Home sales at prime London locations have fallen by 22 percent, shuttered by the Covid-19 lockdown measures, according to a report from LonRes
Sale of homes at London’s prime locations has fallen by 22 percent so far this year compared with the same period in 2019, halted by the Covid-19 lockdown measures that shut down the city’s property market until mid-May, according to a report from real estate data firm LonRes.
The report said the unforeseen spring shutdown wiped out the city’s strong start to the year.
It stated the damage was done in the approximately six weeks between March 16 and May 31 alone, as transactions dipped 58 percent compared to the same time a year earlier.
The country’s lockdown rules to contain the spread and impact of the Covid-19 outbreak were introduced at March-end, leading to a near-complete standstill in the housing market. Buyers and sellers were urged to delay their moves, and physical viewings were banned.
Those restrictions on the real estate market were lifted in England on May 13, which allowed for activity to resume according to the social distancing guidelines mandated by the government.
Pre-lockdown, London’s prime sales market had witnessed a busy start to the year, with buyers and sellers coaxed from sidelines by newfound economic and political clarity after years of uncertainty. As a result, “more homes were reaching the market and transactions and prices were on the rise,” Marcus Dixon, head of research at LonRes said in the report.
Between Jan 1 and March 15, the number of properties sold was up 24 percent on the same time last year.
Since the market has opened for business, buyers are returning, and prime London is well placed to take advantage, Dixon said. But only a couple of weeks in, it is too early to tell what the impact on our market will be in the short to medium-term.
