where will home buyers move next?

Early signals could indicate a shift in home buyer sentiment - away from wanting to live closer to the office, in cities and large towns - to the coast and countryside.

Once lockdown was lifted for the real estate industry on 13th May, Rightmove - the UK’s largest online property portal - reported their largest volume of online searches ever, recording six million visits to its website on 27th May, 18% above the figure it recorded on the same day last year. In addition, the firm said lockdown appeared to be driving demand for homes in more rural locations, with postcodes in Kent, Cornwall and Bournemouth seeing the biggest spikes in demand.

Rightmove said coastal areas of Cornwall, Devon and Bournemouth are seeing the biggest jump in buyer interest, with demand up 23% year on year in areas with Canterbury postcodes and 20% up in areas with Truro postcodes, which cover much of Cornwall.

Buyers won’t be moving just yet though, as mortgage approvals slump 80pc according to the Bank of England, and Nationwide sees the biggest monthly fall in house prices since 2009. And with job security, and personal finances at the forefront of many people's minds right now.

However, if this sentiment to move to more rural and open areas - allowing for larger properties, gardens, and easy access to wide open spaces such as beaches and countryside - continues, then improved opportunities for regional construction for the residential sector may follow.

In our home county of Dorset there have been £129.7 million worth of high value† private residential planning applications submitted in the last 6 months, and £141.8 million worth of high value† private residential planning approvals in the same time frame, including large investments in our home town of Bournemouth for:

A £150 million mixed use scheme in the town centre, comprising 352 residential apartments, where VINCI is the main contractor. And a £40 million mixed use scheme comprising 68 residential apartments and hotel with leisure facilities, where Tenders are currently invited.

Kent has seen £834.9 million worth of high value† private residential planning applications submitted in the last 6 months, and £345 million worth of high value† private residential planning approvals in the same time frame.

And Devon has had £436.4 million high value† private residential planning applications submitted, and £305.4 million of high value† private residential planning approvals in the same time frame.

Cornwall has seen £229.7 million worth of high value† private residential planning applications submitted in the last 6 months, and £128.2 million worth of high value† private residential planning approvals in the last 6 months too.

Of course we are at a very early stage of moving out of lockdown, but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on new planning applications outside of urban conurbations to see whether those early searches on Rightmove have predicted a shift in focus for future home buyers.

Check out our free Pipeline-Finder to see sales opportunities in your regions.

†Applications for last 6 months of data taken on 08.06.20. High value denotes a total project value of over £250,000