Online property market activity stats show impact of COVID-19 on European markets
The latest research by Spotahome, the international rental marketplace, has revealed online visits and engagement by homebuyers and tenants across 28 European nations has fallen by an average of just -0.4% monthly since November last year. However, in the UK the decline has been greater at -4.1%, as many have been unable to follow through with their search due to the property industry lockdown.
The UK saw the eighth largest decline in online property market activity of 28 European countries based on the leading online portals for each nation, with just Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium and Greece seeing a greater drop.
In contrast, Austria (7.8%), Finland (7.8%) and Sweden (7.4%) saw the highest average monthly increase in online property market activity.
Although many high street agents have tried to pivot with lockdown market restrictions, other fully digital platforms have remained largely unaffected, with Spotahome seeing website traffic increase consistently for seven straight weeks.
This is largely due to Spotahome’s operational foundation. Since its inception in 2014, Spotahome has focused on facilitating contactless rental moves without the need for in-person visits, instead allowing tenants to view the property via digital walkthroughs. Their long-established expertise in doing so has enabled them to allow tenants to carry on with their search and secure a place to live, either in their own country or abroad, despite social distancing measures.
With its ‘reopening’ last week, the UK property market is widely expected to bounce back. Data from Yomdel shows that so far this month, new enquiry volumes from landlords, homebuyers and tenants were already well above the 62-week pre-coronavirus lockdown levels. This high demand reflects the high proportion of the UK population that rents:the UK is home to the sixth highest proportion of renters of all 28 European nations; with 35% of us reliant on the sector to put a roof over our heads.
There should also be plenty of stock to satisfy this demand, as the latest figures show there are currently over 100,000 rental properties listed across the UK’s 23 major cities despite wider market conditions.
With an abundance of stock and high demand from UK and international tenants, Spotahome believes the UK rental market will see a swift return to form now that industry restrictions have eased. But will it be the market we recognise from prior to the outbreak of the Coronavirus?
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Rankings – average monthly change in total visits and engagement between November 2019 to April 2020
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Nation
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Property portal
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Average monthly change (Nov19 to Apr20)
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Austria
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7.8%
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|
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Finland
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7.8%
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|
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Sweden
|
7.4%
|
|
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Estonia
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5.9%
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|
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Czechia
|
5.9%
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|
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Denmark
|
4.3%
|
|
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Netherlands
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4.0%
|
|
|
Portugal
|
2.8%
|
|
|
Hungary
|
1.6%
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|
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Germany
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1.2%
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|
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Romania
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-0.2%
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|
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Lithuania
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-0.2%
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|
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Slovakia
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-0.5%
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|
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Poland
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-0.7%
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|
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Latvia
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-1.3%
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|
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Ireland
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-1.5%
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|
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Spain
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-1.8%
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|
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Cyprus
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-2.0%
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|
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Bulgaria
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-2.0%
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|
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France
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-3.3%
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|
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United Kingdom
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-4.1%
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|
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Malta
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-5.0%
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|
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Croatia
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-5.2%
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|
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Slovenia
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-5.6%
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|
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Luxembourg
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-6.2%
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|
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Italy
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-6.3%
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|
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Belgium
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-6.7%
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|
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Greece
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-7.2%
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Nation
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Percentage of people that rent (%)
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Germany
|
48.5
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Austria
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44.6
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Denmark
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39.5
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Sweden
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35.9
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France
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34.9
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United Kingdom
|
34.9
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Netherlands
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31.0
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Cyprus
|
29.9
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Ireland
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29.7
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Luxembourg
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28.8
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Finland
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28.4
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Italy
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27.6
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Belgium
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27.3
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Greece
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26.5
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Portugal
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25.5
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Slovenia
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24.9
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Spain
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23.7
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Czechia
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21.3
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Latvia
|
18.4
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Malta
|
18.4
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Estonia
|
17.6
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Bulgaria
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16.4
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Poland
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16.0
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Hungary
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14.0
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Lithuania
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10.1
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Croatia
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9.9
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Slovakia
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8.7
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Romania
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3.6
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Source: Trading Economics
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City
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Total listings (May 2020)
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London
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53,459
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Oxford
|
1,460
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Cambridge
|
810
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Manchester
|
5,160
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Liverpool
|
3,164
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Birmingham
|
5,184
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Nottingham
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1,846
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Leeds
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4,981
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Sheffield
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2,797
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Leicester
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1,906
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Newcastle
|
3,805
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Southampton
|
2,619
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Portsmouth
|
943
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Bournemouth
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1,073
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Plymouth
|
951
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Bristol
|
1,481
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Cardiff
|
2,508
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Swansea
|
1,188
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Newport
|
193
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Glasgow
|
1,690
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Edinburgh
|
2,521
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Aberdeen
|
1,256
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Belfast
|
24
|
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All cities
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101013
|
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Rental stock figures sourced from Rightmove and Zoopla
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