Landlords are switching properties from Airbnb-style rents to seek long-term tenants amid the coronavirus crisis, according to real estate firm Rettie.
The Edinburgh-based estate agent said a 27% drop in Edinburgh homes listed on Airbnb in the last three months coincided with a 50% increase this year in one and two-bedroom properties advertised for long-term rental on Citylets.
Restrictions on travel have left Airbnb owners without income and the online platform offered guests a full refund for cancelled bookings. The holiday lets model had been criticised for squeezing residents out of the rental market.
Dr John Boyle, Rettie's director of strategy and research, predicted a strong recovery for the housing market once restrictions on movement and social distancing are relaxed and lenders make more finance available.
He said in Rettie's Spring Market Briefing that the experience of previous outbreaks such as SARS in the Far East suggested a sharp drop in transactions would not be mirrored by a collapse in prices.
The market had ground to a halt, however, and the lack of sales meant there was little way of calculating how prices have been affected by Covid-19.
Boyle said: “Our regular Market Briefings series demonstrates the sudden impact of the global pandemic on our local housing market. It is difficult to see a return to normality until the lockdown ends and the market opens again.
"The economic fundamentals of the market were relatively strong going into this - there was price growth of over 4% in the early part of the year - which should support recovery coming out. However, the longer the lockdown, the more difficult recovery is going to be.”
