Skip to content

Moving to the country: how WFH is putting up the rent

  • by JW

“Exmouth tenants now have to pay 6.3 per cent more than a year ago to live by the sea.”

.

The Working-from-Home revolution has the promise of helping smaller cities and towns, with more spending time and money where they live:

Working from home: reviving town life – Vision Group for Sidmouth

.

And more are moving to new homes to work from:

Moving to the country post-coronavirus – Vision Group for Sidmouth

Moving to the country: how WFH will affect small town life – Vision Group for Sidmouth

.

It’s happening everywhere:

Scenic Towns Enjoy Boom as Work From Home Becomes Pandemic Norm – Bloomberg

It seemed like a good idea in lockdown, but is moving to the country right for you?

Remote Workers Are Decamping To Small Cities During The Pandemic : NPR

Coronavirus: More Japanese to swap urban life for the countryside | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 18.06.2020

.

As for the UK, it might well be London’s loss:

Why U.K. workers are leaving London amid the coronavirus pandemic

After Covid-19: are people really moving to the countryside and the coast? | Charles Cameron & Associates

.

But this move to the country will bring house inflation in its wake:

City dwellers moving to the countryside will only bring the heat of London’s property market with them | The Independent

.

As the Mail reported last month:

Covid UK: Countryside rents up as people flee cities for rural areas | Daily Mail Online

.

Today’s i-newspaper carries reports from Exmouth:

.

House rents in Devon and Cornwall soar as City dwellers escape urban lockdowns for sea air and country walks

City dwellers seeking to escape the claustrophobia of Covid-19 lockdowns in places like Edinburgh, London and Manchester have caused rents to rocket in Devon and Cornwall as they seek the space and fresh air of the South West of England…

Working from home by the sea

Other areas in the two counties experiencing strong rent rises include Exmouth, where tenants now have to pay 6.3 per cent more than a year ago to live by the sea, Plymouth (5.9 per cent), and Exeter (3 per cent more).

Caroline Hill, a partner-C&J Home Rentals in Exmouth, said: “The demand for rental properties in Exmouth is huge at present. Rental prices remain at the highest level I have seen in ten years of being in business with currently no signs of decreasing.

“It’s easy to see why so many people are moving out of the cities and choosing to move down to beautiful Exmouth, when it has so much to offer. We have a stunning coastline with our two-mile-long sandy beach, a new water sports centre, excellent sailing, and I am especially excited about the imminent opening of Michelin Star chef Michael Caines’ new venture Mickey’s Beach Bar, Restaurant and cafe. This will be a welcome addition to Michael’s fabulous restaurant at Lympstone Manor, just minutes away from Exmouth.”

.

photo: File: Exmouth Beach – geograph.org.uk – 31201.jpg – Wikimedia Commons