As the country prepares for a second lockdown, this time around the housing market is not going to be closed for two months but will people want to view property?
The general consensus at the moment is that the housing boom will continue in the short term, at least until the end of the stamp duty holiday. In addition, people are increasingly looking for more space both indoors and outdoors as working from home becomes the new normal for many.
Private Finance mortgage consultant Chris Sykes says: “With infection rates spiralling across the country a second lockdown was always an inevitability. However, this time the property market is not going to be shut down as in March.
“However, the question remains how many people are going to be out and about viewing property given the circumstances?
“Ultimately, this is likely to entrench the current trends for those looking to move to houses with more space, both outdoors and to work remotely; and means areas outside major cities are likely to see higher demand than pre-Covid.
The Money Group director Martin Stewart comments: “I think many will carry on as per normal, this does feel like Lockdown Lite for a lot of people and many sectors of business are still seemingly busy.
“Provided all property professionals adhere to the social distancing rules and people take the necessary precautions there should be no need for the housing market to slip back into deep freeze like before.”
With people wanting more space in their home, Stewart says: “I do think this is a trend that will continue as whole generations and demographics begin to adapt to the new way of living and working.
“I think we could start to see towns that were previously out of reach of the commuter belt start to benefit from peoples’ changing habits.”
North London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman Jeremy Leaf hasn’t noticed any drop-off yet in housing demand.
He says: “In fact, a buyer has re-confirmed his offer to purchase a brand new £1.75 million five-bedroom house in North London with me this morning without trying to re-negotiate the price and promised to complete the transaction in no more than five weeks.
“Activity did drop about three weeks ago in response to tightening restrictions but hasn’t really changed much since. Once the whole country is in lockdown, we may see a further re-adjustment
“Unsuitable relationships and/or properties remain the main drivers to move, particularly for people wanting more space to work in and to live away from cities as commuting has become less relevant.”
“Buyers can’t really afford to relax if they want to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday – unless the government extends the end date – so we expect most, if not all, transactions to continue unless of course the circumstances of those in the chain alter, for example, business closure or redundancy.”
Skyes adds: “So far the crisis has disproportionately affected younger people, who are more likely to be renters.
“However, as the economic outlook remains highly uncertain, with unemployment now rising across the board, the market will come back to earth with a large shock unless the stamp duty holiday is extended in the medium term.”
