BUYER REGISTRATIONS
As the COVID-19 situation escalated in Europe, buyers became
more hesitant to begin their search for a new home, buyer
registrations beginning to decline from mid-February. It reached
a low point during the fi rst week of lockdown with 72% less
registrations versus the same period last year. Registrations
increased in April, possibly as a result of increased time spent
at home leading to more people considering a move. Numbers
have consistently increased from that point, over-taking the
same period last year by the end of May.
Buyers from different areas of London have responded to
lockdown in varying ways. In January and February, more buyers
than the previous year registered to move across all zones.
However, during the lockdown period, there was a drop across
all zones, with more Zone 1 buyers looking to move than those
in the outer zones. As lockdown has been lifted, all zones have
seen a large increase in buyer registrations with Zones 3-6
recovering the fastest. Zone 1, however, has been the slowest
to recover and registrations are more than 10% lower than
the prior year.
RENTER REGISTRATIONS
Within the lettings market, we saw a similar downturn in new
renters, with registrations reaching a low point of -70% for the
week commencing 23rd March vs the same period last year.
However, the recovery for renters has been quicker than for sales,
with the disparity between this year and last year growing ever
smaller as lockdown progressed. A high point was reached in
May with renter registrations reaching 9% higher than the same
time last year. This contrast with the sales market was expected
due to the more time-sensitive nature of renting with tenancies
continuing to come to an end. Although there has been an
increase in the number of contract renewals, there will always
be demand from renters needing to move.
New buyer registrations
vs same week last year
01 Jun 20
25 May 20
18 May 20
11 May 20
04 May 20
27 Apr 20
20 Apr 20
13 Apr 20
06 Apr 20
30 Mar 20
23 Mar 20
16 Mar 20
09 Mar 20
02 Mar 20
24 Feb 20
17 Feb 20
10 Feb 20
03 Feb 20
27 Jan 20
20 Jan 20
13 Jan 20
06 Jan 20 -80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80% post-election period
23 March
UK Government
announces closure of
non essential businesses
13 May
UK Government reopens
English Housing Market
New renter registrations
vs same week last year
-80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
01 Jun 20
25 May 20
18 May 20
11 May 20
04 May 20
27 Apr 20
20 Apr 20
13 Apr 20
06 Apr 20
30 Mar 20
23 Mar 20
16 Mar 20
09 Mar 20
02 Mar 20
24 Feb 20
17 Feb 20
10 Feb 20
03 Feb 20
27 Jan 20
20 Jan 20
13 Jan 20
06 Jan 20
23 March
UK Government
announces closure of
non essential businesses
13 May
UK Government reopens
English Housing Market
post-election period
New buyer registrations by zone
Post-lockdown
Lockdown
Pre-lockdown
-60%
-50%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
ZONES 3�6
ZONE 2
ZONE 1
New renter registrations by zone
ZONES 3�6
ZONE 2
ZONE 1
-60%
-50%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
Post-lockdown
Lockdown
Pre-lockdown
Due to the transient, international nature of London's lettings
market, the impact of lockdown has been felt unevenly across
the capital. Zone 1, which saw the largest fall in rental demand
at over 30% lower than the same period last year, has also been
the slowest Zone to see recovery. By its nature, Zone 1 attracts
a large number of overseas renters joining the lettings market
in the, typically peak, third quarter of the year. This dip in renter
registrations during lockdown was felt across London, however
new renter numbers in Zones 3-6 have been quicker to recover,
with an increase in registrations in the post-lockdown period
compared to the same period last year.
The London Report | The impact of Coronavirus 5