Estate agents
Estate agents are now able to offer viewings to prospective buyers under certain conditions including social distancing. An example of viewings unable to take place would be if a household is self-isolating; they would have to wait until self-isolation is over.
Lucy Pendleton, property expert at independent estate agents James Pendleton, commented: “It’s a brave new world but the viewings must go on. We’ve got all the necessary PPE (personal protective equipment) ready to go, and buyers and sellers keen to start viewing straight away. We’re just waiting to hear what the government’s detailed guidelines are.
“It’s fantastic news that agents aren’t going to have to wait until July to start showing properties properly again, as we will find out sooner rather than later whether some of the more dire predictions for the housing market will come true.
“In London, we have seen absolutely no sign of the conditions that would normally precipitate a marked fall in prices. We expect a similar picture to be playing out across the country.
“Lack of supply exacerbated by sellers delaying their moves until after the pandemic has eased significantly is going to put a floor under prices, much like it did during the Brexit negotiations. Borrowing rates are extremely low too and that’s going to boost buying power.”
Valuations
The inability to survey a property has been one of the main contributing factors to the property market freeze, for both remortgage and new applications. Mortgage lenders need to have a valuation in order to lend on a property. Surveyors can now enter homes to complete valuations.
Simon Jackson, managing director of SDL Surveying, confirmed his firm will immediately start to carry out physical inspections in a controlled and safe fashion.
He commented: “The nature of the threat from COVID-19 means that safety is of paramount importance which is why we’ve put in place a new full inspection procedure that each surveyor will be using on every job.
“This follows current safety guidance, has been approved by our lender clients, and means we can start inspecting properties from today in order to get those cases moving through the system again.
“We are anticipating a large volume of backlog cases to be completed over the next seven to 10 days which is why we have moved all our surveyors and booking team out of furlough in order to make sure we get through this work as quickly as possible.
Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at online mortgage broker Trussle, said: “Reallowing surveyors to enter homes as long as a distance of two metres is maintained means that physical valuations can get going again. Some lenders, such as HSBC have already confirmed that valuations are starting to be booked in.
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen desktop valuations acting as a stop gap in an attempt to keep surveys happening. A high proportion of those desktop valuations have only been for those with a loan-to-value of less than 75%.
“Additionally, some properties require a physical valuation. These include those in flood risk areas, those with previous adverse valuations, and some new build properties.
“While surveyors can now enter the home, it’s important to stress that visits are still only advised when absolutely essential. With a high proportion of the UK watching their finances more closely, we may see today’s announcement boost the remortgage market further.”
Mortgage brokers
Andrew Montlake, managing director at the UK-wide mortgage broker, Coreco, commented: “There is still a long way to go before we have a fully functional housing market but this is a tentative first step in the right direction and cause for celebration.
“The great unknown is how cautious surveyors will be with their valuations and lenders their criteria but that will become apparent in the days and weeks ahead.
“Demand is certainly still there. We have received a lot more enquiries in May, with many people now looking to move to more rural areas given the perceived reduced risk from future peaks and pandemics.
“Clearly it’s essential that firms do not rush their staff back before they have the requisite safety measures in place, although all the agents we speak to are adhering to the very highest standards.”
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