Real-Estate Agents Move Online to Keep UK Housing Market Kicking

By Joe Hoppe

Rightmove PLC said Monday that real-estate agents were increasingly moving online for viewings and valuations, as the U.K. housing market lurches from the best start to a year since 2016 to a country-wide lockdown, with new sales virtually impossible.

The online property-portal said existing sellers were staying on the market with total available stock for sale down just 2.6%, but in the wake of government restrictions on movement to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, real-estate agents were exploring new ways to reach prospective buyers and sellers. Real-estate agents have switched focus to video viewings, giving buyers a chance to inspect properties online ahead of loosening restrictions, Rightmove said.

"At worst people are holding off to see what happens by the end of the lockdown, but not withdrawing from the transaction," Peter Woodthorpe, director of Readings Property Group, said.

Visits to Rightmove's website fell by 40% at the outset of the lockdown, but slowly started to recover in the week ended April 19.

"During this slow-motion period, we don't expect significant price falls, as home sellers will not be prepared to cut their prices while it is still not clear how the general public, businesses, financial markets, and the government are going to handle the transition to whatever turns out to be the new normal," Rightmove director and housing market analyst Miles Shipside said.

"The vast majority of ongoing sales want to proceed as soon as possible after the lockdown and many potential purchasers want to book appointments as soon as we are once again able to do viewings," Ben Hudson, managing director at Hudson Moody, said.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2020 19:15 ET (23:15 GMT)

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