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Row of houses in the British capital London
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Toby Melville / Reuters / REUTERS
The real estate sector in Great Britain is registering sharp upward price fluctuations in the corona pandemic.
"Because people work so much from home, they have invested in their homes and bought larger houses with gardens," said Anna Leach, deputy chief economist at the British industry association CBI.
This was supported by the suspension of the so-called stamp tax - it is roughly similar to the real estate transfer tax in Germany - for the first 500,000 pounds (the equivalent of 567,000 euros) when buying real estate.
Therefore, the industry has proven to be more resilient than initially expected, said Leach.
According to the latest information from the ONS statistics agency, house prices in the UK rose 7.6 percent year on year through November 2020.
The development continues: According to the Halifax House Price Index of the research company IHS Markit, prices also increased significantly in January, by 5.4 percent compared to the same month last year.
Craftsmen and home and office decorators also benefited from the trend in the UK, Leach said.
Many people would have bought doors, desks, chairs and work tools to spruce up their homes.
"IT companies have also done very well," said the economic expert.
London has apparently lost 700,000 residents
In addition to the tax reduction, a second trend is fueling the property boom across the country.
As a result of the pandemic and home office, more and more people are moving from large, expensive cities like London to the countryside.
"Housing activity outside of the city centers can be seen increasing," Leach said.
Many people adjusted to no longer commuting to work, or only rarely.
"They invest the extra time in a bigger house, a bigger garden," said the specialist.
According to a study, London alone lost up to 700,000 residents during the pandemic.
This included many foreigners who became unemployed and returned to their homeland.
But many people have also moved to the suburbs or further into the country.
"This will make a huge difference," Leach said.
Economic activity will be more evenly distributed across the country.
But not the entire real estate industry has benefited: Because of the trend towards home offices, prices for commercial real estate have suffered.
In London, rents fell by 7.6 percent over the year as a whole, as the real estate group CBRE determined.
And the boom in the private sector could soon be over.
Stamp duty has to be paid again from April onwards.
In addition, experts fear a further rise in unemployment if a state support program that has so far secured many jobs expires.
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beb / dpa
