“Whilst this Nationwide data is a snapshot that mainly represents mortgage applications made prior to lockdown, it demonstrates the underlying strength of the property market going into the pandemic.
It will, therefore, take a big reversal in demand to put annual house prices into negative territory this year.
Of course, the market’s health will, as ever, depend upon the fundamentals of employment, the cost and availability of mortgage monies and consumer sentiment.
However, with the prime minister’s announcement this week that he will soon start to set out how many of us can begin to get back to work and with the furlough scheme evidently functioning as intended, we shouldn’t expect to see any significant backward price correction in the foreseeable future.”
Property expert from Moving Home Advice, Russell Quirk, commented:
“Many were looking to this index to provide a first glimpse on the pandemic’s impact on the UK property market but this hasn’t quite materialised.
Announced plans of a lockdown exit strategy will at the very least bring hope to a market that has otherwise frozen over for the large part, and many within the industry remain cautiously optimistic that some degree of heightened market activity will return in the coming months.
These latest figures themselves demonstrate the rapid return to form a beleaguered market can make after months of stale movement, with the best performance registered in over two years coming in the wake of December’s election. Rest assured while the current landscape is problematic, even the slighted return to normality will bring a notable boost in sentiment, confidence and property values.”
Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:
“We wait with bated breath for some concrete data on the impact of Coronavirus on house prices across the UK. However, it looks as though we will have to wait a while longer, potentially until June or July when the Land Registry has processed their March and April indices based on actual transactions.
In the meantime, we do know that listings coming onto the market have all but ground to a halt and this will have an impact on price as the number of sales reduces.
The silver lining for the time being, at least, is that this remains a Government induced market freeze and not a financial one, which should see a swift return to health once the dust settles.
Of course, any financial impact may take some time to materialise on all sides and should sellers flood the market with stock they can no longer afford, prices will take far longer to recover than they would have otherwise.”
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