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How is the second lockdown affecting the London housing market?

From England entering a second lockdown, to positive news of a coronavirus vaccine, there’ve been plenty of ups and downs over the past month.

Impact of Second Lockdown on London Housing Market
Property market buoyant in second national lockdown

Interestingly though, things haven’t changed too much in the east London property market, since our last look at the data from Rightmove with Azeem Salemohamed from estate agent Sandra Davidson. “What’s happening is pretty similar to September, with plenty of properties on the market and lots of new stock,” says Azeem. “Offers are coming a little bit higher than we’d expected, consistent with recent reports from the Nationwide and the Halifax.”

In March, coronavirus restrictions effectively shut down the housing market with estate agents closed and no physical viewings allowed. This time around, things are very different. Says Azeem: “The second national lockdown hasn’t really had an effect, because we can continue to do viewings. We are able to have two unrelated people in a house at any one time, which makes this possible. The government has got one thing right where we’re concerned!”

The financial markets have reacted positively to the news about the Pfizer vaccine, and the quantitative easing measures from the Bank of England. Meanwhile, the stamp duty holiday continues to keep the housing market strong. “At the moment things are still very buoyed up,” says Azeem. “My only caveat being that the picture might change when we start to see the impact of the economy in recession.”

More Sales Agreed than Same Time Last Year
Agreed sales up by 66% compared to October 2019

Looking at the detail for October, Rightmove reveals there were 1,920 properties for sale in the Redbridge area compared to 1,663 last year. And a total of 503 new properties came onto the market compared to 351 last October — an increase of 42%. Agreed sales were up by 66% too. For Azeem, “very much reinforcing the picture from last month”.

“The supply is there in terms of new listings and available stock. Plus, a huge number of people are looking at property with almost two million detailed views on Rightmove in October, compared to 1.5 million for the same period last year. This is filtering through, with a modest increase in property values.”

Azeem S.

Statistics from Zoopla paint a similar picture. The portal reports a 3% increase in house prices and sales up by 50% on a year ago, with demand outstripping properties to sell, although things are beginning to level out.

Buying and selling at the same time?

Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.

Buying and selling at the same time?

Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.

According to Azeem “The message is that Sandra Davidson is open for business with the relevant measures in place to keep people safe. We’re actively selling properties but we still have a huge number of buyers waiting to make their dreams come true. If you’re considering selling, there’s time to get a sale agreed by Christmas – so give us a call today.”

Azeem S.

I began as a junior apprentice in a corporate estate agents in 2006 have been working in the property sector since, so over 14 years of experience. I have worked in a range of industries from Property sales and lettings, to construction, development, commercial sales and lets as well as facilities management and maintenance. I have a degree in Economics, enjoy keeping fit and healthy, support Man Utd and have a young family.

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