Property Rentals Boom during Covid

We’re absolutely thrilled to be in the Warrington Guardian today, speaking in the business column about the impact Covid has had on the local rental industry.

 

How is Covid is affecting the rental market?

 

It’s great to be stepping out into the ‘new normal’ and starting to have some of our old – and largely taken for granted – freedoms restored. Covid 19 and Lockdown has changed society so much, not least about the way that we live and indeed where we live.

 

Rewind to early March. Most of us would never have thought about using our home as an office, a schoolroom, an isolation bolt hole or a place for a sabbatical (and definitely never all at the same time!) But over the last 14 weeks home has become all of these things and one unexpected outcome is that it has radically shaken up the housing market.

 

That former sanctuary of home as a place away from work and where kick back, rest and relax has been upturned as the lines between work and relaxation become blurred.

 

The novelty of using the lounge as a workplace soon wears off when the kids are letting off steam during a break from home schooling, and for good or bad, many workplaces have decided that home working has worked, so people need a more permanent solution to manage their space.

 

 

Dissatisfaction with the suitability and functionality of the current home added to money saved through being unable to holiday or spend in the shops has resulted in a phenomenal upsurge in demand for lettings. One of our rental properties received sixty enquiries alone, so high that we were forced to take it off the website.

 

Here at James Peacock Property we have confirmed a trend for customers looking for larger properties with a dedicated room that can become or convert into an office. The wish list of home requirements has irrevocably changed.

 

Add to the mix the difficulty of commuting. Town and city centre living will be set to become ever more attractive as people look to avoid the hassle of the commute which has been compounded by social distancing and facemasks.

 

Gerry Mason-Rolls, Operations Director explains the impact of Covid on how they are letting properties:

“It’s been all change here at James Peacock Property in the way that we work, but we haven’t ever stopped and have managed to let properties during Lockdown using video tours and making the most of technology.

 

For properties such as our prestigious apartments at Kings Court in Warrington town centre we implemented stringent hygiene measures to ensure everyone’s safety, and we’re constantly looking to improve things for our tenants.

 

Covid is a dreadful virus and the world has changed, but not all of it for the worse. Some of it for the better. As ever, the world keeps turning and we adapt. If a new place to live can make your world a little sunnier, we will do everything we can to help you find it.”