Coronavirus triggers up to one Fife residents to move house

Research by the think tank Demos asked 20,000 adults in parliamentary constituencies across Great Britain how the Covid-19 crisis had affected where they want to live.

In Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, 8% of people surveyed last December said they had recently moved house or were planning on doing so for reasons related to the pandemic.

The survey showed a further 5% of residents were thinking about moving house because of the pandemic, though they had no solid plans yet.

The vast majority of people (72%) were not thinking of relocating.

In north-east Fife the figure was more than one in 20 - 7% of those surveyed.

A similar figure also emerged for Glenrothes.

Across Great Britain, the figure was 9%.

The Chartered Institute of Housing said many people have re-evaluated where and how they want to live, as lockdown highlighted the importance of affordable, well-located, good quality housing.

Melanie Rees, head of policy and external affairs, said: "Increased working from home has meant that people don’t need to be within daily commuting distance of work.

"Moving out of urban centres where house prices are high can mean that people can afford bigger, better quality housing in more pleasant surroundings.

"We have to think about the impact of this on people already living in an area who might find themselves priced out of renting or owning a home due to the house-price inflation caused by people moving in with more money to spend."

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FFP/V