Demand for homes in rural areas rises due to the pandemic
With the UK population confined to their homes for the majority of 2020, lockdown has caused an increasing number of city dwellers to rethink their current surroundings and yearn for greener pastures and open spaces.
With the UK population confined to their homes for the majority of 2020, lockdown has caused an increasing number of city dwellers to rethink their current surroundings and yearn for greener pastures and open spaces.
Ufuk Bahar, managing director at Urbanist Architecture, said: “Prior to COVID-19, around two-thirds of our projects were focused in highly desirable London boroughs such as Westminster, Islington, Camden and Greenwich, with work ranging from extensions to new build homes and flat conversions.
“Those working in London wanted to build a life in the city and its sought-after Zone 2/3 suburbs, and a fast commute into Zone 1 was, more often than not, a deciding factor when our clients were deciding where to live.
“Although our team has strong experience in delivering countryside and green belt projects, we could have never predicted the demand we’re seeing now.
“More and more clients are coming to us looking for large plots of land in truly rural locations, with many deciding to ditch city life and the daily commute for good in the wake of the pandemic.”
There were 1,464 repossessions in the North West in the past 12 months, the most of any region, research from home buying platform Yes Homebuyers has found.
The North East (1,044) and Yorkshire and the Humber (1,029) also rank high with over 1,000 properties being repossessed in the last year.
In contrast, just 162 homes have been repossessed in the East of England in the last year, the lowest of all regions. The South West (439) and East Midlands (505) have also seen some of the lowest levels of homes repossessed.
Matthew Cooper, founder and managing director of Yes Homebuyers, said: “Falling behind financially and having to sell your home to cover outstanding debts is perhaps the hardest decision you will ever have to make. As a result, many of us fail to act and eventually face repossession of the property as a result.
“The real sting in the tail is that this often incurs more costs and the value of your home is significantly reduced during the repossession sale process. This means far less of your debt is covered compared to selling in the regular market.
“Homebuying platforms can offer a lifeline in these situations, allowing those in financial hardship to sell quickly in order to pay off their outstanding finances while maintaining the final say in the sale of their hard-earned bricks and mortar asset.
“Luckily, only a small segment of those we see selling via Yes Homebuyer are doing so out of financial desperation. However, for those that find themselves with little other choice, we can provide a higher offer than they would see via a repossession sale and we can also complete in a very short time period so that they receive the funds quickly.”
The real salt in the wound of a property repossession is the price the property sells for, with those seeing their homes repossessed sold for far lower than they may otherwise have secured by selling themselves.
In this respect, Wales is the worst region to have a home repossessed with the average repossession selling for just £86,859; just 50% of the current average house price.
The East Midlands isn’t much better, with repossessed properties selling for just 55% of current market value, with the North East (60%), Yorkshire and the Humber (62%) and South East (68%) also seeing repossessed properties selling for less than 70% of market value.
