Are you planning on moving this year?

28th March 2020

Amid legal uncertainty, cutbacks in mortgage lending and public health concerns, buyers and sellers are being asked by the government to delay home moves, if at all possible, due to the coronavirus.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said “parties should show pragmatism” to delay a move, especially if any members of the chain are isolating or being shielded - but he allowed that if moving is unavoidable, advice on social distancing must be followed throughout.

In a positive move, UK Finance, representing more than 250 firms across the banking and finance industry, said mortgage lenders will support the halt on home moving by extending existing mortgage offers for up to three months.

It’s worth pointing out that some lenders have restricted new lending to 60 per cent of the purchase price – meaning buyers would need a 40 per cent deposit – while some temporarily suspended all new mortgage applications.

What if you were planning on moving in 2020?

Anthony Webb have been operating for over 20 years and during this time we have seen a number of economic downturns impact the property market and, if we follow previous economic trends, we are confident that we will still see stable house prices, in London, when we come out the other end of this virus outbreak. Due to backed-up confidence because of Brexit and the pent up demand surged we saw in January, we do not forsee demand will suddenly freeze because of a virus.

What can you do now if you’re thinking about selling this year?

Many of us are working from home, take this opportunity to:

·       Look around your home and determine what, if any, works may need to be carried out once the social distancing guidelines are lifted.

·       Photograph pending work and request quotes online. We would be happy to recommend our trusted trades people.

·       Order paint on Amazon to freshen up tired rooms.

·       Do a spot of gardening to improve on curb appeal and make the most of your back garden.

·       De-clutter rooms, this could be an opportunity to have a good clear out.

·       Take time cleaning those otherwise hard to reach spots.

·       Check out available properties online to get a feel for what type of home you would like to move it

We are able to advise sellers over the phone and offer virtual valuations via video link to help you prepare for when we are able to start marketing your property. We anticipate a surge of properties will come to market, for various reason, after the crisis and this is likely to push up the number of potential buyers looking at properties online. Once social distancing measures are lifted we can work fast to get your property online and in front of buyers with 24 hours!

At Anthony Webb we are using all the tech tools at our disposal to carry on, as capably as normal, until we weather out this storm and get people moving again.

Contact our remote team on 020 8882 7888 to find out more.