Throughout 2020, the team at Advantage has worked hard to provide structural warranties for clients during an unpredictable year for the UK housing market, which is drawing to a close with ‘unseasonably high’ levels of house buying activity.

New vendor enquiries in the property market in the week ending 20th December were up by 23 per cent compared to last year’s figure, according to new research from Yomdel.

Mortgage Strategy reported that new buyer enquiries were up 11 per cent and new tenant enquiries were up by 17 per cent compared to last year. New landlord enquiries were 8 per cent lower than at this time last year.

However, when compared to last week’s figures, new vendor enquiries fell 16.5 per cent, new buyers 6.9 per cent, landlords 18.3 per cent and new tenants 17.1 per cent – a seasonal slowdown that Yomdel says is down to concerns over new coronavirus restrictions.

Earlier this month, we shared an Advantage blog about how the UK has experienced the fastest house price growth for almost six years in 2020.

Visits to estate agents’ websites up by 33%

The data also shows that website traffic to own branded estate agent websites was up 33 per cent on a yearly basis and live chat sessions were up by 31 per cent.

Yomdel chief executive Andy Soloman says:

“All bets may be off for the moment as regards the pandemic, Brexit, the economic outlook and sales progression logjams, but new estate agent enquiries remain strong.

“The next few weeks are going to be hugely important as we discover whether the extraordinary market this year can persist into 2021.”

“A key question is whether all pent up and future demand has been sucked into the Covid economy, or whether there is more to come as you’d usually see in January? One thing is clear, there are lots of people at home with time on their hands. As we have already seen this year, if lockdowns keep them at home they will be online and estate agents will see increased web traffic.”.

The fastest five month rise in house prices since 2004

According to the Guardian, the average price of a UK home started the year at £239,927, according to the mortgage lender Halifax, dropped back towards £237,00 after lockdown one, then rocketed to £253,243. Between the end of June and the end of November, prices experienced the fastest five-month gain since 2004.

The publisher also noted that the pandemic had triggered some remarkable changes in what we wanted in a home. The website Zoopla analysed searches by buyers and found that open-plan living was sharply down in popularity (pretty uncomfortable when working from home), while a home office or study and gardens became the priority. “Detached”, “rural” and “secluded” became Zoopla’s fourth, fifth and sixth most common search terms, as we shunned metropolitan living.

Related read: UK house prices hit a record high as buyers sought extra room.

The Advantage team is proud to work with our clients on developments throughout the UK, adhering to all social distancing guidelines to ensure that projects are covered by the appropriate structural warranty. To find out more about how we could help you with your project, call: 0845 900 3969 or email: sales@ahci.co.uk