Covid19 And The Property Market

The coronavirus has just started to spread in the UK. In Scotland, we have 6 case confirmed but it's only a matter of time before it takes hold of the country and spreads like wildfire. The stock market has already seen the largest plummet since the crash of 2018. This is a global trend and could result in destroying the world economy as we know it.

Like me, you probably were not around during World War1 and World War II. You may see 911 as one of the most historical events in your life (it probably was up till this point). But we are now living in one of the most significant and historical times in the history of the planet. There is no way of knowing where this thing will take us, both health-wise and financially. At the time of writing this post, there are 91,333 Coronavirus cases worldwide. This has resulted in 3,120 deaths and 48,264 people have recovered.

According to Jess Simpson - an ex-Savills and ex-Strutt and Parker sales agent - "the virus is curbing international interest in homes. International buyers at the top end of the market do not want to fly in for viewings due to the Coronavirus outbreak and fear of traveling at the moment."

This is at the top end, but what about the day to day running of an estate or letting agency. Everything from getting prospective clients in the front door to viewings and inspections could and probably will be affected. Indeed any type of meeting will be something that all of us will think twice in the coming weeks.

It is entirely possible, the only way to show a house to a prospective client in the coming months may be on a screen as a video walk-through, followed by a Skype call. Who knows? But I will say that we should all be taking a look 'right now' at a strategy for how we will run our business during this horrible time in our history.