MORE than one in 20 people in Gwent moved house because of the coronavirus pandemic, a survey has suggested

Research by the think tank Demos asked 20,000 adults in parliamentary constituencies across Great Britain how the Covid-19 crisis had affected where they want to live.

Across the seven Senedd and Parliamentary constituencies in Gwent – Newport East, Newport West, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Islwyn, and Caerphilly – and average of seven per cent of people surveyed in December said they had recently moved house or were planning on doing so for reasons related to the pandemic.

Across Great Britain, nine per cent of survey respondents said the same.

People living in Blaenau Gwent were most likely to have moved or be planning to move, with eight per cent saying they had done so, along with seven per cent in both Newport constituencies, Torfaen, Islwyn, and Caerphilly.

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Monmouthshire residents were less likely to have moved or planned to move, with six per cent saying they had upped sticks.

The Chartered Institute of Housing said many people have re-evaluated where and how they want to live, as lockdown highlighted the importance of affordable, well-located, good quality housing.

Melanie Rees, head of policy and external affairs at CIH, added: "Increased working from home for those who are lucky enough to be able to do so has meant that people don’t need to be within daily commuting distance of work.

"Moving out of urban centres where house prices are high can mean that people can afford bigger, better quality housing in more pleasant surroundings.

"We have to think about the impact of this on people already living in an area who might find themselves priced out of renting or owning a home due to the house-price inflation caused by people moving in with more money to spend."

The survey also asked people if they were thinking about moving house because of the pandemic, but had no solid plans yet, with seven per cent in Newport East and West, Islwyn and Caerphilly saying they were, along with eight per cent in Blaenau Gwent, six per cent in Monmouth and five per cent in Torfaen.

However, an average of 72.6 per cent of people in Gwent said they were not thinking of relocating – 74 per cent in Monmouth and Islwyn, 73 per cent in Torfaen and Caerphilly, 72 per cent in Blaenau Gwent, and 71 per cent in both Newport constituencies.

Young adults, particularly those in their mid-20s with lower incomes, were the most likely to move as a result of the pandemic.

Some students may have returned home from university prematurely, while young urban workers trying to start their careers were also affected.

The Institute for Public Policy Research, a progressive think tank, said rising house prices overwhelmingly benefit existing homeowners, while widening social and economic inequalities.

Jonathan Webb, IPPR senior research fellow, said: "The UK’s chronic undersupply of housing means that when places become popular with home movers, house prices can inflate rapidly.

"This can result in places quickly becoming unaffordable. The impacts are often felt most severely by lower income households, who can easily find themselves priced out of areas that might have previously been affordable."The solution is for governments to increase the supply of homes, particularly "genuinely affordable social rent homes", he added.

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “In the previous Senedd term, we invested a record £2 billion in affordable housing, helping us to meet and exceed our target to deliver 20,000 affordable homes in that time.

"We are now looking to build a further 20,000 new, low carbon social homes for rent and will be announcing further details shortly.”