Rightmove sees demand jump

Rightmove has said that demand to both rent and buy homes increased in June and July compared with the same months last year, as the property market opened up from the depths of lockdown.

The UK property website, whose profits almost halved in the first six months of the year, said pent-up demand was being released as people who were planning to move before the pandemic started house-hunting again.

And many others started looking for a new place to live after being stuck in their homes for months during lockdown, despite not previously having any plans to move, Rightmove noted.

Across the two months, demand to buy a property has been 50 per cent higher, with rental demand up 20 per cent, compared with the same period in 2019.

From 13 May, when Rightmove’s estate agents started re-listing properties on the site, the company has beaten its previous traffic record, from 19 February this year, a total of 65 times.

The increase is likely to have been helped by a stamp duty holiday announced by the UK government and changes north of the Border to help the housing market rebound from the depths of the pandemic.

But bosses warned that it is “too early to assess whether the strength of this positive momentum in the housing market will be maintained against the threat of further lockdowns and wider economic slowdown”.

Profit before tax dropped by 43 per cent to £61.6 million in the first half.

Boss Peter Brooks-johnson said: “In recent months Covid-19 has disrupted the lives of everyone across the UK. Our customers have shown incredible resilience and ingenuity to continue to trade through this exceptional period.

“I am grateful for both their continued support and also their proactive engagement to ensure that home-hunters have been well-informed.”