Post-Lockdown HomeMover Survey

It is fair to say some people were caught out by the pace with which the housing market was re-opened in May 2020. Of course, the level of engagement and activity in the market since then suggests many people were eagerly waiting the return of the housing market.

When the housing market went on hiatus, it is believed there were around 270,000 property deals waiting to be concluded. Not all these deals will be completed, but you can imagine many households were keen to start over as soon as they had the opportunity to do so.

It is also important to recognise many people’s circumstances will have changed during lockdown. There is a lot of reasons why people move home, but a change in circumstances is often a common factor. People whose working status or relationship changed during lockdown might have been looking to move as soon as they had the chance.

Therefore, many industry experts predicted the housing market would experience a positive bounce back when it re-opened, and the figures prove this.

Rightmove analysis indicates people have been keen to move

Rightmove have compiled the following statistics relating to the initial period after the market re-opened:

·         A 111% week-on-week rise in new sales listings on the day the housing market re-opened

·         Rental demand has risen sharply, with unique enquiries at their highest one-day level since September 2019

·         The unique enquiries demand from buyers doubled from the Tuesday to the Wednesday when the market re-opened

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.”

HomeMover survey provides further evidence of post-lockdown demand

While the initial wave of interest proved there was a lot of pent-up demand in the housing market, the HomeMover survey findings suggest there has been sustained interest in all sides of the aspect.

The survey spoke to vendors who had intimated a desire to sell their home before lockdown commenced. 52% of respondents said they remain committed to the sales process and they want to sell their home as quickly as possible.

27% of respondents said they want to sell their home this year, while 16% of respondents said they intend to sell their house in 2021. Of course, it is inevitable that some vendors will change their mind regarding selling their home, and 5% of respondents said they no longer plan to sell their house.

We know this is a challenging time, and for many households, the thought of buying or selling property is far from their mind. However, we also know many people are keen to keep themselves entertained, and some people may have property market issues. If we can be of any use to you, please contact Harpers Estates, and we will be more than happy to assist you.