Thriving after the lockdown is relaxed Estate agent Bramleys kept selling houses throughout the strictest of lockdown phases, but is finding business booming now that real-world viewings are allowed
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RAMLEYS residential partner Paul Keighley is not a man to mince his words after 35 years in the business.
Lockdown he says has been a “nightmare” for Huddersfield estate agents but now that restrictions have been lifted he is glad to be getting back to something near normal.
As a family-run outfit, Paul, 59, is used to shaking hands and using all of his social skills but has had to reprogramme his brain to meet the demands of social distancing over the past few months.
He said: “It’s not been easy - the first thing you do is shake hands with clients, but I’ve got used to it.
“I worked all through the lockdown, the entire eight weeks and I’m glad to say we completed 22 or 23 transactions, completed sales, in that time April.
“It was hard work but with the help of some solicitors we got through it. The government gave us all of 12 hours on a Tuesday night that we could reopen on Wednesday but it was Monday for us.”
And given the incredible local knowledge that he and his team have of the area, he is able to boast that “there’s not a street in the area we don’t know about”, meaning he was able to give off-the-cuff guidance to customers requesting valuations.
Now he says a lot of what is being asked of potential customers is common sense - with anyone invited to a viewing being asked not to touch anything in the property and using hand sanitizer before entering homes.
Paul added: “Since lockdown changed we have been very, very busy.
“My diary is full and all of our five offices are open.
“We have a semi-detached property in Savile Row, Halifax, on the market for £400,000 and that has created a lot of interest. We have had 14 viewings and an offer.”