Months spent in lockdown have prompted home buyers to put a garden or access to green space at the top of their wish-list.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) monthly market survey reports that agents around the UK have seen a huge increase in requests for properties with these features since the market re-opened on 13th May as house-hunters’ priorities change.
It found 81% of agents who responded to its survey predicted an increase in desire for properties with gardens or balconies, while 74% said there would be an increase in demand for homes near green spaces and 68% believed properties with greater private and less communal space will become more desirable.Love
At the other end of the scale, 78% of respondents predict tower blocks will become less appealing, while 58% feel that properties in highly urban areas won’t be as popular.
Sales outlook
According to its UK Residential Market Survey for May, a resurgence in interest from home buyers has prompted an improvement in the outlook for sales over the coming 12 months; new home buyer enquiries moved from a record low of -94% in April to -5% in May.
Newly agreed sales remained in negative territory at -35% – alongside a net balance of -20% of contributors reporting new instructions falling in May.
Meanwhile, the survey’s headline UK price indicator moved deeper into the red; the national net balance slipped to -32% compared to -22% in April – the weakest monthly figure since 2010. A net balance of -16% of surveyors anticipate prices falling over the coming year.
RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn (left) says: “Pre-Covid sales that were in the pipeline are now largely going through.
“This is encouraging but it remains to be seen how sustained this improvement will prove.
“Much will inevitably depend on the macro environment and, in particular, the resilience of the jobs market as the furlough scheme unwinds. For the time being, respondents to the survey see the trend in transactions being broadly flat.”
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