The Exodus has begun!

HEADRAT · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:12

Hi,

Seems like a record number of people ditching London to move into the sticks:

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/cambridgeshire-areas-ditching-london-move-18785199

a colleague from work put their house up in Houghton (nr Huntingdon) on Saturday morning and received an offer they accepted on Sunday afternoon, the family from London didn't even come and view (her house is gorgeous though).

I honestly think we will define our lives pre/post COVID, only having to visit "the office" maybe once a week or "on demand", anybody else thinking about ditching the smoke post COVID?

THanks

HEADRAT

robj20 · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:16

Only think that's going to change for me is probably go out less. Got used to staying at home and doing free things like walks.

labbby · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:23

i live on the edge of london/kent and so does my sister and brother in law, we both put our properties on the market about 6 weeks ago. Theirs was on the market for 3 days and mine a week before being sold to cash buyers who paid 20% more than what they were valued at last year.. Both properties have good transport links into central London.

Our plan is to rent a fairly large property with out buildings which is out in the sticks(4 big dogs between us) and wait and see if the market does indeed crash, then buy.

It's not just this country by the sounds of it, my sister has a property in Switzerland which is out in the sticks property there is selling really quickly and above market value, seems people in Geneva and Nyon are also trying to get out of busy towns.

jsmoke · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:29

But who's moving into the houses of the exodus people?

Bravetart · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:30

I'm one of those making the exodus. I currently work outside of London (Chertsey) but still want to have the option of going in to London for work. Settled on Reading for that reason. Far cheaper, far more for our money but still 27 minutes in to Paddington and soon to have the Lizzy line...

It was the difference between a 1 bed flat and a 3 bed semi. Easier for me though as I was renting and now buying. Plan to use one room as an office so we can work remotely for the most part.

labbby · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:33

jsmoke said:
But who's moving into the houses of the exodus people?

ive been thinking this, will central city prices drop ? from the buyers we have dealt with there is a lot of money moving out of london.

danoliver1 · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:48

jsmoke said:
But who's moving into the houses of the exodus people?

More like who can afford to move into these houses?

jsmoke · 20 Aug 2020 at 07:51

danoliver1 said:
More like who can afford to move into these houses?

Exactly, maybe thousands of people have been sitting waiting for their dream property to come on market but the money is a lot considering what you get.

The same thing is apparently happening in NYC. But I'm sure it will all sort itself out, peaks and troughs.

Derek W · 20 Aug 2020 at 08:38

Around 6,640 people left London to move to Cambridgeshire in the year to June 2019.

This represents the highest number of people arriving in Cambridgeshire from London in the nine years of available data.

It should be noted, however, that 6,804 people from Cambridgeshire moved to London in the same period, resulting in a net gain of 164 people from Cambs to the capital.

So in the same period as the mass exodus to Cambridgeshire more people from Cambridgeshire moved to London......

glenimp617 · 20 Aug 2020 at 08:41

I thought this would happen not long after lockdown. Covid has opened a lot of peoples eyes.

HEADRAT · 20 Aug 2020 at 08:42

Derek W said:
So in the same period as the mass exodus to Cambridgeshire more people from Cambridgeshire moved to London......

Yeah but people are always moving from Cambridge to London, there is nothing new there, the move the other way its what is exceptional

Terminal_Boy · 20 Aug 2020 at 08:54

Same thing happening out here in the French sticks. The combination of COVID and rural fibre broadband rollout is making the countryside very attractive to city folks.

InvaderGIR · 20 Aug 2020 at 09:01

I think it's the same for all the 'local' news outlets to be quite honest, basically the same article on Bristol's site : https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/record-numbers-people-leaving-london-4428864

They run the same article every year or so as well so I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

FortuitousFluke · 20 Aug 2020 at 09:44

HEADRAT said:
Hi,

Seems like a record number of people ditching London to move into the sticks:

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/cambridgeshire-areas-ditching-london-move-18785199

a colleague from work put their house up in Houghton (nr Huntingdon) on Saturday morning and received an offer they accepted on Sunday afternoon, the family from London didn't even come and view (her house is gorgeous though).

I honestly think we will define our lives pre/post COVID, only having to visit "the office" maybe once a week or "on demand", anybody else thinking about ditching the smoke post COVID?

THanks

HEADRAT

Some lovely houses in Houghton and the surrounding villages to be fair. What i want to know is when we local folk get to have our say on all these Cocker-neys migrating out to our rural Cambridgeshire paradise. The village pubs will be filled with hipster beards and vapes, our universities will fill up with sloane rangers, with their impractically large cars and annoying speech patterns, we'll likely need to develop a semi precious stones trade to account for the increased demand for pearl encrusted suits. It's a disaster! I demand a Crexit referendum!

The Running Man · 20 Aug 2020 at 10:02

Come to sunny oldham, cheap houses up here.

fobose · 20 Aug 2020 at 10:05

Haha @FortuitousFluke.

Marky · 20 Aug 2020 at 10:07

I really hope the whole working from home thing sticks (and I don’t even have a work from home job myself!), it just makes sense to me. People are saving far too much money from not spending it on over priced, slow/late/useless train lines. I imagine the time saved alone is a bonus enough for most people.

I can’t stand it when the likes of Hancock comes on TV saying people should be going back to the office - it screams of him being a puppet for all the companies that are losing out over home working.

HEADRAT · 20 Aug 2020 at 10:08

InvaderGIR said:
I think it's the same for all the 'local' news outlets to be quite honest, basically the same article on Bristol's site : https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/record-numbers-people-leaving-london-4428864
They run the same article every year or so as well so I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

I'd agree but as I say a colleague just a "real world experience", I guess it could happen at any time but there is certainly a lot of pent up demand atm, it's not just a local news thing.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-h...t-in-11-years-as-lockdown-lifts-idUKKCN24W108

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/...er-lockdown-righmove-home-buying-a138196.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...mber-buyers-leaving-London-Home-Counties.html (sorry Daily Fail, I feel dirty now)

https://www.theguardian.com/money/c...ove-house-city-centre-covid-19-housing-market

deuse · 20 Aug 2020 at 10:10

jsmoke said:
Exactly, maybe thousands of people have been sitting waiting for their dream property to come on market but the money is a lot considering what you get.

The same thing is apparently happening in NYC. But I'm sure it will all sort itself out, peaks and troughs.

They are leaving NY because of the violence\protests and the general scum playing up.
It's that bad that the vacancy rate has gone sky high.

ZXSpectrum · 20 Aug 2020 at 10:11

jsmoke said:
Exactly, maybe thousands of people have been sitting waiting for their dream property to come on market but the money is a lot considering what you get.

The same thing is apparently happening in NYC. But I'm sure it will all sort itself out, peaks and troughs.

Apparently this is happening in a lot of American cites/states due to Covid restrictions/lockdowns, rioting and looting, personal safety amongst other things.