Staycation Nation - How the Summer Surge Can Affect the Northampton Property Market

The latest statistics from DataLoft show an how the Summer season offers an interesting divergence in the lettings sector.

We've covered in the past about how tenancies are lasting longer and longer when tenants are offered a stable property with a strong community to get engrossed in. What you'll find in the Summer season is almost the exact opposite! Understandably, people look to take advantage of the summer sun, summer deals and school holidays to go out and explore the world.

Who doesn't love a good holiday?

You can't blame people for looking for a mix of both holiday-vibes and stable accommodation during this time.

If you're worried about how this might impact your own property or the Northampton Property Market, you don't have too much to worry about. It all depends on the type of property you have. You'll always find that smaller properties that advertise themselves as starter homes for younger individuals new families have a shorter letting period. And larger properties that are more suited to long-term stays find tenants who are looking for exactly that. Stability and community.

It's important to note that holiday lets and turning homes in Bed and Breakfast's might seem like the perfect idea for this time, but you should also consider your long-term finances. Once the period for staycations are over, what will you do with your property then? Perhaps considering a standard let is the way to go. With the new Renters Reform changes, tenants will have the option to leave earlier anyway. And if they don't - great! You've got yourself sorted for longer than you thought.

How Does this Affect the Northampton Property Market?

Simply put, it shouldn't.

These considerations of what to do after the holiday term is something tenants also think about - if you've got a home in Northampton, you won't throw it away for a few months at a beach. Northampton offers financial stability with excellent travel links, job opportunities and strong local communities. As long as your property offers these, it can't compete with holiday-only focused properties.

Within the property market, it's important to remember that no two properties are alike. On our In Your Street series, we've explored a variety of properties that each have their own charm and target markets. Of course, this season might still see a a higher tenant turnover, and could result in void periods that the Landlord would need to cover. In these cases, it's best to look for some form of Rent Guarantee in Northampton to help alleviate any stress. Or plan ahead to make your finances and your property prepared for this kind of scenario.

As we've said, this situation isn't anything new - if you find this happening to you this year, odds are it'll happen again next year.

• With the summer holidays in full swing, many are turning to staycations in short-term lets, which accounted for a total of 90.1 million guest nights across the UK in 2024.

  
  

• August was the most popular month for guest nights, reaching 12.8 million, more than three times higher than January, which recorded just 3.7 million.

• The areas with the highest number of guest nights were Westminster (3.9 million), Cornwall (3.4 million), Edinburgh (3.0 million), and the Highlands (2.6 million).

  
  

• While short-term lets have prompted debate in some areas over their potential impact on housing availability and affordability, they currently account for less than 1% of the total housing stock across the UK.

  Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble, ONS 2025, 'short-term lets' refers to rentals, such as apartments or rooms, booked through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group, excluding other forms of accommodation, such as hotels or campsites, EY 2024.

Interested in discussing further, or exploring our Guaranteed Rent services for letting your home?

Get in contact with Northwood Northampton Letting Agents today!

JasonWells@NorthwoodUK.com

01604 607080