Property Market News

New buyer enquiries, newly agreed sales, and new instructions have recovered since the lockdown, but surveyor sentiment is still not buoyant.

Residential activity is recovering quickly in many international markets as Coronavirus lockdowns are eased.

"It still feels like it’s more of a tenants market" in prime London, says Knight Frank's Head of Lettings, "but we are going into the busiest period of the year and I would expect supply to come down."

“It feels remarkably similar to the period that followed the EU referendum,” says Knight Frank's Head of London Residential Research, Tom Bill. "It will take a while for the market to find its feet."

A quarter of people say they are more likely to buy a second home now than before the Covid-19 lockdown, says Knight Frank.

Portal visits and buyer enquiries have rocketed since the property market re-opened two weeks ago, but "it’s going to take a considerable time for a return to sales agreed levels seen last year and at t…

"Active engagement" with property listings has jumped to exceed pre-lockdown levels by some 20%, reports Zoopla - but more than four in ten would-be buyers say they have put moving plans on hold...

International buyers continue to view London property as a safe haven, says Knight Frank.

“One week on from the surprise opening of the housing market and agents are still showing caution and quite rightly putting safety first," says Rightmove.

“This shows what happens when you temporarily suppress pent-up demand that had been building for years," says Knight Frank. “It’s early days but the ‘Boris Bounce’ may well be followed by a ‘lockdown lift-off’.”

Benham and Reeves has checked what proportion of listings are marked as sold or under offer by price bracket across prime London.