Interest in property spikes after weeks of Coronavirus lockdown

But that’s not to say that everything is as it used to be. One lasting effect of lockdown appears to be a change in people’s property preferences, and none more so than our deeper appreciation of gardens.

According to property website Rightmove, 63 per cent of buyers and 59 per cent of renters say they now want a bigger garden, or access to one.

Searches by buyers for homes with gardens increased by 42 per cent in May compared with May 2019; among renters such searches soared by a massive 84 per cent.

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “People are now re-evaluating what their must-haves are after ten weeks of staying at home.

“Usually home-movers tell us the kitchen photographs are the most important when they’re looking at a property advert, but now agents should consider giving greater prominence to pictures of gardens and outdoor spaces to attract the attention of prospective renters and buyers.”

Hammering home the message, the latest UK Residential Market Survey published this month by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that four in five chartered surveyors (81 per cent) feel there will be an increase in desire for properties with gardens or balconies.

Even the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has picked up on the trend. A poll it commissioned found that 57 per cent of respondents now value their garden more than they did before lockdown, and some 67 per cent of people who have no outside space are now more likely to want some when they next move house.

The RHS also identified a key reason for the trend: 71 per cent of respondents who have an outdoor space feel it has helped their mental health during lockdown.

Commenting on the findings, celebrity gardener Monty Don said: “Gardens are fun and beautiful and rewarding – but much more than that, gardens are desperately important and we need them now more than ever for our physical and mental well-being.”

If you’re looking to move and you belong to the 63 per cent of buyers identified by Rightmove or the 67 per cent revealed by the RHS, you might want to take a look at the following three flats, which all have gardens and are all currently for sale in Harrogate.

Flat 2, 24 Leadhall Lane is a first- and second-floor duplex apartment with the rare benefit of a private rear garden, outdoor storeroom, shed and summerhouse with power, light and TV aerial. Inside, there are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a sitting room.

The internal layout of flat 1, 11 Grove Road is different but similar, in that it too has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a lounge, although it is all confined to the ground floor and also has a new central heating system.

The flat, which is situated just off King’s Road, is a short walk from Harrogate town centre.

It also has a parking area to the front big enough for two cars, as well as a small private lawned garden to the rear, plus a large communal storeroom providing storage for garden furniture, bikes and the like.

Finally, flat 1a, 31 Mornington Crescent is set back from Skipton Road and just an easy stroll away from the wide green spaces of the Stray. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open-plan living room and kitchen with underfloor heating. To the front, there’s a private front sunken garden area and to the rear, a gravelled path leading to a detached double garage with roof-top garden above.