January 2021 lockdown guidance

I’m sure you’re aware of the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 4th January about the latest national lockdown in England. I wanted to make sure you’re aware that home-moving can continue. Here’s a summary of the latest guidance and some of the resources we have available to help.

England

The government has today issued updated guidance around the restrictions in England coming into effect from Tuesday 5th January. Here’s the key information that will affect you:

Moving home

“You can still move home. People outside your household or support bubble should not help with moving house unless absolutely necessary. Estate and letting agents and removals firms can continue to work. If you are looking to move, you can go to property viewings. Follow the national guidance on moving home safely, which includes advice on social distancing, letting fresh air in, and wearing a face covering”.

**If you need assistance with removal firms, do let us know as we have some contacts that may be able to help**

We have spoken with our conveyancing partners this morning and it is business as usual from their perspective, if you are using an alternative solicitor for your sale/purchase, I would advise for you to contact them this morning to get clarity on their processes and whether they are continuing to operate during this period. I expect all will be as there is no directive for them to not, however I have seen on some agency forums today talk of furloughing staff etc so it’s sensible to just check this.

The full details around the new lockdown measures are in the link below;

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

Thinking of Selling

Despite moving into new tiers over the Xmas period and announcement on the newest lockdown measures, there are still unprecedented levels of demand in the market from proceedable buyers and so getting your home ready to market now or once the restrictions are lifted would still be strongly advised as we are anticipating a surge in activity as we saw post the previous two lockdowns. We are able to facilitate all of this online using our online valuation facility or viewings through our virtual viewing tool which we implemented to excellent effect during the first national lockdown.

• Rightmove recorded their busiest ever Boxing Day for visits to their website
• Visits to Rightmove jumped by 94% comparing Christmas Day with Boxing Day (last year visits jumped 75%)
• Visits on Boxing Day this year were 54% higher than on Boxing Day in 2019
• Visits in December (1-28th Dec) were 57% higher than they were for 1-28th December 2019
• Traditionally Rightmove’s busiest days are in January – this changed in 2020 as 8th July was their busiest day when the Stamp Duty holiday was announced. There are already signs this is happening as between 26th and 28th December visits jumped by  18%.

We will continue to take the utmost care to follow the rules, and keep our customers, staff and community safe.

While infections are on the rise, as in the previous lockdowns, we can offer help to anyone who is alone or in need- please just ask. We want to help where we can.

Stay safe everyone and we’re available for any questions you might have. All of the team here will continue to be available for you whenever you need us so please just get in touch.

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