Homes market surges as buyers head out of town
THEY’RE QUEUING ROUND THE BLOCK FOR STARBUCKS... BUT NO TAKERS FOR TESTING
WITH cars queuing bumper to bumper, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was one of Britain’s 50 drive-through Covid-19 test centres.
But the motorists pictured snaking round the block on Friday were, in fact, waiting patiently for a coffee from Starbucks.
The chain reopened 150 of its UK stores last week, including a branch in Cardiff, just a few miles away from Cardiff City Stadium where the test centre was almost deserted.
There were similar scenes elsewhere across the country as caffeine-lovers queued to get their fix while testing centres appeared empty. In Gateshead, dozens of drivers waited at Starbucks while 100 yards up the road only a handful of cars queued at the local coronavirus testing centre.
Meanwhile, in Surrey, scores of vehicles waited in line at the Camberley drive-through KFC after the fried chicken chain reopened many of its outlets. A few miles away at Chessington World of Adventures, a trickle of cars passed through the test centre.
ONE of Britain’s biggest estate agents saw a record number of enquiries from prospective buyers last week as the housing market burst out of lockdown gloom.
Savills, which has more than 100 UK offices, said expressions of interest from those looking for a new home were up 30 per cent on last year when restrictions were lifted on Wednesday.
The positive news extended across the sector, with 906 homes sold on Wednesday and 1,883 listed for sale, according to property market site View My Chain.
The number of sales was double t he f i gure duri ng l o c kdown, although on an average day around 4,000 homes are sold in the UK, totalling just under 1.2 million last year. Property marketplace Rightmove reported 5.2 million visits to its site on Wednesday, up 4 per cent on the previous year, while London agencies saw sale instruction rises of as much as 255 per cent day-on-day.
Estate agents across the country also reported a surge in interest for more rural properties, with homes in Yorkshire, Hampshire and on the South Coast particularly popular.
Andrew Perratt, head of Savills’ country division, said: ‘Offices outside main cities are getting more interest than city offices. We are seeing greater volumes for country property. It appears that during the lockdown people are re-assessing how much they need to be in cities.’
About 373,000 property sales were stalled when the Government imposed the lockdown, according to Zoopla. But on Wednesday, the housing market re- opened with strict guidelines on social distancing measures.
Mark Hayward, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said the organisation sent out new guidance to its 10,000 members on Friday.
‘It’s a new way of working’, he said. ‘Owner, agent and consumer will have to adopt social distancing and if necessary wear masks and gloves. Viewers will not be encouraged to spend a huge amount of time at the property, 15 to 20 minutes.
‘Only people from a single household can view a property, there are no multiple viewings and you can’t bring friends or family from outside your home. The number of people will be kept to a minimum, we’d recommend two.’
Mr Hayward added: ‘ Children will be discouraged because the viewer will be instructed to touch nothing. Door handles will be sterilised, as will any surfaces, and will have to be re-sterilised between each viewing.
‘An interested party can’t get out their car until a previous viewer has left, they will have to wear gloves and a mask. Ideally, sellers need to be out of the property, whether in the garden, or sitting in their car or an outside garage.’
Andrew Groocock, partner at estate agency Knight Frank, said: ‘All of our offices will have staff working in them from Monday but the doors will remain locked.
‘Our negotiators will be wearing masks and taking masks and gloves for viewers – and there will be no physical brochures.’
‘Agents wearing masks... and no printed brochures’