The word 'surreal' doesn’t do it justice. Are we really locked down in our own homes while an invisible killer preys on the elderly and infirm? Our thoughts are with everyone who is worried and anxious at this unprecedented time. Likewise we share in the frustration many of us must feel about this sudden interruption into daily life.

We’re not operating under the illusion that anyone is thinking too hard about moving home or the state of the property market right now - so fear not. You may, however, be interested to hear what we think the short, medium and long term effects of the virus might be. We’re going to assume that cases of the virus will peak and within a handful of months, things will start to go back to normal.

During the lockdown, which has just begun as we write this, we expect the national housing market to pretty much freeze. Estate agencies rely on a chain of activity including viewings, surveys and non-householders mixing, which seems infeasible during this time. So we’re not expecting you to see very much new stock on the portals.

When, eventually, normality resumes, we expect to see a tidal wave of new stock coming onto the market. Not only will a swell of springtime movers belatedly arrive in the market, but more will come to take advantage of the historically low interest rates, if they persist. One thing we don’t want to see is a market buoyed by the couples in the chart above getting divorced after too much enforced family time!

 The Link to the latest Pinner Property Market News is here