According to the research, tenants located in London but searching for rental accommodation across other foreign cities have increased by a weekly average of 5% since the first week of lockdown. When looking at the latest weekly data, there has also been a 255% jump in the number of London tenants looking to move out of the capital when compared to the levels seen in the first week of lockdown.
Nadia Butt, UK and Ireland Country Manager of Spotahome, commented:
“We’ve certainly seen an uplift in tenant interest in recent months from London tenants looking to vacate the capital for other major cities across Europe, in particular.
"There’s no doubt that weeks of lockdown restrictions, job losses and the high cost of renting in London have caused some to seek greener pastures.
"However, we believe this movement is more of a natural return to regular market conditions rather than a London exodus.
"Travel and work restrictions would have stopped many in their tracks and as these have started to ease, tenants have been able to continue with life and any planned moves they may have prior to the pandemic.”
Where are London tenants heading?
Berlin has been the most popular option for those looking to move away from the capital. The city has seen the largest uplift in tenant demand from those currently living within London. Barcelona has also ranked high although a second Spanish lockdown may now cause it to drop in popularity.
Dublin, Lisbon and Madrid are the next most popular destinations, followed by Paris, Brussels, Milan and Valencia.
But this desire to move remains a two-way street, as Nadia explains:
“London remains a very popular destination for many looking to relocate internationally to further their career opportunities.
"The city is home to some of the best job vacancies and despite the high cost of living within the capital, robust levels of pay and consistent growth continue to attract the world’s top talent across a whole host of industries.
"Currently, the greatest demand is coming from tenants in Istanbul, Paris, Madrid and Milan and London continues to rank as one of the most in-demand locations across the board where international tenant demand is concerned.
"As we slowly return to normality, we expect this demand to return to pre-pandemic levels in a very short period of time.”
