Buyers are demanding huge discounts up to 20% as housing market bursts back into life following coronavirus lockdown
- Estate agents reported a surge in demand after ministers lifted seven-week ban
- Website Rightmove said online viewings were up 45 per cent yesterday morning
- But experts have warned of a ‘Mexican standoff’ as fears linger over a price crash
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Buyers are seeking discounts of up to 20 per cent on properties as the housing market reawakens.
Estate agents reported a surge in demand yesterday after ministers lifted a seven-week ban on home moves.
But experts warned of a ‘Mexican standoff’ between buyers and sellers as fears linger over a price crash.
An estimated 450,000 moves have been on hold since the Government effectively froze the property market in late March.
Virtual deal: Laura Wilson, 25 and boyfriend Elliot Horn, 28. The pair had been due to move into a new-build home in Leeds in September until the lockdown halted construction
The pent-up demand sparked a frenzy of activity after Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said the sector was ‘back in business’.
Estate agents, removal firms and conveyancers are now allowed to open in England and firms said they have been bombarded with enquiries.
Property website Rightmove said online viewings were up 45 per cent yesterday morning, while searches for mortgage deals were up 18 per cent on last week, according to comparison site MoneySuperMarket.
Property group Andrews, which has 48 offices across the south of England, said it received 226 calls from prospective buyers within an hour of opening its lines.
But experts warned that prices are still likely to fall as economic uncertainty causes deals to collapse and buyers seek significant discounts.
Estate agents Knight Frank said it expects UK house prices to drop by 7 per cent by the end of the year and added that prices are already likely to have fallen by around 5 per cent.
Property adviser Henry Pryor said he had four clients who had deals put on hold by the lockdown, all of whom were now seeking 20 per cent off the agreed price, but would likely settle for 5 to 10 per cent.
He added: ‘There is going to be a Mexican standoff and it will be interesting to see who blinks first. Estate agents will try to convince us that it is business as usual, but buyers will have read the reports about the economy and say they are taking a risk.
Selling: Carol Burgess with father Peter Lemon. Ms Burgess, 66, was forced to accept a 10 per cent cut on the sale of her father’s home last month
‘All the deals that were sitting there will have to be renegotiated. Lots will collapse.’ Around 80 per cent of surveyors said buyers and sellers had pulled out of deals in April, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Lloyds Banking Group has previously said house prices could fall by 10 per cent by the end of the year and 30 per cent over three years. But it said this was a ‘severe scenario’ and it was more likely that prices would fall by 5 per cent by the end of the year.
Yesterday Mr Jenrick told MPs that reopening estate agents was ‘the most radical restarting of an industry’ since lockdown.
He added: ‘In every economic recovery in modern British history the housing market has been key.’
The new-look market will see buyers taking hand sanitisers on viewings, while agents have been urged to use online tours. Owners will be asked to leave the house or stand in the garden during viewings.