Almost 70% of Leeds home hunters looking to move to rural areas following lockdowns, survey finds

A new report by insurance company Royal London has found 40 per cent of potential buyers in Leeds are looking to move to rural locations.

A further 28 per cent of home hunters want to move to a village, according to the survey of 1,000 home movers.

It comes as the Covid-19 restrictions and lockdown measures have seen millions of UK households set up remote offices in their homes.

With so much time being spent indoors, Royal London said it was inevitable that there would be a change in what people want and require from their home.

According to the research, the top features that made lockdown harder, according to home movers were small garden/outdoor area (33 per cent), lack of indoor space (27 per cent) and no outdoor space (24 per cent).

Since the lockdown in March, there have been 90,000 Google searches every month for ‘dogs for sale' and 28 per cent of house movers are now looking for extra space for pets.

The study found house movers are beginning to look for properties in a location with home offices, and high-speed internet, as well as those with more open floor plans and more parking.

Consumer spokesperson at Royal London, Mona Patel, said: “The restrictions and lockdown measures have seen millions of households in the UK set up remote offices from their kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms.

"With so much time being spent indoors, it was inevitable that people would start thinking about their home environment.

“Unsurprisingly, space is the most desirable feature for home movers who want more room both indoors and outdoors.

"While cities have always been popular home buying locations, the pandemic has seen a shift in attitude as our research shows that there is a greater demand for rural locations.”

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