UK Government Eases Real Estate Lockdown Restrictions in England

The government sees real estate as key for an economic recovery and has allowed estate agents to resume home viewings including show homes, valuers to conduct on site valuations and removal firms to restart operations in England. At the same time, it is introducing measures to support smaller builders such as allowing them to defer payments to councils and operate more flexible hours.

These concessions are encouraging signs and, as we previously mentioned, banks are liquid and interest rates are low. These factors should give the public confidence to re-engage with the English housing market as we move into the traditional spring buying season.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, May 16th 2020

UK New Builds Likely to Be Most Resilient

With the government ban on property viewings and the restriction on moving into occupied properties, the outlook for completed and near ready new builds is looking reasonably positive. Construction is gradually getting back on track with some major developers announcing orderly returns to building sites which should ensure planned completions are not delayed significantly.

Developers are taking advantage of virtual viewing technology and presenting high quality detailed presentations to investors with many reporting positive outcomes. Downtown International recently facilitated a reservation for a high value penthouse in Central London thanks to a highly professional virtual tour by a trusted UK developer.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, May 10th 2020

Will UK House Prices Fall After Lockdown?

Buyers sitting on the sidelines expecting dramatic price reductions like those seen in 2008 could be disappointed, according to leading property portal Rightmove. The 2008 price crash was caused primarily by a shortage of credit and high interest rates as banks faced a credit crunch. This time around, the banks are liquid and interest rates are at all time lows. One also has to look at the resilience of the housing market in the 1980 crisis which saw positive price growth and the 1990 one with only a 1.4% fall in prices.

Yes, there will be distressed sellers due to job losses and business failure but most economists are expecting a relatively swift economic bounce back which would prevent widespread price drops.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, May 2nd 2020

London Estate Agents Expecting Very Busy Summer

Whilst the enforced lockdown has indeed impacted London property transactions, it should be remembered that London house prices were on a positive trajectory and in February were only 3% below the all-time high. Agents are currently fielding many online enquiries and registering large numbers of viewings for post lockdown. One leading agent believes this pent-up demand will lead to an early stampede and is planning on using open house viewing to cope with demand and expects sealed bids to be commonplace.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Apr 25th 2020

'Blind' Sales Helping Keep London Market Afloat

One well known developer says they concluded 20 'blind' sales a week across its London developments, double the amount during the worst weeks of the Brexit crisis. With so many people working from home and having more time, the buider has seen an increase of 40% in website hits since the lockdown came into effect.

London agents are also reporting that the second-market is seeing an uptick in 'blind' sales thanks to new virtual viewing technology which has made it much easier to get a clear idea of properties in buyers' chosen locations. One London agent specialiazing in prime properties has concluded 3 sales of properties over £10m with buyers from the Middle East and Hong Kong in the last few weeks.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Apr 18th 2020