London
has taken the top spot as Rightmove’s most searched-for location of 2022, while previous contenders such as Cornwall and Devon have dropped in popularity.
The previous year has proved interesting for London’s property market. As the pandemic faded from view and we moved away from the renowned ‘search for space’ trend, the capital appears to be welcoming back residents at substantially higher volumes than seen in the past few years.
New data from Rightmove reveals that London was the most searched-for destination by buyers looking for their next home in 2022*, putting the capital back in the top spot after 2 years of competing with coastal locations such as Devon and Cornwall.
During the pandemic, people were cooped up indoors and looking for their next home outside of the city, typically in favour of the countryside or coast. In several months of 2021, Cornwall replaced London
as the most searched-for location on Rightmove.
The property search portal found that London had 36% more buyer searches than Cornwall at the end of the year – the biggest gap seen since 2019. * Compared to 2020, when there was only a 3% gap in the number of searches between London and Cornwall.
Buyer
appetite has switched back towards the city, and it’s hard to ignore the correlation between lockdown restrictions lifting and increased interest in the capital. With the country’s best bars, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions fully open for business, city life is once again the most attractive prospect for young professionals, families and retirees. There is also the added element of workers returning to the office and more job opportunities opening up – and with London’s unparalleled travel links and connectivity, there is no better place to start up or develop a career in the UK.
This notable increase in searches for London, alongside the decline in searches for Cornwall and Devon may indicate that switching to a more rural lifestyle may be a past trend that we won’t see again for a while. After two years of life void of city amenities, big cities with exciting nightlife and bustling high streets will continue to grow in popularity in years to come.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert said: “This year people searching for their next home
have well and truly returned to the capital.”
He also noted that the tide started to turn towards the end of 2021 and this continued in 2022 when a “lot of our trends in the market have started to head back towards where they were in 2019”.
Rightmove*
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