Trend to Moving Away From Cities

Most of us were locked down in our house or flat for an awfully long time in 2020 and this could happen again very soon. The coronavirus pandemic will, however, do more than change the way we feel about our homes. One of the things that we can do while moving from the city is to scan old photos.

With increased unemployment, wage cuts, business failures, and job uncertainty, many people are cautious about investing in property as these conditions normally lead to falling house prices

However, behind those headline figures, there are other forces at work on the property sector:

• Many people can now work from home and avoid the commute to the workplace
• The temporary cut in stamp duty for homes costing below £500,000, which will expire on 31 March 2021, that can save buyers up to £15,000. Purchasers buying more expensive homes will benefit from reduced stamp duty
• Due to Government job protection schemes and the availability of mortgage holidays there are fewer distressed vendors
• There is pent-up demand following lockdowns and record low interest rates

These factors are fuelling a short-term boom in activity, particularly in prime rural markets as buyers leave London for more space and better value, even though economists forecast a significant increase in unemployment over the coming months.

Rise in The Number Of People Searching For Homes Further From Town And City Centres

There has been a significant rise in the number of people searching for more suburban and rural properties further from town and city centres, with larger gardens and space for a home office.

Price jumps are evident across the UK, with the south-west of England and the commuter towns surrounding London recording increases of more than 5% in the third quarter of 2020 compared with a year earlier.

Wealthier individuals are looking to leave cities for larger suburban homes with gardens in the anticipation that they will not need to commute into central offices as often – even after the pandemic ends.

No Need to Throw Away Belongings

Instead of downsizing, families now have more space for their belongings and do not have to make a purge before the move.

One of the things that most families will come across during the move will be boxes or albums full of old photos and slides. These collections could include pictures that were taken by loved ones who have died a long time ago.

As you are packing the old photographs getting ready for the move, there is no doubt that you will have a quick peak in the boxes and found images that you had forgotten about or that really intrigued you due to their circumstances and individuals in them.

Rather than having to discard these treasured memories, in your new property you will have room to store the old photos in places that do not suffer from large temperature or humidity changes, so that you do not cause a further deterioration to the quality of the snaps.

Scan old photos to Bring your Old Photos Back to Life

Now, with more time on your hands, as there is less commuting, and easier access to the photos that show your family history, you should consider digitizing the images so that they can be:

• Maintained in their present state forever without further deterioration
• Shared with the rest of your family by storing them on ‘the cloud’ or by making gifts from them
• Decrease the amount of storage space you need by discarding duplicate, poor quality or damaged photos

To scan old photos is faster and less expensive than you may think, and now is the ideal opportunity to make more of your unexpected free time to sort, clean and store your old photos.

Contact the team at Digitize Media with any questions that you have and for an idea on the costs involved to scan old photos into digital format.