After more than six weeks of being on ice, the housing market is gearing up to reopen. But the process of buying and selling a house is going to be radically different.
Since the Government effectively suspended the sector at the end of March, 373,000 transactions have been thrown up in the air and newly agreed sales have dropped by 90pc, according to the property portal Zoopla.
As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, the property sector is set to get a new, socially distant look. Here’s what it means for the market.
How soon will we be able to go to house viewings?
Mark Hayward of the NAEA PropertyMark, the national estate agent trade body, has said the market could be starting up again by the end of May.
But this does not mean that estate agent branches will necessarily reopen at first. The process will be staggered, and we certainly won’t be returning to normal any time soon.
The estate agent industry is working with Public Health England to get guidelines approved for how the housing market can reopen in line with social distancing requirements.
How different will the process of buying a house be?
So far the plans include limiting house viewings to 15 minutes and only two adults.
Sellers will be expected to open all doors and turn on light switches, and then wait in the garden or go out for their daily exercise while the buyer views the property without touching anything. Homes must be cleaned before and after every viewing. Buyers, agents and sellers will wear PPE.
The number of viewings will probably be limited per day and there will almost certainly be a ban on open house or back-to-back viewings. Viewings will be cancelled if anyone involved is showing symptoms.
Virtual viewings will become far more commonplace. Though they won’t replace physical viewings, it will likely become normal to conduct initial viewings over video, before visiting a property in person.
Wherever possible, mortgage lenders will make their valuations remotely, using existing local transaction data. The exceptions will be if the buyer is purchasing with a small deposit (namely 5 or 10pc) or the property has a particularly high value, in which case a physical valuation in line with social distancing guidelines will still be necessary.
There are plans for new systems to sign legal documents electronically.