The property market reopens for business

The property market is back in business following two months of lockdown. Under new regulations, activities related to moving home are permitted, albeit under social distancing measures. So estate agents' offices are open, buyers and renters can view properties in person, show homes have also reopened and surveyors can be booked in to conduct inspections.

During the lockdown, physical inspections by surveyors for valuation purposes were not possible, although limited digital valuations were carried out. The restrictions had a drastic impact on the market and directly led to scaled-back lending. Prudent lending is just not possible without commissioning comprehensive inspections performed to a high standard. More than 450,000 people were unable to go ahead with their plans to move to a new house during the height of the pandemic.

With the lockdown days behind us, the market has been springing back into action. All parts are firing up their cylinders. This means that at whatever stage of the home buying or selling transaction process you were at before the crisis, now has the green light to continue. Delayed transactions that were awaiting a property survey or valuation are now proceeding at full speed and there was a 111%  week-on-week increase in new sales listings on the day the market reopened.

The hope is  that it will quickly return to the pre-coronavirus state in terms of the volume of transactions going through. However, some processes may be slower for a while. We are in a transitional period where everyone is adapting to the new buying and selling environment. The threat of a possible second wave of COVID infections is still with us, and so the market is operating under the 'new normal.' This is reflected in the new government health and safety measures and guidelines, which are understandably stringent.

That being said, this is a great time to buy and sell homes. Consumer confidence in bricks and mortar has been maintained, sellers have a large pool of buyers who are eager to make up for lost time and borrowing rates are at an all-time low.

The UK property market may not have returned with a bang, but it is slowly getting back on its feet, which is great news for buyers and sellers and the economy.

June 2020