Firms said that during the last few weeks they had seen a big increase in enquiries about well-connected countryside and "out of city" locations — ranging from English market towns to Scottish fishing villages — where people could split their working week between home and office once life starts to return to normal.
The upmarket estate agent Savills said locations that had seen a rise in buyer registrations included the areas in and around Winchester in Hampshire, Newbury in Berkshire, Canford Cliffs in Dorset and the East Neuk of Fife on the east coast of Scotland.
Lockdown appears to be prompting many people to reassess what is important to them, whether that is a desire to continue working from home for part of the week once normal service resumes or wanting a bigger garden for their children to play in.