Tenant demand in Banbury has been strong over the last 12 months. After an initial dip around the start of the pandemic, the number of tenant phone calls and emails we received surged. People were spending more time at home, which provided them with time to reassess whether their current property was sufficient for their lifestyle. They wanted more space (inside for home working and outside for private areas in fresh air) and some were moving out of London (more working from home meant less frequent commuting).
During the first lockdown we quickly adapted our letting and property management processes to allow us to continue offering our clients and customers the best service remotely. We offered video tours on the majority of properties and were able to agree carefully negotiated lets on thousands of properties across the county. Demand remains strong, although supply is struggling to keep up.
For example, we had listed a modern three bedroom semi-detached house on a popular road off of the Warwick Road. The well-presented property was listed at £1,100pcm and a let was agreed remotely the next day to a couple relocating from abroad. They had watched the video tour and liked the size of the property and the fact that it had its own garden and garage as well as off-street parking. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic their move has been delayed and so they had to withdraw their application.
Our letting team relisted the property online and within four hours a new let had been agreed. Our Letting Department Manager said, “Properties in good condition are letting quickly across Banbury and the surrounding villages. We relisted this house and immediately received a call from someone who had watched the video tour and told us they were going to drive to look around the area and see the property from outside. They called back a couple of hours later to confirm they wanted to take it. This was a great result for the landlord whose previous let had just fallen through.”
The applicants were moving back to the area to be closer to their own families. This property appealed because of its high standard of finish and its location, close to the centre and also a short drive from the M40.
Good quality property within walking distance to Banbury’s town centre will always let well – even more so at the moment. If you want to discuss your property, call us on 01295 276766.
Published March 2021
