As we head for late summer, Dominic Parravani of Durrants assesses the property market.
 
Covid-19 hasn’t been the only outbreak this year. There has also been an outbreak of property sales and letting since the end of national lockdown. The press has called this current property market a mini boom. We call it a maxi boom.
 
Mini booms occur when there is above average activity. Maxi booms happen when buyers are queueing up, there are multiple offers for most properties on the market, and deals regularly go to best and final offers only to exceed the original guide prices. This is what we are currently experiencing.
 
Nor has the lettings sector been left out of this market frenzy. There is enormous demand for rental properties.
 
Since the general lockdown ended our phones have been practically ringing off the hook and the numbers of visitors to our website and social media pages have skyrocketed.
 
Many things have changed since the pandemic hit our lives. One of these changes is in the attitude many of us have to how and where we live. A demand for more spacious and environmentally healthy living is driving the market, spurred on by a temporary reduction in stamp duty that has not only helped many second and third step buyers, but also has galvanised holiday home and buy-to-let purchasers.
 
Another change this summer is the government’s avowed intent to simplify and speed up the planning process. The current system has been described as “complex and slow” by the housing minister. It is a view hard to argue against.
 
But shouldn’t the minister also be looking at the current snail-pace of the conveyancing process? This is causing completion delays of up to six months in some parts of the country. How can buyers and sellers plan properly with this much uncertainty? It is a lamentable situation in this digital age, and one worthy of any government’s urgent attention.
 
As we head into late summer amidst all these changes our phones are still ringing and there is no let up in demand. We don’t know how long this surge in demand for property will last, but for buyers and sellers right now it is a boom market. So our advice is; to change your room use this boom.