News | Housing market
downsmail.co.uk Moving on after lockdown
THE property market in Maidstone has largely re-opened following the coronavirus pandemic, and experts have no doubt it will bounce back, writes Jade Schopman. Estate agents across the bor-
ough are now conducting in- person house viewings again, after lockdown measures put much of the residential property sales market on hold. Technology has played a mas-
sive role in the housing industry over the last four months, as on- line viewings, live walk-through videos and social media were being used daily. One estate agent said the biggest change was seeing cus- tomers agree to buy a home over
in hunt for
Zoom without physically visiting. According to a Zoopla study,
sales agreed are predicted to be 15% below 2019 levels by the end of the year. The report says the UK’s hous-
ing market is expected to face a £27 billion deficit. James Nourse, a consultant at
Ben Siggins Estate Agents, said: “It’s been absolutely crazy. “There’s been a stupid amount
of sale going through and the stamp duty holiday sent it to an- other level.
“I think things were picking
back up again in lockdown with people being stuck indoors for three months or more. “Coming back, we had a big backlog of sales to go through and a lot of new customers look- ing for property to buy. “So, day to day, it has been re- ally busy for us.” Head of residential sales at Sib-
ley Pares, Chris Wallington said: “The property market is majorly on steroids right now “We are definitely seeing a
Christmas effect at the moment due to people realising they want more space “There’s always going to be people needing housing, so we are really in an upshot in terms of sales and viewings “We are working in a really
strong market at the moment. We are also in the middle of the sum- mer and sunshine always helps sales as people leave a viewing in a good mood. “But it is fair to say that it’s good to be back.”
Staying safe Developer’s boost to river festival
dream home NOW that people are free to move home, the process of find- ing and moving in is likely to be very different. Everyone from estate agents,
developers, tradespeople, con- veyancers, surveyors and removal firms have all had to adapt their procedures to ensure that the risk of spread of Coronavirus is re- duced as far as possible. The Government advice on moving to a new house during the Coronavirus pandemic is to ensure that key activities, such as viewing property, can happen safely. Many estate agents offer video
tours of properties, to give buyers an idea of the property before they visit it. l When physically viewing properties, where possible, you should avoid touching surfaces, wash your hands regularly, and bring your own hand sanitiser and masks. The number of people on a viewing should be limited to those from your household who absolutely have to be there; l If people are being shown around your own home, you should open all internal doors and ensure that surfaces such as door handles are cleaned after each viewing with standard household cleaning products; l Anyone involved in any aspect of the home-moving process should be careful to practice social distancing in line with public health advice.
14
FORMER Maidstone Mayor David Naghi took time out to thank Springfield Park developer Weston Homes for its contribution to keep the Maidstone River Festival afloat. Meeting at a summer reception
15 floors up the main tower of the 500-unit site, Cllr Naghi (left) ex- pressed his gratitude to regional sales director Dave Walker for the £35,000 Weston has contributed. Cllr Naghi said: “Without Weston Homes, there wouldn’t be a River Festival. I am sure 2021 will be even bigger if we can get the support of Maidstone Borough Council." The event, scheduled for July 25,
was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis.
How sector recovered Property on a
ACCORDING to a survey car- ried out by the Guild of Prop- erty Professionals, there was a 9.8% drop in transactions in March. On May 11, the Government
lifted some restrictions and England’s housing market began its return to business on May 13. The reports states many es-
tate agents saw a “surge in en- quiries” on the first day of reopening in England, with Rightmove reporting 5.2 mil- lion visits to their site, a 4% in- crease from the same day in 2019. A spokesman said: “With the spring market showing signs of improved consumer senti-
ment following the election re- sult, 2020 was expected to be the year the property market regained the traction lost due to Brexit uncertainty, with promising figures in the first quarter confirming as such. “During spring, the market experienced annual house price growth of 2.1% and an an- nual increase of 3.7% mortgage approvals during the first quar- ter of this year, despite the fall in March.” The Guild of Property Pro- fessionals is a membership or- ganisation with a national network of approximately 800 independently-owned estate agents. Details can be found at
www.guildproperty.co.uk.
tight budget MAIDSTONE is failing to meet the need for affordable housing. It is estimated that 67% of the
need in Maidstone is for social or affordable rentals, according to a study for the council. This could lead to a more rigor-
ous approach to giving planning permission for residential devel- opments across the borough. Smaller (one or two bedroom)
dwellings account for between 60% and 70% of the need, with larger homes (three bedrooms or more) making up between 30% to 40%. A quarter of relevant households
have an income below £20,000, and a further third have and income of between £20,000 and £30,000.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
