Relief as English property market returns to business after pause

Estate agents have welcomed government plans to restart England's housing market following seven weeks of lockdown to tackle the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Buyers and renters will be allowed to complete purchases and view properties in person while following social distancing guidelines.

Estate agents and show homes can also reopen while conveyancers and removal companies can get back to work.

The government estimates that more than 450,000 people have had their moving plans on hold since lockdown restrictions were implemented in March.

Marc von Grundherr, director of London-based Benham and Reeves, said: "It's great news that the government has realized the vital role the property market plays in stimulating the wider economy and that estate and lettings agents are the ones facilitating this on the ground."

Von Grundherr added that it is important to take it "one step at a time and without compromising the health of our staff, our customers and the wider population".

"But with the process of buying or renting now requiring very little face-to-face contact, agents should be able to adapt swiftly to this new working norm," he said.

The government stressed that guidance from Public Health England must continue to be followed and anyone who has been advised to self-isolate should continue to do so and not move home.

The United Kingdom's Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: "Our clear plan will enable people to move home safely, covering each aspect of the sales and letting process from viewings to removals."

"Our step by step plan is based on the latest guidance to ensure the safety and protection of everyone involved," Jenrick added. "This critical industry can now safely move forward, and those waiting patiently to move can now do so."

Colby Short, founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, said: "We know that the lockdown brought about an abrupt decline in the number of homes reaching the market and this has led to an underlying current of pent-up buyer demand."

"Not all of this demand will convert in the coming months, but now that the doors have reopened those that need to transact out of necessity will do so and this will bring about a level of stability for the wider market," Short said.

Stephen Moss, managing director of Sourced Capital, said it will be some time before the market returned to "the buoyant levels" seen after the general election in December.

"Certainly from an investment standpoint, many will be conscious that the economy has suffered, shrinking at its fastest rate in just a few short months this year," Moss said.

"As a result, everyone from the big-name developers to the armchair investor will be cautious about investing while a curtain of uncertainty remains and this continued apprehension at the initial stage of the property life cycle will have a knock-on effect further down the line."

Jenrick also announced other measures to get the housing sector moving again.

Builders will also be able to negotiate flexible hours with local councils, to make it easier for construction workers to keep social distancing rules while traveling to work.

The new government guidance will also make clear that tradespeople including fitters can operate in homes, providing they follow social distancing advice.