Rightmove have spent lockdown crunching some numbers on where post-lockdown sales will be coming from and whether clients are still committed to their move.

The results showed that the vast majority of buyers and sellers with sales already agreed or those hoping to move when lockdown ends intend to continue with their plans.

Most of the properties that were on the market for sale before lockdown have actually stayed on the market, with total available stock for sale down just 2.2%.

Who is carrying on with their plans?

Four in ten (40%) buyers and sellers said they were going ahead as planned and over half (54%) said they had postponed their plans for now but were planning to continue after the lockdown ends.

People looking on Rightmove initially dropped by 40% at the start of lockdown, but have been recovering slowly over the past few weeks. This week they are up over 20% when compared with the first few days of lockdown.

So it seems that the resolve of buyers and sellers is clear, they want to continue with their plans once they are able to.

A move out of the city…

Some home-hunters may also be considering not just a new home, but a new location.

This time last year, 42% of Londoners enquiring about a property were looking to move outside of the capital, and this has risen to over half (51%) this April.

There is a similar trend in Edinburgh where 60% of residents are looking to move outside, up from 53% in April 2019. In Birmingham, half of those living there are enquiring inside the city and half outside the city, up from 45% looking outside the city last year.

We’ve seen similar shifts in other cities including Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and Bristol.

The numbers show that it’s not unusual for there to be a large proportion of people planning to buy out side the city they’re in, if they’re looking to get more for their money. But since lockdown we’ve seen a notable shift or more people contemplating a move outside their city.

Some interesting stats for our village and rural locations! and plenty to give us confiedence that the market will bounce back as soon as it can.


*Copy and images credited to Rightmove.co.uk