While there has been a twofold jump in searches for holiday homes, Keegan says the data – which shows numbers seeking cottages, farmhouses and country houses are all up significantly – suggests people are re-evaluating the way they live.
“I think people are seeing opportunities to live elsewhere. Working from home for months in a small house with three or four children, you might be thinking well, actually, I can have a better quality of life and still work from home. , senior lecturer in housing at Technical University of Dublin, believes a “serendipitous opportunity” has arrived to regenerate rural Ireland.“It could be levered quite well to attract people into towns and villages. Now there are people willing to do it. It is probably easier to persuade people to move into towns and villages now than it would have been 24 months ago.”
“There will always be people who want to live in a city and people who have to live in and around a city."Meanwhile, four in every 10 of the premium houses now being sold by Savills are going to overseas buyers., head of country sales at Savills, said it registered more buyers in June for “prime country properties” than in any month in the previous three years.