Second lockdown will not apply to housing market

November 4, 2020 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

The government has confirmed that the housing market in England will not be forced to shut down again during the second lockdown that is set to run for the duration of November.

Robert Jenrick, the Housing Minister, clarified this with a number of tweets posted on the social media site Twitter. His tweets confirmed that people in England will still have the option of buying or selling a home throughout the month-long lockdown. At the same time, he also tweeted that detailed information about an extension to the mortgage payment holiday was to be issued by the FCA.

Jenrick asked people to follow the guidelines to help make sure that the virus spread is limited, even though the market will stay active. He went on to add that related tradespeople, such as plumbers, will be able to continue doing their jobs during the lockdown too, as long as social distancing rules are followed.

Speaking to Mortgage Strategy, Chris Sykes from Private Finance argued that the lockdown would probably still affect housing market activity levels, before adding:

“Ultimately, this is likely to entrench the current trends for those looking to move to houses with more space, both outdoors and to work remotely, and means areas outside major cities are likely to see higher demand than pre-Covid.”

Sykes also stated that he expected to see more borrowing restrictions imposed by mortgage lenders.

Those who have just finished CeMAP mortgage advisor training, as well as established advisors, will be pleased that the market is staying open.