What the surge in house prices tells about how businesses can successfully emerge from the pandemic

Author: Rob Ormiston

Rightmove – the property listings website – has published data showing an 8% increase in prices month on month for a third consecutive month – the largest June increase in Rightmove’s index since 2015.

The Bank of England put this continuous surge in demand down to the government’s stamp duty tax breaks (due to end 30 June 2021) as well as increased demand from richer households with more savings after lockdown.

Interestingly, rural house prices in in England and Wales are rising twice as fast as in cities. We know that the world of work fundamentally shifted during the pandemic, with offices having to close and organisations having to adopt the technology, create the infrastructure and flexibility required for home-working. We also know that whilst juggling home-schooling, cat-bombing zoom calls and screen fatigue was hard, many professionals reaped the benefits of less time spent commuting and more time spent with family. We know anecdotally that many people, as a result of the lockdowns are craving more space and more access to nature – and the data presented here by Rightmove certainly seems to bear this out.

How you now manage staff and their wellbeing through this transition phase out of restrictions will be key. What have you learnt from working remotely? How have you been able to scale what you do with your teams, and with customers and clients? What are some of the gems from lockdown that you don’t want to lose as offices re-open?

Much has been made of this period of enforced home-working around the opportunity it now poses to ease the gender divide, making it easier for women to maintain senior level positions, as well as start, or raise a family. Can a positive approach to a hybrid, more flexible working model save you core costs, as well as increased diversity and talent retention?

Northern Tonic was set up with technology at the heart of our operations, recognising the ability it gives us to scale and increase our interactions with customers and employees. We welcome the return to face to face meetings, but will use as part of our toolkit, blending the virtual, with in-person meetings to ensure we create valuable productive relationships.

We offer a fully flexible working environment for employees – the opportunity to work from home, at the client base, or in the Northern Tonic office. This flexibility opens up our talent pool and I believe, creates a happier employee base, more able and willing to be at their best in work. It also taps into our environmental policies; less travel and commuting is actively reducing our carbon footprint.

Incidently, we are growing our operations and if you are reading this and wanting to work for a modern accountancy firm that can match your ambitions for growth, whilst fulfilling your needs for a more positive work/life balance, then do get in touch.

Reflecting on the challenging experiences we have been through this last year and being willing to adapt and respond to trends is key to building resilience, unearthing potential and creating a business ready to thrive in a post-pandemic world.