London and Midlands bear brunt of foreigner exodus

House prices in London and the Midlands may be heading for a fall because of a "mass exodus" of foreign workers since the pandemic. The UK population may have dropped by up to 2% in the past year as work dried up and foreigners left, with most of the outward migration going from the capital and the Midlands, according to Capital Economics. Andrew Wishart at the consultancy said: "Our analysis suggests that the sudden drop in the population has led to a huge rise in vacancy rates in the London and Midlands rental markets. House prices in those regions are also most at risk, both from the direct reduction in demand from foreign citizens and the risk that landlords respond to higher vacancy rates and lower rents by selling up."

The Times (08/02/2021)