A London agency says the lettings sector in the capital appears to be reacting positively to the government’s roadmap out of the pandemic.

Chestertons says it recorded an eight per cent surge in enquiries about rental properties in the days following the roadmap announcement on February 22. There was also a seven per cent increase in the number of tenants registering to find a new home and a massive 20 per cent uplift in the number of tenants making offers for new rental agreements compared to the seven days before.

On the sales side Chestertons saw the number of enquiries from property portals jump by over five per cent compared to the previous week and requests for property viewings leap seven per cent. The number of buyers making offers on properties and homeowners requesting market appraisals also increased by five per cent. This represented the busiest week of 2021 so far.

Guy Gittins, chief executive of Chestertons, comments: “The market has understandably been a lot quieter since national lockdown was imposed on December 26 but prospective buyers reacted quickly and positively when the government announced the easing of restrictions.

“There is certainly a great deal of relief that the infection numbers are coming down and vaccination numbers are going up and with a return to normality now in sight, moving home is a key goal for many … We are anticipating market activity to pick up quickly over the coming weeks and are bracing ourselves for a busy spring.”