Residential Market Update

04 Jun 20

We are delighted to be back and the market is very busy!  From 13th May when the Government allowed Estate Agents to resume trading, our teams have been managing high volumes of enquires as pent up demand is released.

We are valuing, listing and selling properties, but of course we are very mindful of Covid-19 from a health and safety perspective.  Our policies allow for a combination of home and office working and we are finding that with co-operation from buyers and sellers, physical viewings and valuations are conducted safely.

We saw a 28.6% increase in traffic on fennwright.co.uk between 13th – 24th May, compared to the first two weeks in May.  Rightmove reported a record 6m visitors to their site on 27th May and demand for rental properties has jumped by 22% in the past two weeks, compared to this time last year.

A survey by Rightmove said that 94% of those who planned to move before lockdown are still planning to do so.  They recently revealed the top ten property searches during lockdown, which saw a rise in searches for land, sea views, freehold properties and a pool, suggesting that many people are reassessing their priorities post Covid-19.  Number ten on the list might be a reflection of the amazing weather we saw in May!

1. Garage 6. Sea view
2. Acres 7. Freehold
3. Annexe 8. Rural
4. Garden 9. Cottage
5. Land 10. Pool

 

Since re-opening, we are talking to more London buyers who are looking to move out of the City in search of a semi-rural lifestyle.  It is possible that, for some, being predominantly home-based for work will be possible, which would make access to a train station less of a priority and open up a wider search area for their dream home.

Viewings

Our teams are producing fantastic virtual viewing videos of many of our properties for sale.  These are effectively guided tours with our negotiators providing the commentary and they are proving very successful.

Rather than making them widely available online, we invite interested parties to get in touch with us for a virtual viewing so that we can ensure they are properly registered. In doing so, we are able to gauge their initial feedback which is useful when reporting to our clients and of course, ultimately the aim is to convert this into a physical viewing.

Two of our residential vendors have very kindly given us permission to share their virtual viewings, with commentary from Briege Rix in Essex and Steve Geiss in Suffolk:

Ormonde House, West Bergholt, Essex

Abbott Way, Holbrook, Suffolk

Our residential teams are on hand to run through the virtual viewings process with you and are able to arrange physical viewings, either with Fenn Wright in attendance or in some instances, the homeowner or occupier.  We have prepared guidelines which are issued to all parties prior to any viewings taking place but if you have any questions – please ask.

You can find contact details for all of our teams here.

Valuations

As well as offering physical valuations, maintaining social distancing, we are still finding that the virtual valuation experience is proving popular with many homeowners.

To find out how much your property might be worth with a free valuation from our experts, click here to request a valuation.

At the beginning of the year we were experiencing early signs of a post-Brexit boom in the property market but of course activity slowed as a result of measures introduced to control the spread of the virus.

It is too early to say whether the encouraging levels of activity we are currently seeing in the market will be sustained, but so far the signs are good.  Subject to a degree of economic stability and avoiding a second spike of the virus, this underlying pent up demand could continue for the remainder of this extraordinary year.

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