With Covid-19 still taking the headlines we will try to swerve adding to the already cluttered subject. To do this, however, is difficult because Covid-19 has affected every part of our communities, including the rental sector. We have good news though, we are seeing an increase in viewings and house moves as people try to figure out how best to return back to normality.
It’s fair to say the past few months have not been kind to the UK property market. While sales figures at the beginning of 2020 were beginning to look promising, the arrival of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown restrictions were a body blow to the sector, and April property sales hit their lowest point since records began in their current form in the early noughties. There also seems to have been a drop in prices, and while the tiny number of property sales has made it hard to gauge the true scale of this, it looks to have been similar to the fall we experienced after the 2009 British banking crash.
Virtual viewings have really taken off over the last few months, as lockdown restrictions have prevented prospective tenants and buyers from looking at new properties in person. These kinds of viewings look set to become a fixture in the property market, but what are the benefits and potential pitfalls of committing to a rental property without physically looking round it first?
As lockdown starts to relax, the government has amended regulations to allow people who wish to move house to do so. The government guidance highlights how to proceed safely to minimise any risk of the spread of COVID-19. The process of finding and moving into a new home will have to adapt procedures to also minimise the spread. This might mean moving as much of the process online and over the phone like virtual viewings, or vacating the property while others visit and ensuring it is thoroughly cleaned.
As the lockdown continues to keep us safe, let's look back at some highlights of last month's blogs.
As the government takes its first cautious steps to move us gradually out of lockdown, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has given permission for estate agents in England to reopen and for property viewings to restart. This will be welcome news to all those people who have been waiting to move for the past couple of months, but there are some issues that will still need to be considered.
