Tag: covid

22nd January 2021

The UK has left the EU- Now what…?

The agreement on a Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU brings a long period of uncertainty to a very welcome end! How will this impact the property market and what does it mean for your property?

The UK will continue to have a close relationship with the European Union, which is good news! However with COVID at the forefront of people’s minds and multiple lockdowns in the UK it’s put the brakes on the economy. Rents have tumbled and it’s only for the stamp duty holiday that sales prices have remained steady.

If you are looking for your next buy-to-let property and are looking to purchase in London you could be looking at 10-15% discounts on new builds in the East and North West of the city, with many empty completed units sitting on developers books.

In Manchester, you could easily ask for a £5,000-£10,000 discount off the list price or ask for a furniture pack or stamp duty contribution – in some cases you could negotiate both!

If you are looking to sell a property, we suggest staying put and waiting until 2022/2023.

As always, we are here for you so please don’t hesitate to contact the team at the Vesper Group today with any questions.

22nd January 2021

Lockdown and the Property Market: What You Need to Know

With the UK once again in national lockdown, there are a few things to keep in mind if you are renting, selling or buying property.

First and foremost, the property market is open! In fact, with the stamp duty holiday ending on the 31st March and the foreign buyers surcharge tax coming in on the 1st April, the sales market has been in overdrive for the past 6 months.

However, for lettings, the market has been pretty dire these last 3 months with further reductions in rent. On the bright side, we are seeing a uplift in enquires now that we have come out of January.

For most, living in Central London was not feasible due to high rental prices but with an average of 20-30% reduction in rents we are seeing a new generation of renters coming on. Properties outside of Zone 2 have seen rents drop by just 10%.

If you are a landlord or vendor don’t worry! Prices will rebound slightly later this year in time for summer. We don’t expect pre COVID rents to come back until 2022.

Staying safe

In-person viewings are permitted and moving house can go ahead along with cleaners, inventories and maintenance work. Many estate agents are offering virtual viewings for those applicants that do not wish to view in person or those that are currently stuck abroad.

Our team are required to wear personal protective equipment, such as face masks and applicants must wear these at all times when viewing a property.

If you have any questions about renting, selling or buying during lockdown, contact Vesper Group today and we’d be happy to help!