Shropshire’s housing appeal increases as lockdown eases
Estate agents in Shropshire are reporting an increase in the numbers of city-based homebuyers looking to move to somewhere more picturesque.
It comes as the Government eased Covid-related restrictions in the housing market.
Judy Bourne, from Monks Estate and Lettings Agency, said: “Thanks to the lockdown forcing anyone who could to work from home, many have realised that they are no longer as tied to their city location as they thought. This has had a huge effect on the numbers of people searching for properties in Shropshire.”
As with most businesses, housing developers have been quick to adapt to the Covid-19 situation, implementing innovative approaches to ensure ongoing communication with potential customers. As the towns and villages entered lockdown, Picardy Homes moved its home viewing experience online, becoming one of the first of Shropshire’s housing developers to offer virtual tours of their Young’s Piece development in Pontesbury.
Having reopened its doors to appointment-only viewings from June 1, Richard Cambray, of Picardy Homes was delighted that despite the length of the lockdown, there is a genuine desire in the market-place to carry on as normal.
He said: “It is encouraging to see the number of enquiries we are getting at present. Tracking the response rate that we have had from the 360 virtual tour of our Show Home at Young’s Piece, we have been amazed at the volume of visitors and enquiries coming from outside of the county.
"Shropshire seems to be the place that people aspire to move to. We have successfully taken one reservation immediately after opening from lockdown, and are pleased to now be able to show our houses now, with social distancing in place.”
Pace
With the pandemic effectively pushing the UK housing market into a temporary deep freeze, it was thought that people would postpone moving or forget investing in a new property all together.
However, Rightmove has revealed that visits to its site during the last three days of April were up more than 20 per cent compared with the first few days of lockdown, as more people isolating at home started to think about a new life in the country.
Peter Daborn, from Shrewsbury’s Roger Parry & Partners, said: “We are confident that business will pick up quite quickly for us as people begin to see the advantage of a quieter pace of life, more space and more property for your money when compared with city prices.
"Lockdown appears to be prompting many people to reassess what is important to them. From wanting to continue working from home or desiring more space for their family, it can only signal positive times ahead for our county and our industry.”
