Prices of properties are falling as first time buyers are looking to find homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to news data from Rightmove (RMV.L), the number of sales agreed is up by 9% so far year-on-year in January.
Many sellers possibly are hoping to find a buyer prior to the stamp duty holiday comes to an end on 31 March although this is highly unlikely according to sources.
On Virgin Radio, property expert Phil Spencer said: “I think chaos would ensue if the stamp duty holiday did end on a specific date, because everybody would be working towards that day.
“It’s great to keep people motivated towards that day but actually, if they haven’t completed their deals on that date, the chances are that deals will be collapsing left right and centre, it will just be bedlam.”
In 2020, the property market had a very active start however this came to an very abrupt halt when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic followed by months in lockdown that began in March caused a basic closure of the market entirely.
Rightmove tweeted: “Homes are taking longer to sell at the moment, and with the stamp duty holiday deadline around the corner, we share advice for people who are moving right now. Read the full report ➡️ bit.ly/3lN1A6U “
However last years initial gloomy start was preceded by a slight boom as people locked and analysed their situation in lockdown, they had time to do so! And many people found themselves moving to pastures new in the summer when the first and initial lockdown finally came to an end.
This meant that sales agreed was up by 10% for the whole year compared to the previous year, it remains to be seen if anything similar will happen again this year.
Now that we are once again in lockdown, there are some very early signals that it will out-do the 2020’s surge in activity, this is due to the number of possible buyers contacting agents between 2 and 12 January up a whopping 12% vs this time last year.
Rightmove have also stated that visits to its website have continued to increase and this is currently at 33%! Which is quite incredible given then current circumstances we all find ourselves in.
