Pandemic trends are approaching their end

The adoption of remote work meant central London was left out of the COVID-19 house price boom. But with house prices in outlying towns and rural areas around the capital starting to stagnate too, there are tentative signs that the relative underperformance of the city is nearing an end. The pattern of weaker house price performance in the city was not repeated in Birmingham, Manchester, or Liverpool where prices are up by around a quarter since the beginning of 2020, matching the uplift in the surrounding area.