Market Pulse – Page 10 – Blue Bricks Magazine

28 December 2020

2021 Changes to ‘Relief’ Bills Introduced During Pandemic

There will be no Stamp Duty Holiday extension next year, the UK government has announced.

Their statement, revealed just before Christmas, was in response to a nationwide petition urging the government to extend Stamp Duty relief past its current deadline of March 31, 2021. The petition, signed by those in the industry, was presented to parliament with more than 28,000 signatures.

The government responded to the demand by saying that the idea behind the abolishing of Stamp Relief in England and Northern Ireland for homes up to £500,000, was to introduce an immediate stimulus for the market.

Introduced in July, the Stamp Duty Holiday certainly did its job, sending the property market reeling at times. Demand for housing had already been high due to lockdown but the opportunity to save up to £15,000 on homes worth £500,000 was the final push many keen but undecided buyers needed to move.

First-time buyers only Stamp Duty Absentees

Only first-time buyers will continue to enjoy Stamp Duty relief for homes valued at up to £300,000, and 5% for anything after that up to £500,000 after the Holiday cut-off date.

The rates for those who are already home owners, are due to revert to 2% on properties priced £125,001 to £250,000, 5% on homes valued at £250,001 to £925,000 and 10% for property from £925,001 up to £1.5m.

Surcharges for second home owners and overseas buyers

Buy to let landlords and those who buy a second home will pay an additional 3% on top of the existing Stamp Duty rates. In Wales, following a new ruling this month, the additional levy for second homes valued at up to £180,000 is 4%. For homes worth £1.6m or more in Wales, the Land Transaction Tax (LTT) is 16%.

Overseas buyers can also expect to pay a Stamp Duty surcharge – of 2% – for any property they purchase in England and Northern Ireland.

Mortgage payment holidays to end March 31, 2021

The huge help for current homeowners who had lost their jobs or faced furlough in 2020, was the Mortgage Payment Holiday. This too will come to an end at the beginning of April, with no current plans to extend it.

Rental evictions postponement

Due to coronavirus anyone served a Section 21 (or other eviction notice) between 29 August 2020 to 31 March 2021, must have been given six months’ notice, by law. Less than this and the eviction hearing won’t go ahead. Only in serious breaches of Tenancy Agreements, such as anti-social behaviour and non-payment of rent for up to six months, will the six months’ notice rule be abandoned. The ruling applies to all property in all Tiers, not just the most severely restricted areas.

Bailiffs banned until January 11, 2021

Coronavirus measures mean no bailiff possession cases can take place in England and Wales until January 11, 2021. Again, this is regardless of Tier. Due to the fact that 14 day’s notice must be given of an eviction taking place, the first bailiffs visits won’t be until January 25 next year.

Reactivation notices needed for repossession

Tenants issued with a claim for property possession prior to August 2, 2020 must be sent a ‘reactivation notice’ by the landlord as well as the court. The landlord must outline whether the tenant has suffered a loss of income as a result of the pandemic, or whether they have been shielding etc. Failure to supply this info will mean the repossession hearing won’t go ahead.

Jill Stevenson

A hand holding a set of house keys in front of an apartment block

December 2020, Market Pulse

24 December 2020

Why flats are out of favour

No-one can deny the UK property market has been riding high in recent months. Since the first lockdown was lifted in May, surveyors, estate agents and conveyancers have been kept busy and there is now a huge backlog of transactions following the high demand to sell and buy.

indeed, in October Halifax recorded a record average high in the price of property over the past year – year-on-year growth of 7.5%. However, break the figures down further and you will find houses – regardless of whether they are detached or semi-detached – faring far better than flats.

Houses twice as likely to sell

Analysis by property research company PropCast shows only 27% of flats listed are selling, compared with 44% of houses countrywide. Furthermore, flats in London are taking up to 70 days to sell compared to just 29 days for houses, according to upmarket estate agents Hamptons International. This is the first time in eight years that flats in the capital have been overtaken by houses when it comes to buyer demand. So, what’s causing the rush to ditch flats?

No prizes for guessing the biggest reason, say property analysts – it’s the desire for outdoor space as a result of the pandemic and the possibility of future lockdowns. Houses tend to have gardens, flats don’t (even if some of them do have a roof terrace or balcony). And, if they can’t get a house with a garden, then many inner-city residents at least want somewhere less polluted by people as well as somewhere they can be closer to nature. You’re talking about the suburbs and villages here – neither of which are known for their high concentrations of flats.

Working from home has also increased the desire for additional space, such as a third bedroom or loft space, which can easily be converted into a home office.

First-time buyer numbers down

Another reason for the declining popularity of flats is the reduced number of first-time buyers. Flats – especially studio and one-bedroom properties – are more popular with this first rung of the property ladder because they tend to be less expensive than houses to buy. In addition, since they are younger and typically single, these buyers don’t mind being in the heart of a city where all the pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues are.

There are fewer first-time buyers because there simply aren’t that many higher loan-to-value mortgages to go around. That means first-time buyers need more money for a deposit and, as we’ve learned over recent months, it’s the younger age group that has been hardest hit by the lockdown, with many tending to be employed in hospitality, retail and tourism. Data from the Office of National Statistics shows there are now 156,000 more unemployed 16-to 24-year-olds (referred to as Generation Z) since May.

Lockdown hits luxury apartment market

But it’s not just in the first-time buyer market that flats are faring poorly. Luxury apartments in the likes of inner-city London and quayside Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow are also plunging in value in a bid to attract buyers. In London, the popularity of plush apartments has fallen by 1.8%. That’s because wealthier buyers are also opting for housing and green space in preference to high-rise living.

Even if we get that promised vaccine (or two) for Covid-19, will the popularity of flats ever recover? Not according to BuiltPlace analyst Neal Hudson, who predicts the end of the ‘property ladder’ thanks to the increase in value of houses compared to flats.

“The idea that you could buy a flat in a city centre and then, after a few years, trade up to get a house in the same area doesn’t work now for the vast majority of people,” he said.

What it does mean, though, is that people may move sideways (ie: to “further out” locations) rather than upwards in their current city or town.

Jill Stevenson

For sale sign outside an house on a street

December 2020, Market Pulse

24 December 2020

Property Market Update

Stopped in its tracks once again, England went into lockdown 2.0 last month. But you wouldn’t have realised had you just landed and caught a glimpse of the property market.

It was – and is – still open for (plenty of) business, with estate agents and potential buyers able to physically visit properties (having first viewed them online). And it is just as well the market is still up and running considering the huge rush to get thousands of property transactions settled before the Stamp Duty Holiday is terminated at the end of March 2021. Estate agents, surveyors and conveyancers are all currently complaining about a huge backlog of transactions.

The latest data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows that 98,010 property sales have already gone through in September alone. That’s 21% up on August’s figures and down just 0.7% on last year (before Covid-19 or any mention of lockdowns).

Properties selling in 50 days, say Rightmove

Experience from the first UK-wide lockdown showed the closing of the property market merely built up demand so that, when restrictions were lifted, the buying and selling of property went into overdrive. And, seven months on, buyer demand is still strong – Rightmove recently reported most properties on their portal as selling within 50 days.

BOE mortgage approvals highest for 13 years

House prices are still up. Land Registry’s figures for August showed the average property was priced at £239,196 – that’s a 2.2% increase on August 2019. The Bank of England added to the glad tidings by announcing that mortgage approvals last month were the highest in 13 years.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Stamp Duty Holiday for property worth up to £500,000 in England and half that figure in Scotland and Wales helped, of course. So too did Covid-19 itself, with those who had never considered moving now looking for a rural retreat, garden and additional room to use as work-from-home office space.

Property portal Zoopla reports that 31% of properties sold during the months of June, July and August were in rural areas, compared with just 18% in urban locations.

House prices may remain steady until March/April 2021

The buying overdrive will peter out at some point, and at which time house prices will almost certainly take a dip. But this isn’t expected to happen, at least markedly, until next year. Many in the industry believe the end of the Stamp Duty Holiday will bring about a change in the market. But who knows if the holiday will end in March – the chancellor has received a pleading letter signed by well-known trade bodies in the property industry asking him to extend the Stamp Duty bonanza by a further six months.

He has already extended the furlough scheme again, after all, with this latest extension due to come to an end around the same time as the Stamp Duty Holiday. It’s expected the former will result in job losses. However, the prospect of a nationwide vaccination programme may make the unemployment statistics far less severe than previously predicted.

And then there’s Brexit…

There is, of course, another major event for the UK which could potentially derail the property market. And that is the possibility of a no-deal Brexit – something else that is predicted to have a negative effect on the economy and result in job losses. As a result, it could slow down transactions in the property market and therefore reduce house prices.

Then again, the property market hasn’t just survived, but flourished as a result of the pandemic (at least in the short term). And, could it be that with the intervention of the new pro-European US president we may just get a longed-for Brexit deal, after all?

Jill Stevenson

December 2020, Market Pulse

16 December 2020

Brexit and Bricks & Mortar

Will there – won’t there – be a deal? The guess as to which side the Brexit barometer line is far more likely to fall on changes pretty much daily.

But one thing is for sure – regardless of what kind of Brexit we have, Britain’s exit from the European Union on December 31 this year will have some kind of effect on house prices.

Just how much of an effect, and whether it’s anything to get concerned about, remains to be seen. After all, the property market managed to survive that spontaneous seven weeks shutdown earlier this year. Albeit, it was helped by a surge in house prices following pent-up buyer demand and the Stamp Duty Holiday. And, the latter, as we have all been told repeatedly, is due to end abruptly on March 31 next year (despite protests to the contrary).

Meanwhile, house prices are at a record high – Nationwide reported a rise of 6.5% for November while Halifax said the average UK house price is now a record £253,243. And that’s not all; mortgage approvals are at a 13-month high.

But, getting back to Brexit… a few property experts have their own opinions on how much an effect a Deal or No Deal Brexit will have. And it’s interesting to see those predictions don’t really differ too much.

More about transactions than prices

Anthony Codling, founder of property website Twindig, believes many property analysts are currently focusing on the wrong set of numbers. It’s more about house sales than post-Brexit house prices, he insists.

“If a Brexit deal or a Brexit No Deal leads to a rise in unemployment or more importantly a rise in the fear of unemployment, we would expect housing transactions to fall and remain at a lower level until the Brexit dust has settled,” he says.

“It is unlikely in our view that house price will fall significantly as a result of Brexit.”

Only London and the South East affected by No Deal Brexit

Nicholas Morrey from independent mortgage broker John Charcol reckons there will be a strong negative effect on house prices. But, this would be localised – to London and the South East. These southern regions, he adds, are ‘very sensitive’ to the results of Brexit whereas ‘the northern regions were in favour of Brexit from the off.’

He added: “I suspect the property market won’t be impacted anywhere near as much by a No Deal Brexit than people think. Certainly not in the short term. Potentially in the longer term.

“It’s just been dwarfed by the other factors going on at the moment. But to get a trade deal will increase confidence and hopefully make the property market more resilient.”

He believes a No Deal Brexit won’t affect the overseas property market too much since there isn’t a large number of overseas buyers clamouring to buy property in the UK anyhow. The Stamp Duty Holiday coming to end, he says, is more likely to have a bigger impact on house prices.

His sentiments regards the ending of the Stamp Duty holiday is echoed by HomeOwners Alliance Founder Paula Higgins. But she believes Brexit won’t necessarily put overseas buyers off, especially since a No Deal Brexit will weaken the pound, making UK property more attractive.

“History has shown that a No Deal Brexit may not have as much impact as we think it could,” she added, tellingly.

Jill Stevenson

December 2020, General, Market Pulse

10 December 2020

The 2 Million Forgotten Property Sellers

While many investors these days get caught up in the whirlwind that is the UK property market, there are the would-be sellers sitting mournfully at the side lines.

These are the home owners who are the most desperate to sell. And there are around two million of them. They either can’t get mortgages because of cladding issues, or they are stuck in a freehold nightmare and facing escalating land rents.

These are also the individuals who must find the latest statistics on property price rises, in particular, incredibly galling. Many of the homeowners whose apartment blocks have ‘dangerous’ cladding have been told their homes are now ‘worthless.’

Cost of average UK property up more than £15,000

So, what are the latest rises? Well, take a look at this month’s Halifax building society statistics. They have just declared that the average UK property has increased by £15,409 since the summer (June). Their figures are based on the number of mortgages approved.

Other House Price Indexes, including government property sales figures, tell a similar story of a buoyant property market.

The estate agency body NAEA Propertymarket, for instance, announced via its latest survey that the number of prospective property buyers was the highest ever for the month of October ie since records began back in 2006. An average of 12 sales were agreed per estate agents. Not only that, but the number of first-time buyers also increased – from 19% in September to 21% in October.

Grenfell sales legacy looms large

Campaigners from the End Our Cladding Scandal group say there are a huge 1.93 million homeowners in England unable to get their homes sold and move on. No-one wants to buy their property, mortgage lenders won’t entertain them and, as you might expect, home insurance is through the roof.

For those high-rise apartment dwellers whose homes are surrounded by safe cladding, they have a long wait ahead of them to prove it. An EWS1 form will do this, but the waiting list is huge, and it doesn’t come cheaply either. This EWS1 form is part of new government regulations introduced following the Grenfell Fire Tragedy in 2017.

Freehold scandal of developers is binding

And what of the unfortunate leaseholders who don’t own the land on which their property is built? It’s reckoned there are around 100,000 such homeowners – most of whom bought a New Build from either Barratt Developments, Countryside Properties, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey. Their ground rents double every 10 years or so. To buy the freehold themselves costs thousands and, understandably, deters potential buyers.

An article in the Telegraph newspaper points out that if these two million “mortgage prisoners” were added to the sales figures, with a selling price of £000, then the average property valuation would be down. Not only that, but instead of a 4.9% increase, it would be a 7.4% fall year-on-year. Not such a ‘buoyant’ property market now. Will it all unravel when the Stamp Duty Holiday comes to an end? There are increasing calls for Rishi Sunak to extend this beyond the March 31 deadline. Watch this space…

Jill Stevenson

Market Pulse, November 2020

30 November 2020

Manchester Tops City Property Increases

Property prices in Manchester over the past two decades have risen higher than in any other city in the UK – including London.

A new study shows that house prices in Manchester jumped an incredible 143% from the start of the millennium to this year. Second highest property price rise was in Leicester, with 132% and third, Southend-on-Sea in Essex with a 117% increase.

In practical terms it means home buyers who were paying an average £73,910 for a property in the Manchester back at the turn of the Millennium are today having to fork out £179,537 for that same property. In Leicester the jump was from £82,118 to £190,440, and in Southend-on-Sea the average house started out costing £132,239 in 2000 and is now worth around £287,173 on average.

Greater London showed biggest regional increase

The analysis was carried out by Ocean Finance, who based their findings on figures produced by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). In terms of regions, Greater London has the biggest property increase with 95%, followed by the East Midlands and Yorkshire (both on an equal footing with 87%). The North of England and Northern Ireland fared worst in the regional category.

House prices in London fared fourth highest

Meanwhile, other cities who made the top ten list for increased property values, included (in order): City of London (116%), Bristol (£112%), Kingston upon Hull (102%), Cambridge (101%), Brighton (98%), Derby (96%) and Coventry (95%).

Terraced homes more likely to rise

Interestingly, terraced homes are more likely to rise highest in value (96%) than even detached bungalows. The latter have the third highest rise with a 70% increase. Semi-detached houses increased in value by 84% and flats or maisonettes, by 69%.

The average cost of a home in England and Wales at the moment is £245,000, and £496,000 in London. Values are expected to remain steady – and even grow – between now and March 2021.

But it’s believed they will start to fall by the fourth month of 2021 – in line with the end of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Stamp Duty Holiday. The latter means savings of up to £15,000 on a property worth £500,000 or less. Increasing unemployment will also see the property market slowdown.

According to some analysts – judging by the fall in sales for October, according to the Halifax Price Index – analysts believe this may already be happening. Rightmove, meanwhile, recorded a small drop in property values during November. Despite this, more homeowners (27%) believe their property will be worth more in 12-months’ time, than those who don’t. This is especially the case if they own a house rather than a flat. Apartments, it appears, are going out of favour, with houses and gardens far more likely to appeal to new buyers and those downsizing or moving to a larger family home.

We stay in the one house for 23 years

Data, from the government’s Land Registry, also shows that we tend to move after a couple of decades – or rather 23 years. Within that time our property has usually gained around £96,979. Fittingly, that’s around three times the value of the average UK salary.

Jill Stevenson

General, Market Pulse, November 2020

25 November 2020

House Flipping is Fashionable Again

There was a time when we couldn’t get enough of all those property renovation shows. Sarah Beeney’s home make-over series and Homes under the Hammer brought out the interior designer and ‘would-be’ builder in all of us.

But then refurbs went out of fashion for a while. Now, it appears the love of buying old properties and ‘doing them up’ then selling on for a profit, is well and truly back. But if that’s you, beware of investing in a dilapidated flat.

That’s because most of the profit this year has been made renovating houses. Only 5% of property sold in the UK since May has been flats.

A total 23,000 properties ‘flipped’ this year

According to a recent report by estate agents Hamptons International an astonishing one in 40 homes in England and Wales this year have been bought, done up, and sold within 12 months.

The report’s analysts reckon it will bring the total number of refurbs sold this year to around 23,000 properties. And so far, the national average profit for investors per refurb is £40,995. That’s £10,000 more than the figure for 2019. Rolling up our sleeves to update kitchens, bathrooms and whip out paint brushes, it appears, is well worth the hassle.

Hamptons based the data for its report on none other than the government’s Land Registry figures – a list of properties sold. So popular is the practice becoming, that more refurbs have been bought and sold this year than in more than a decade. It’s the highest number for 12 years, in fact. And this is despite the shutdown back in March due to coronavirus.

Then again, Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Stamp Duty Holiday will no doubt have played a part, especially when buyers could instantly save up to £15,000 on a £500,000 property.

North and Midlands top the ‘refurb’ league

Also referred to as ‘flipping’ the practice of renovating run-down properties and selling on is most common in the North of England – and Burnley, in particular (where property is more affordable than in the South). There, one in 12 properties snapped up by keen buyers were, in fact, terraced refurbs. That was 8.2% of all properties sold and with an average profit of £20,643.

Next most popular location for flipping was a tie between County Durham in the North East and Rutland in the East Midlands. In both places 5.8% of properties were refurbs. In County Durham average profits per property were only £6,780, but in Rutland it was a much more impressive £45,269 per property.

Investors in Rutland, Walsall and Hyndburn profit most

Other areas where the property market also showed a high prevalence of flipping were (in order) Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Wolverhampton, Hyndburn in Lancashire, Merthyr Tydfil (the only Welsh town mentioned), Darlington and Walsall in the West Midlands. Of all these places, the biggest profit on refurbs was in Rutland, with Walsall and Hyndburn next. There investors pocketed £27,536 and £26,410 per property, respectively.

Jill Stevenson

Market Pulse, November 2020

16 November 2020

Commercial Office and Retail Pandemic Profit Plunge

Residential property sales may be booming right now, but it’s a different story, of course, for commercial property companies.

The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the profits of many property groups due to lockdowns and the government’s insistence individuals should work from home as much as possible. Then there has been the understandable reluctance of shoppers to venture down the high street for health reasons. At the same time, restaurants have had their opening hours restricted, and pubs banned from selling booze.

It shouldn’t really come as any surprise then to learn that many tenants are downsizing their property projections and commercial property companies are responding by cutting their portfolio valuations – particularly since construction work has also been delayed, in many cases.

Admittedly, it can’t all be blamed on the pandemic though. When it comes to retail shopping was already heading online. Working from home too was already an option for many company employees. What the pandemic has done in these two cases is simply accelerate already inevitable moves.

Pandemic forces portfolio valuations and shares down

Meanwhile, two commercial property companies in particular have revealed how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected them. London’s Great Portland Estates and flexible office unit provider Workspace have both announced a reduction in their share price, as well as downgraded property portfolio valuations.

Great Portland Estates, for instance, only collected 80% of rent due last month – mostly from offices, rather than restaurants and retail outlets. The Group has also been forced to drop rents as a result of vacancies and lockdown. As a result, it has down-valued its commercial property portfolio by at least 6%. Last week it saw its shares fall by 2%.

Land Securities (LandSec), which owns the retail centre Trinity Leeds experienced a huge £945m loss over the past six months. It brings its portfolio valuation down to a loss of £835m.

The FTSE 100 group also has a central London portfolio, valued at around £7.9bn, which makes up around 67 per cent of its assets.

It’s CE Mark Allan, said he believed there would always be a market for high-quality London office assets, making him ‘optimistic’ for the future.

But not all commercial property ventures agree…

Workspace revealed the value of its property portfolio had fallen by 5% over the past six months. For the first three months of the pandemic they offered hard-hit customers a 50% reduction in rent. Their shares fell by 1.3% last week, resulting in a total annual fall of 38%. A statement by the Group, admitted that the pandemic had “fundamentally changed the role and requirements of the office”.

Entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den panel member Theo Paphitis has already said he will be cutting his office space requirements. He added: “I can’t see offices with that many people ever again. First thing I’ll be doing is cutting down the number of people come into the office. We’ll need less space.”

Inner city offices and business areas worst hit

One of the locations most hit by the changing demands for office accommodation is the Isle of Dogs. Skyscrapers in particular, have fallen in popularity, due to the inability to adhere to distancing guidelines in lifts and central areas. Instead, many companies are now seeking self-contained developments.

Jill Stevenson

Market Pulse, November 2020

10 November 2020

Wealthy City Dwellers Fuelling UK Property Market Drive

Lifestyle changes are affecting the housing market more than Rishi Sunak’s furlough extension, according to a leading property analyst.

Richard Donnell, Zoopla’s research and insight director, said it was city dwellers selling their £1 million homes that was continuing to prop up the market. Being in lockdown for 50 days, he said, had encouraged them to move to a country or seaside retreat worth half the value of their former luxury pad.

As a result, he said, house prices would continue to grow – even until March when the current furlough scheme and Stamp Duty holiday are due to end. The property portal’s data shows 40% more traffic to their website than the previous year.

Donnell added: “The rate of growth at the end of next year will be less than 4 or 5%, but it will take quite a lot, and quite a dramatic change of circumstances, for house prices to go into negative territory at the end of next year.”

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) also noted high sales numbers, with 98,010 property sales going through in September. That number is an increase of 21% on August’s figures, although it is slightly down year-on-year at 0.7%.

London suburbs see biggest price jump for five years

But it’s not only coastal and rural areas that are benefitting. Even the outer suburbs of the capital are cashing in on the dash to get out Inner London. Upmarket estate agency Knight Frank say that at 0.9% they have seen the highest quarterly rise in prime property there for five years.

Home owners in Belsize Park were the biggest winners, with property rising 3.2% there. Next highest was Dulwich with a 2.3% increase in prices, Wandsworth had 2.1% and Wimbledon 1.8%.

London property letting market not as buoyant

Valuations may be higher for home owners, but landlords are seeing a drop in rental values in the prime outer London market, according to Knight Frank. High levels of supply had meant that rents fell 7.6%. In Inner London the drop was even steeper, at 9.1% for the year to October.

The reason there are so many more rental apartments available – 20% more than usual at this time of year – is because of uncertainty surrounding coronavirus.

Average UK house price worth £250,000 say Halifax

Meanwhile, another record was set this month. This time it was the turn of the Halifax House Price Index which recorded the average house price at worth more than £250,000 for the first time in its 37 years.

Lockdown 2 hasn’t had much effect on the property market – physical viewings are still going ahead (albeit in a socially distanced fashion). This compares to the first lockdown when such viewings were banned for a period of seven weeks.

Just one week after Lockdown 2 began, the number of house valuations had gone up by 38%. This second lockdown is due to end on December 2 – but not, it seems, the continued desire for people to move home.

Jill Stevenson

General, Market Pulse, November 2020

3 November 2020

Property Market Propels Forward Despite Lockdown 2

Confused over what Lockdown 2 means for the property market in England? We’re not surprised. But, the good news is – it’s still ‘open for business’ – albeit with strict social distancing rules in mind.

According to Secretary of State for Housing Robert Jenrick, viewings and valuations can still take place when Lockdown 2 kicks in on Thursday, November 5. At the same time, house moves with hire vans and removal firms and can also go ahead, so long as all parties involved wear masks. This includes renters as well as property owners.

Rush to beat stamp duty deadline

This means that buyers keen to save thousands by getting the keys to their new home before the end of March 31, will still be in with a chance since surveyors and conveyancers will still be working (albeit from home). Many are speculating too that because of Lockdown 2 the Stamp Duty Holiday may be extended.

It’s not yet known, however, whether those who already have most of the sale in progress can still go ahead with completion or have to wait until December 2 when Lockdown 2 is due to end. During the last lockdown they were advised to put it on hold until the market opened again. A ruling over this is expected from the government later this week.

It may simply be academic though since its unlikely completions would go ahead within a reasonable timescale anyway. This week, a Rightmove report shows a huge backlog of UK property completions. In Glasgow, 71% of sold properties still have to be completed. Sheffield is next highest with 67% of sold properties waiting to complete. Bristol, Plymouth, Leeds and Nottingham also have big backlogs, according to the number of properties sold on the site.

Physical viewings may still be available

Similarly, we will hear in the next couple of days whether or not estate agents will be able to conduct physical viewings with prospective buyers (otherwise, legally an offer can’t be put in). Just like the first lockdown though, most viewings will be virtual. If it’s allowed then a physical viewing will be merely for ‘finalising’ a prospective buyer’s decision.

Many agents are using their smart phones to talk potential buyers through a property using video, similar to them being there in person. Others have 3D cameras, allowing viewers to conduct their own online tour through a property.

New property continues to be built

There will be no change to the construction industry. Employees can still go on site, builders’ merchants will remain open and tradesmen can enter homes. Jenrick confirmed this week that the government’s plan to build 300,000 homes a year was still “very much on.”

Mortgage holiday extended

House owners who haven’t applied previously for a mortgage holiday from their lender can now do so, for up to six months. Those who have already deferred can continue until they reach the six-month limit. Interest will still accrue over this time.

Landlords given blanket eviction ban over Christmas

Tenants can’t lose their rental property over the Christmas season from December 11 to January 11. At present they must be given six months notice of an eviction – unless particular circumstances prevail ie anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse etc. Tenants living in high-risk coronavirus locations ie those in Tier 2 and Tier 3 can’t be evicted at the moment.

Jill Stevenson

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