The news overnight that the housing market is set to reopen is definitely a welcome decision following the government’s easing of lockdown.
There are new regulations put in place by Public Health England allowing certain activities to begin to take place in relation to the sales of properties, allowing the market to effectively reopen.
Estate agents and developers will be able to reopen their doors to the visiting public and clients with social distancing measures in place, and viewings of residential properties are allowed to resume.
Show homes at new-build developments will be able to reopen and people wishing to begin marketing their properties will now be allowed to start preparing for this with estate agents able to visit these properties to carry out important valuations.
The impact of this on the housing market cannot be underestimated – those that have been left in limbo and stuck in the chain through lockdown over the last few months, can now resume the process of moving or looking to move in the future.
So many people that are waiting to move have been left on hold during the pause in the market, and now, providing that social distancing is maintained, these sales can resume.
We have been working to re-negotiate completion dates during the lockdown, so these changes will give property buyers some room to breathe and resume the moving process, bringing some normality back to the market.
As long as the socially distancing measures stay in place, the safety of the buyers and estate agents throughout the chain will remain a priority while still allowing moves and viewings to take place.
These changes should take some time to filter down to allow businesses to plan how best to implement these safety measures to protect employees and clients, but it will allow some movement for the property market.
We’re looking forward to resuming work with the clients who engaged with our conveyancing services prior to the lockdown to help them to complete their house moves – their willingness to compromise and pause during this difficult situation has been admirable so I’m glad the process is able to resume.
