Fears of an escape to the country for homebuyers unfounded

Fears among property experts of homebuyers flocking to the country in the post-pandemic era have been proven unfounded, new data suggests. According to a white paper, entitled COVID City Exodus: Reality or Urban Myth, sales in urban areas are now 7% ahead of those in rural or country areas. It comes after successive COVID lockdowns sparked a "race for space", causing property purchases in the countryside to outstrip urban sales by 10% in the second half of 2020. However this dropped to 4% in the first half of 2021, before disappearing altogether during the last six months of the year. Bob Pannell, author of the paper and an economist with Atelier, writes: "The most recent data debunks the myth that Britain's cities are in decline. There is little evidence of the paradigm shift in housing preferences supposed by many". The report predicts sustained growth in the urban housing markets for 2022. 

Daily Mail (28/01/2022)