Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

UK enjoys property sales boom amid Covid-19 pandemic

UK enjoys property sales boom amid Covid-19 pandemic

Britain’s real estate market defies predictions of a house price crash despite coronavirus crisis
Hard-to-sell homes are being snapped up by the hundred as Britain’s booming property market maintains a year-long breakneck sales record.

In areas of high demand, even the most knocked-about and idiosyncratic houses are spending just days on the market once buyers, desperate to grab something, see that predictions of a house price crash are proving off the mark.

“Homes that look like the last turkey in the Christmas shop window are flying off the shelves at the moment,” said property agent Henry Pryor.

While the property merry-go-round screeched to a temporary halt during the first lockdown early last year, the pause did not last. With sales barely slowing over the summer, the data is clear: along with technology, real estate has emerged as one of the pandemic’s boom sectors.

Andrew Wishart, property economist at consultants Capital Economics, said: “With the amount of secondhand stock on the market currently extremely limited, house prices could continue to surprise on the upside.”

There is always the possibility that places like Cornwall and towns along the south coast are in a bubble and prices are about to burst, said Pryor, “but the banks and local agents seem convinced that the momentum will keep prices on the up for a long time yet”.

Mortgage lender Nationwide said its measure of annual house price increases chalked up its second-biggest monthly rise in 15 years in August, putting to bed fears that the end of the government’s stamp duty tax break, which prompted a fall in the number of homes changing hands during July, would bring the market to a juddering halt.

Prices were up 11% on a year ago, said Nationwide, and remain about 13% above pre-pandemic levels, according to official data.

Adding to the feverish activity, which has seen some English agents adopt the well-worn Scottish system of sealed bids amid claims of gazumping, new home builders have battled steel and timber shortages and an exodus of staff following Brexit to construct new homes. Many have seen their profits soar.

Britain’s biggest homebuilder Barratt Developments reported a near doubling of profits over the last year to £812m on Thursday, and said viewing requests for new homes over the next six months were “strong”.

While homeowners may cheer rising prices, the charity Housing Justice said the boom encouraged private landlords to sell up and leave tenants looking for another place to live, and would only add to the longstanding problems facing homeless people and those in the private rented sector.

Wishart said the end of the furlough scheme on 30 September, which is expected to push unemployment higher, posed only a small risk to rising prices.

“The end of the repossessions ban and closure of a mortgage payment holiday scheme had “failed to trigger an increase in homeowner distress,” he said, adding that the only trap-door for prices was an interest rate rise by the Bank of England, which at the moment seems far in the distance.

In May 2020, it was a very different story. The first lockdown meant buyers could no longer view properties except online, sellers took their homes off the market and sales collapsed.

Two months later Rishi Sunak responded to calls for government support by extending the help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers and cutting stamp duty on homes worth less than £500,000.

Figures for August 2020 revealed a spectacular turnaround. Mortgage approvals jumped from 66,300 in July to 84,700, according to Bank of England figures, their highest level since October 2007.

Recent analysis of the government’s actions by the Resolution Foundation thinktank argued that the £4bn stamp duty subsidy was wasted on sparking a market to life that had already begun to recover and was always going to enjoy stellar growth.

It said ultra low interest rates, the demand for more spacious properties during the pandemic and the pent up savings of those kept in work by the furlough scheme was enough to spur buying activity without extra incentives from the Treasury.

“It’s true that when the first lockdown was eased, most property analysts were gloomy about the prospects for the market, thinking people would hunker down,” said Pryor. “But by June 2020 it was clear that the British obsession with location, location, location was alive and kicking, it was just they now wanted a different location.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×