Tenants to stop moving during current lockdown, new research predicts
Proptech platform Goodlord says its data from the Midlands city suggests that fewer tenants will move home during the current Covid restrictions.
Spare a thought for Leicester lettings agents who have now been under one form of lockdown or another for some 120 days.
But their extreme experience of the pandemic does help the property industry gauge where the lettings market is likely to go nationally in the coming weeks.
Analysis of the private rental market in and around Leicester since July reveals that it saw a spike of activity prior to its regional lockdown followed by a huge slowdown.
The Leicester lettings market suffered a 22% reduction in tenancy completions when compared with the same period last year. This drop followed a rise in activity of 44% during the two weeks before the region entered Tier 3.
This has been gleaned from 1,000 tenancies managed by 27 different letting agencies.
Lockdown slowdown
Goodlord, which undertook the research, says this is now beginning to pan out nationally and the rate of new tenancies is already slowing despite renters having permission to move house between now and December 2nd.
“Despite house moves having been permitted across England since May, this analysis shows just how impactful local lockdowns can be on the lettings market,” says Tom Mundy, CEO of Goodlord.
“Leicester, which has been under additional restrictions for many months, has seen activity drop by a fifth compared to 2019. It’s hugely welcome that house moves can continue throughout the month ahead and we know that agents and landlords have been working extremely hard to make sure they are safe.
“Although the industry should expect a slowdown over the coming weeks, when the market bounces back, it bounces back strongly – as we saw earlier in summer.”