Rightmove conducted a survey by live webinar asking consumers whether their plans to move home before lockdown had now changed. The indication from this report is that the UK public is still taking a very positive view of what the future may hold for UK housing market, despite the coronavirus crisis.
The comment that some 40 per cent buyers and sellers said they were going ahead as planned and 54 per cent said they had postponed their plans for now but still planning to continue after the lockdown ends. The portal says this determination coincides with early signs that more home-hunters are researching and searching now in an effort to move home once the government signals it is safe to do so.
Visits to Rightmove initially dropped by 40 per cent at the start of lockdown but have continued to recover over the past few weeks. This week they are up over 20 per cent when compared with the first few days of lockdown.
They report that most of the properties that were on the market for sale before lockdown have stayed on the market, with total available stock for sale down just 2.2 per cent. Stock levels at Robert Bell & Co reflect well on their findings and we have seen a very low level of house sale fall throughs. Rightmove comments that "the resolve of buyers and sellers to carry on with their sale is clear, whether it’s those who are going through the conveyancing process already or those who currently have their home on the market or want to buy when lockdown ends".
They state that “The longer people are spending in their homes the more they may be considering not just a new home but also a new location, and are starting to research and search for their next move, leading to a slow but steady recovery in activity. It’s very early days for the market, and it will still take some months for the industry to find its feet, but these signs are encouraging.”
They are also seeing signs of a shift in the percentage of people considering a move from the city they currently live in, with agents also reporting increased interest in smaller towns. This time last year, 42 per cent of Londoners enquiring about a property were looking to move outside of the capital, and this has risen to over half (51 per cent) this April. The Mayfair Office marketing our client's Lincolnshire homes to buyers in the capital will be most pleased with this latest news!
The Robert Bell & Company Team
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