Allsopp & Allsopp Real Estate has reported that estate agents around the world have had sales which were agreed weeks or months ago being cancelled due to Covid-19 affecting employment giving the buyer and banks no option other than to cancel the agreed sale. Allsopp & Allsopp have reported that in the UAE and UK, property markets have proved to be more resilient than expected and have shown a very quick bounceback upon lockdown being eased with 75% of the properties where sales could not be completed being re-sold to a new buyer within 48 hours of coming back onto the market!
Allsopp & Allsopp have seen property prices remain the same as before lockdown and report that Covid-19 has had very little impact on the pricing of property, even though buyers have been making unsuccessful low offers.
Covid-19 has had very little impact on the pricing of property, even though buyers have been making unsuccessful low offers
Lewis Allsopp, CEO of Allsopp & Allsopp says, “It is no secret that some buyers were unable to complete the sale of a property due to a change in their employment status or income. This is a worldwide issue and we have all faced our own micro issues. In the UK, the loan to value mortgage was changed for a short period from 90% to 65% which was reversed after a few weeks. In Dubai, pilots, hostesses and hospitality staff were being grounded or unpaid, giving the banks no option but to rescind the mortgage offer.”
He added, “The bounceback has been a pleasant surprise for the property market, I would credit this to there being pent up demand with buyers and tenants alike assessing their lives and where they live, even down to making a decision if being in an apartment with no garden is viable after experiencing lockdown, with most now considering a townhouse or affordable villa with some outdoor space.”
Allsopp said, “We have been monitoring the offers buyers and tenants have been making when hoping for a covid deal and offering significantly below market value. These offers have led to the potential buyer losing out on their home to another buyer who paid asking or close to asking price.”
“We have not seen a drop in price, my message to buyers is the market didn’t drop overnight, it froze and when it opened back up it has done so with a bang, so I can’t see there being any desperate homeowners offering discounts.”
