Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday announced the introduction of new restrictions in England, including restaurant curfews and working from home where possible. If they are ineffective, the rapidly rising coronavirus case count means that more could follow.
What does the shift mean for the property market? The effects could be somewhat contradictory.
Lockdown and the rise of working from home have in themselves become factors driving a surge in house moves – added restrictions may mean more urgency for those who want to upsize.
Yet any hit to the economy is a serious threat to house prices. And of course, last time Britain went into national lockdown, nobody could buy a house anyway because the market was completely suspended.
Here, we look at what could happen this time around.
Could the housing market close again?
Mark Hayward, of Propertymark, an estate agent trade body, said he is in conversations with the Government about what increased restrictions could mean for the property market.
“At the moment a second closure of the market is very unlikely,” said Mr Hayward. “Infection rates would have to be very severe.”
The local lockdowns that have happened so far, in areas such as Lancashire and Birmingham, have not involved changes to property sector guidance. Markets have been allowed to function under the same social distancing guidelines that are currently in place across the country.
The Government has also demonstrated that it considers protecting the property market particularly important – in England, the sector reopened on May 13, many weeks before lockdown restrictions were formally eased. In his speech yesterday, Mr Johnson stressed that the Government wanted to allow business to continue and keep the economy going.
But a full or partial lockdown could mean changes to the guidance on moving house, said Mr Hayward. “They may well change the guidance on the number of people who can view a property at one time,” he said. “And wording in the guidance about things that you ‘should’ do might change to ‘must’.”