Will the past year shift the UK’s balance of power out of London?
Enquiries across the UK rose 88% on EG Propertylink between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021. But the sectors and the locations piquing the industry’s interest have shifted. That has affected London, which – in contrast to the UK as a whole – is still dominated by office enquiries.
Hints of an exodus out of London have been a recurring theme in the news this past year. Every recent house price index shows stagnation in London’s housing market while the regions boom. “When we’re all forced to work remotely, why not move somewhere with a bit more space?” the number seemed to ask. Arguments over the lasting effects of lockdown and remote working brought into focus the future of the capital – a roaring global city whose streets slumped into eerie silence at the height of the pandemic. Will the past year shift the UK’s balance of power out of London?
Over the following pages, we’ll find these trends play out in data from EG Radius and EG Propertylink. The numbers confirm what we’ve all heard: London is changing, but that change is complex. While twists in the road might challenge our assumptions of the capital, we find familiar paths along the way. These pages will showcase both, pinpointing where London is still London as we know it – and where it’s shifting into something new and surprising.
Download to find out more about the trends for London, a Customer Spotlight interview with BNP Paribas Real Estate and to view the On-Demand Rankings for the city.