Simon Croft was interviewed by The Economist recently sharing his knowledge and experience of the Harrogate lettings market.
The article, The Day the Migrants Left, appears in the current issue of the magazine and looks at the way Harrogate is coping with a fall in the number of migrant workers, which statistics show has fallen in the last four to five years after a period of rapid growth in the 2000s.
In the article Simon talks about how demand from migrant workers for low-end properties has fallen and that most who vacate are giving forwarding addresses in other parts of the EU such as Germany and France, but not necessarily their home country.
Discussing the article, Simon adds: “We have certainly noticed a reduction in demand from migrant workers for smaller lets with rents of £500 per month and under but this has been counterbalanced to a certain extent by requests from two or three people who want to share a property with a monthly rent of around £800 to £1000. By pooling resources they are reducing their overall living expenses.”
He goes on to say that the article gives an interesting perspective on the unique situation faced by Harrogate, a town in which many young people leave when they are 18 and do not return until they are in their mid 30s yet where the economy relies on industries that typically employ people in this “missing” age bracket.
“Harrogate has always had a very positive attitude towards migrant workers because of the types of businesses that operate here, chiefly leisure and tourism and social care, and although we have seen a change in the way they access the rented housing stock in Harrogate we are pleased to see that many are choosing to stay in Yorkshire,” added Simon.
Read the full article here.