The re-opening of the housing market in mid-May saw a high level of activity in the housing market, but this shouldn’t have been a surprising outcome. There were many households whose lives had been put in limbo due to the housing market being paused. These people would have been keen to conclude their deals as soon as the market was up and running again.
Of course, there are many reasons why people choose to move home, and some of these issues will have arisen during the lockdown. Changing jobs or a change in personal circumstances influence the decision to move home, and some of the buyers and vendors contacting estate agents when the market re-opened would have been in this position.
There would also have been people who merely fancies a change of scenery, and there will be people who spotted an opportunity. Regardless of the reason for the move, there has been significant evidence surrounding property moves.
There was significant demand from buyers when the market re-opened
For the housing market in England, there was an increase of 88% in the demand for homes since the market opened up. There has also been a steady increase in the volume of agreed house sales, but it will take longer for a significant number of deals to conclude.
There is also evidence that 60% of vendors are keen to proceed with their house sale plans. 60% of would-be sellers say they plan to continue with their sale while 40% say they intend to wait until there is more clarity in the marketplace.
Rightmove issued the following statistics in the wake of the housing market re-opening:
- The unique enquiries demand from buyers doubled from the Tuesday to the Wednesday when the market re-opened
- Rental demand has risen sharply, with unique enquiries at their highest one-day level since September 2019
- A 111% week-on-week rise in new sales listings on the day the housing market re-opened
While these figures should be taken positively, there is a need to proceed with caution in the housing market. Safety remains paramount, and this is something we are keen to follow as we help clients.
Safety must be paramount in housing market
Miles Shipside of Rightmove said; “Unique enquiries on property for sale doubled from the day before, though we expect consistent momentum to rebuild over several months rather than weeks. With no new seller asking price data it’s too early to comment on price movements, though high demand is needed to support a stable market.”
One interesting thing to consider in the housing market is whether buyers will look for different things in a home after lockdown. With remote working set to rise, it is likely there will be an increased focus on remote working space at home.
Richard Donnell is the director of research and insight at Zoopla, and he said; “The COVID crisis and 50-day lockdown has created an unexpected one-off boost to housing demand. Millions of UK households have spent a considerable amount of time in their homes over the lockdown period and missed out on hours of commuting. any households are likely to have re-evaluated what they want from their home. This could well explain the scale of the demand returning to the market.”
At Williams of Petersfield, we aim to support the Petersfield community as much as we can, and we know this is an extremely trying time. A lot of people are looking for support and guidance, and if you have any property or housing related questions, we are more than happy to assist you, so contact us today.