Last summer there were plenty of apartments on the market and hardly any people looking to move. Now, with lockdown over and most restrictions easing, it's a totally different picture.
Not only are people moving between apartments after 18 months of uncertainty, we're starting to see people who moved in with friends or family during lockdown looking for their own places again. On top of that there are people who've been financially hit by the pandemic and are returning to apartment sharing after renting a place on their own.
At the same time supply has dropped. Last summer saw a record high number of ads on SpareRoom. This summer they're down by around 40%. That means we've reached a point we very rarely get to - there are currently more ads on SpareRoom from people looking for rooms than there are ads for rooms available.
This isn't the first time this has happened, but it's not that common.
It won't last forever, of course. Things always re-balance themselves in time. The real difference this time round is the surge in people who can finally move between apartments is coming at the same time as all those people moving back out of friends' or family homes.
That means you may suddenly find there's a bit more competition in the market. But there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best possible chance of finding somewhere.
- Make sure you've got your finances in order before you sart looking
- Know what your budget is (and be clear on whether that's fixed or if you can stretch it further if absolutely necessary)
- make sure you place a 'Room wanted' ad so people can see what you're looking for and contact you.
If you need to find an apartment share, hit the big orange button to start your search now.
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Image credit: Matthew Henry