Preparing for ‘flurry’ of business

North-east property developer and chairman of the Aberdeen Solicitors’ Property Centre, John MacRae, believes people’s inventiveness will help overcome any remaining issues in buying and selling homes during the outbreak.

He said: “There will be some who are very anxious to get their house on the market as they have to move and others who are not so eager to have people looking around their homes just yet.

“I know there have been a lot of stalled transactions in the pipeline – hundreds of deals waiting to go through.

“It is a widespread problem throughout Scotland as planned moves have not taken place yet and it is a little bit uncertain how that will evolve.”

Mr MacRae predicted some of the on-hold deals may be finalised in a matter of weeks, while others could take months.

He added: “There could be an initial flurry of activity and then a period of settling down until people feel a bit more confident in leaving their homes.

“Most sellers will be encouraged to do virtual viewings. There is tour software available or people might even just video-call people for a viewing.

“Human invention will come up with various ways to overcome this, but you imagine there will have to be a final viewing where people want to see the property in person.”

The announcement comes just weeks after figures revealed Scotland’s property market “all but ground to a halt” within days of lockdown starting.

A total of 464 transactions were made on March 23, but by the end of that week figures had plummeted to just three, leaving deals worth tens of millions of pounds in jeopardy.

Highland councillor Andrew Jarvie said the easing of restrictions was the “first brick of many” needing moved to help individuals, such as himself, on to the property ladder.

He said: “It’s certainly welcome to see things are returning but I do have to question why it was left so much longer than in England, when it was quite clearly safe to do so.

“I certainly know myself, as I am looking to buy a house, the biggest issues are the additional requirements banks are putting on lenders.

“They have significantly cut what they will lend and are asking for even more of a deposit, so there are still some remaining concerns about how many people will be able to physically purchase a new home.

“This is, of course, if you are lucky enough to not have lost your job or suffered a drop in income.”

“Hundreds of deals waiting”

Photograph by Chris Sumner CLOSED: There is no respite yet for restaurants, pubs and bars.