According to Rightmove, there has been a surge in demand for smaller properties which are located close to city centres.

Bigger, family style homes have been leading the market over the past year due to the high demand for attentional space. Many families needed spare space to allow them to work from home .

The demand has since shifted and flats are now the most in demand property type. There was an uplift in demand for flats of 39% from April to January.

Buyer demand is worked out by the number of enquiries made to estate agents. They are measured by the amount of people who request more details about a property they have seen for sale on Rightmove.

Some city centres such as York, have seen an increase in demand of up to 76%. Norwich saw an increase of 62% and similarly there was a 57% rise in Sheffield.

The demand for homes in city centres rose by an average of 35%, this is larger than the demand for properties in villages which only rose by 32%.

The studies also show that due to the pandemic, many fist time buyers were able to save for a deposit more easily, or they are able to put down a bigger deposit.

Coupled with this, many first time buyers do not want to move to quieter area which has been the desire of generations passed.