Housing Market Changes

Well, we are halfway through 2020 and it’s been an unexpected year so far… From 13th May the Housing Market reopened, but it hasn’t completely gone back to normal.

Here are just some of the biggest changes to the property market:

Stamp Duty Holiday
You may have seen in recent news that the Chancellor has announced a temporary stamp duty holiday until March 2021 for the first £500,000 of all purchase prices. This is to help boost the property market and struggling buyers.

House Prices
There has been plenty of negative press surrounding property prices and what the halted market and job uncertainty may be doing to the price of property across the UK. Our figures show a ‘V’ shaped recovery in terms of transaction numbers and so any negative effect these issues might have had on prices is likely to be short lived and so if you were hoping to take advantage of any price dip, you should act fast!

Countryside Move
It has been reported by Estate Agents that a surge in numbers of homebuyers is looking to move out of the city to a rural area or smaller towns. This could be due to employees working from home permanently, and it might not be necessary to live closer to work.

Viewing a property
Since the housing market has opened, buyers still want to view properties. Estate agents have either done virtual viewings or arranged a proper viewing under the social distancing guidelines.

Mortgage Rates
Some not so good news for first time buyers. It is now a general rule that you will need a 15% deposit to secure a residential mortgage. Although 90%-95% mortgages are still available with some lenders the terms are likely to be less favourable for the borrower than if they were able to scrape together a 15% or more deposit.