Property market is red hot, but cooldown IS coming

WE are currently experiencing, without question, a housing market like no other.

During lockdown, there were fears about what kind of world we would stagger into once the Covid restrictions had eased. What would happen to the many services and professionals who depend upon a vibrant housing market for a living – the surveyors, photographers, estate agents, lawyers and removal firms?

From what has happened since lockdown, we needn’t have worried.

What we have witnessed since the market reopened at the end of June is nothing short of incredible.

Rettie staff have been working long into the night… and getting up to start again early in the morning.

This splurge of activity has seen us pedalling furiously, just to keep up with demand.

The statistics are astonishing. Our property inquiries, where someone wants to view a house for sale or wants information on it, have gone up 178 per cent in August compared with March, when lockdown began.

Our valuation requests, from people looking to sell their home, have increased 213 per cent comparing August with March.

August has been the busiest month we have ever had.

Rightmove has published some similarly astonishing figures. The value of property listed on the Edinburgh market is more than double what it was this time last year.

In Glasgow, it is up 61 per cent compared with the same week in August 2019. Of course, it is not going to last – but more of that later.

Think of lockdown as one big Christmas period (without the parties). Traditionally, during the festive season, we see an upsurge in housing market interest. Families spend two weeks at home together, considering whether they are happy with life.

Well, they have had months now to think about it, with the added consideration of whether their house and area will suit their post-Covid needs. Older people will have been rethinking their lifestyle. Do I really want to stay on my own in a five-bedroom home I bought 40 years ago?

Most people who buy a house in Scotland already live in Scotland. In Edinburgh, nearly 90 per cent of house buyers live in the capital.

But we have seen a rise in interest from abroad, as well as from other parts of the UK.

Attractions here include a perceived better quality of life, and things such as free personal care for the elderly and no tuition fees have likely helped to drive migration into Scotland for the past 15 to 20 years.

PEOPLE from the south of England, for example, find our property much more affordable. Sellers can cash in their flat in London for £800,000, buy a lovely house in a Glasgow or Edinburgh suburb for £600,000 and bank the rest of their money.

So, naturally, we have had quite a few inquiries from down south.

I said earlier it won’t last – and it won’t. The activity we see right now suggests there is enough ‘in the tank’ to last through next month.

But then October dawns and things traditionally become quieter. The clocks change, the weather gets worse and this year October signals the end of the UK Government’s furlough scheme.

Then it’s a case of asking ‘how long will the recession last?’ and ‘will we have another period of lockdown?’.

No one knows the answers so, for the moment, we are just busy making up the lost ground.