Covid-19 pandemic severely hit the UK real estate market in 2020. The government put a complete ban on real estate activity in the first lockdown, which led to a sudden halt in the real estate market. The UK government did allow real estate transactions after relaxation for the first lockdown and during the second and third lockdown. Sadly, the damage had already been done as the buyer was no longer confident. The sellers worried about the unsure future of the property market and adding to this banks become more stringent on their lending criteria. As these further fit the real estate market, the government announced the stamp duty holiday which was a boost to the sluggish real estate market at the time. As the vaccine has been rolled out and the Covid-19 cases being considerably controlled in the UK, here is what the future holds for the UK property market.
Buyer preferences
As the Covid-19 pandemic hit and lockdowns were in place most people started working from home. When people spent more time at their homes instead of long hours at their workplace, buyer preferences started shifting to bigger homes, with more outdoor space and a spare bedroom that could be converted to the home office. With this new buyer preference, there was increased demand for property in the outskirts and boroughs. Properties in the outskirts are cheaper when compared to homes in the city centre. This meant buyers could purchase bigger homes in their given budget in towns and counties such as Stafford, West Yorkshire, Suffolk and Oxfordshire. These towns became the most sought after places for buying a home. If you are planning to move Stafford, contact estate agents in Stafford to the perfect property for you in the neighbourhood.
Increase in real estate activity
Predictions say the total value of homes sold in the UK would reach £461 billion. Zoopla says the housing market will boom in 2021 that will result in an increase of the total home sold in the UK to 46 per cent. This led to a frequently asked question amongst the sellers “how much is my property worth?” The Office for National Statistics findings says the average price of a property in the UK has gone up 10.2 per cent in one year. This price rise is the highest since 2007. Going by their predictions 2021 is likely to be the most happening year for the UK property market after 2007! Analysing the above predictions and the change in buyer preference the prices for homes in small towns, outskirts and suburbs is soon to sky-rocket. If you are looking to sell your home in a town like Stafford, book a property valuation Stafford now!
Economy is starting to grow
The covid-19 pandemic has left all industries and businesses heavily affected. With all the industries on their path of revival, the economy is soon to flourish resulting in the growth of all sectors. So, as the country starts to pick up and the economy starts to revive, every industry, business and sector will flourish equally. Adding to this the government initiatives such as the stamp duty holiday and the mortgage guarantee scheme is believed to boost the property market! Hence the UK property market outlook for 2021 is quite bright with all sectors including the property market booming.
