Instructions and viewings in England rebound sharply in June
Data published today by Andrews, the property group with 48 offices throughout the south of England, shows instructions in April and May 2020 were down 90% and 73% respectively on the equivalent months in 2019 as the property market felt the full impact of lockdown and Covid-19.
But June 2020 saw a significant rebound, with instructions down just 26% on the corresponding month last year, up 178% on May 2020, when the property market reopened mid-month, and 624% on April — when Andrews saw just 55 instructions across its south of England branches.
June also saw viewings bounce back sharply, up 373% on May as prospective buyers returned in even greater volumes. Andrews carried out 6436 viewings in June 2020, or 214 a day, compared to less than one viewing a day in April. Three in 10 of the viewings carried out in June were ‘smart’.
David Westgate, group chief executive, Andrews Property Group, commented:
“The second quarter of 2020 was the most surreal in the property market’s history, with instructions and viewings at almost zero in April and then rebounding sharply in May and June as the pent-up demand accumulated during lockdown was unleashed on the industry. The first half of July has seen activity levels accelerate further and this looks set to continue given the Stamp Duty holiday announced by the chancellor last week. Clearly there remains a lot of economic uncertainty but whatever the short term obstacles may be, there is no doubt that the Government is very focused on getting all of our lives back on track; equally, history tells us that property will bounce back and so engaging in the sector should always be seen as a medium- to long-term activity.”
