After months of uncertainty in all areas of business, the economy is starting to get back to some kind of normality, but what is the impact of the growing economy – and the continued threat of COVID – having on the housing market?

It really can be summed up in two words; cautious optimism.

The caution in the housing market is coming for all parties concerned, and reflects a growing uncertainty for the future, but even in this cautious time, there are those who are seeing opportunity.

With huge uncertainty in the jobs market, the current station is one of wait and see, and a continued moratorium on evictions for renters and payment holidays still available for home owners struggling to find their monthly repayments, many are playing wait and see. The furlough scheme is due to end in October and that is when we will get a real picture of how the housing market – whether for renters or owners – has fared during the pandemic.

From a building point of view, the Government is now pushing forward with its COVID recovery strategy and contrition work is now able to continue, and that is fuelling optimism.  In early July, the Government issued a Site Operating Procedure (SOP) to help construction workers continue their roles in a safe way.  The SOP gave advice on safe working practices including the use of appropriate PPE and social distancing.  This has been sufficient to get the majority of construction workers back on site and the concerted home-building program that was underway prior to the onset of COVID has got underway again.  This will be a huge relief to construction companies who are under pressure to supply the Governments housing targets and are struggling to get their staff back on-site and safe.

The COVID crisis has driven construction companies to consider modern methods of construction (MMC’s), which use more pre-constructs to allow housing to be assembled more quickly while allowing workers the necessary social distancing during the process.  By having what are effectively kits for houses that can be put together with minimum fuss companies can build more, faster, and ensure the safety of their workers too. Once footings have been put in, the rest of the construction can be carried out fairly quickly, and services can be added at appropriate times during the build process.

This renewed optimism in the building sector is likely to carry across to the house buying and selling markets as more new properties come online and give people more options if they are considering moving. Further good news comes from the Governments new stance on planning permission and relaxed use of brownfield areas.

One of the most surprising elements of the pandemic has been the number of home buyers who are actively looking for properties away from big cities and other areas of population to more sedate lives in the country.  At the start of the COVID crisis, estate agents were reporting a huge downturn in enquiries, but there has now been a pick-up and many potential home movers are looking for more space and reducing the possibility of contact with others.   Of course, there is only limited available properties in country and village locations, but there are a growing number of new developments in progress in smaller urban environments which may become property hot spots.

COVID has made us look at how we do things and the general consensus is that the emerging economy is once again in a good position to be able to deliver on housing promises.

If you are looking for a new property and need mortgage advice, come and talk to us at Grange Mortgages and see how we can help you.