Page 3 - Richard Kendall Property Magazine Summer 2020
P. 3
How we flourished
during lockdown
Richard Kendall Estate Agent found new ways of
working which proved to be very successful
again
Thenumberofhouseholds
moving hasaccelerated dras
tically since the easing ofthe
property industry lockdown,
according to new data from
home setup service Just
Move In.
Inthefirstfiveweeksafter
restrictions were eased on
May13,thenumberofpeople
moving has exceeded the to
talseenthroughouttheseven
previous weeks oflockdown
by28percent.
Co-founderofJust Move In,
Ross Nichols,said: “We’ve
seenanumberofmarket
metrics point to a strong
industryrevivalsincetheUK
property marketreopened
forbusinessandit’sgreat
toseethatthishasfiltered
through to the numberof peo
ple actually moving home, not
just listing and transacting”.
Deposit
disputes
The number of rental de
posit disputes lodged with
Hamilton Fraser’s govern
ment-authorised deposit
scheme, mydeposits, has
fallen.
Analysis of the data by Ham
ilton Fraser’s sister compa
ny and deposit replacement
provider Ome found that
deposit disputes were down
by 11 per cent in Yorkshire
and the Humber.
The main reason for with
holding a deposit has been
for post-tenancy cleaning,
which accounts for 26 per
hen the
country
wentinto
lockdown
in March,
estate agents, along with
Weveryoneelse, hadtoadapt
Kendall.
Claire said: “We have had
daily meetingswith staff
which, as well as being help
fulforbusinessplanning
purposes has also been a way
ofkeepingmoraleup.
quicklyandmakesweep “Weremainedbusy
ing changes to the way they
worked.
Richard Kendall Estate
Agents has many decades
ofexperience to call on and
was able to react quickly with
measures put in place almost
immediately to ensure that
the business would survive
and emerge as strong as ever.
Director Claire Kendall
said: “Obviously this was a
completely new experience
for all ofus but we were de
termined to do all we could
to ensure the continued suc
cess ofthe business.
“Our staffthroughout
these past few months have
been fantastic. They have all
adapted to the challenging
circumstances, some having
tojuggle childcare and home
schooling with working from
their kitchens and spare
rooms.
“Fortunately we already
had a very good communica
tions infrastructure in place
so we were able to divert
phones and set up internet
connections within a short
space oftime.”
As it has for many busi
nesses, the video confer
encing platform Zoom has
been a vital tool for Richard
throughout lockdown, en
gaging with our clients, and
doing what we could to assist
those who had sales almost at
completion.
“We even agreed a
number ofsales and let
nearly 40 properties from
the virtual tours we had been
creating in partnership with
our tenants, landlords and
vendors.
“The expanded use of
technology in this way has
really opened our eyes to the
possibility for the future.”
When the prime minister
addressed the nation on Sun
day, May 10 he announced
that some businesses could
open up again but that estate
agents were not included.
However, two days later
that decision was reversed
and it was announced that
they could open the very
next day, Wednesday, May 13,
subject to adhering to strict
government guidelines.
Claire said: “We did not
know what to expect when
the housing market was able
to move again, and we were
not sure ofthe confidence of
the marketplace.
However, since May 13 we
have literally not stopped.
New Technology has played a vital role during lockdown - a Zoom call taking place.
we:
“In these first six weeks
• Booked nearly 500
• Received 3,319 en
quiries from the property
portals on top over 350 en
quiries direct from our own
website.
“We enter the summer
with caution but also op
timism that the market in
Wakefield and Pontefract
can sustain these levels and
hope that we can all look for
ward to the rest of2020.”
One unexpected bonus of
the lockdown has been that
the agency’s founder and
director Richard Kendall,
who has been self-isolating
in North Yorkshire since the
Property News
valuations
• Put almost 200 proper
ties to the market
• Arranged more than
5,100 viewings
endofFebruary,hasbeen centofalldepositdisputes.
fers
startedoutinbusinessmore alsosomeofthemostcom
• Received over 630 of
• Registered over 3,000
able to enjoy tending his gar
den throughout the summer
for the first time since he
Damage to the property and
the deposit not being re
turned in the first place are
applicants on our mailing
list
than 50 years ago - and said
Claire, who visited him last
week, it is looking lovely.
mon reasons that deposits
were withheld (20 per cent)
Demand for houses is up by 46 per cent compared to early March
The rebound in housing mar
ketactivitycontinuesacrossthe
UK, according to the latest Zoo-
pla House Price Index.
Thenumberofagreedhome
sales is up four per cent com
pared to pre-lockdown levels in
early March, and house prices
are up 2.4 per cent.
The strongest rebound in
saleshasbeenincitiesinnorth
ern England, including Leeds,
Sheffield and Manchester.
This rise in sales activity is be
ing driven by the level ofbuyer
demand and low availability of
The level ofbuyer demand
across the UK is 46 per cent
higher than it was in early
March,whendemandforhous
ingfellby70percent.
It moderated slightly during
June. This was expected given
the huge growth in demand
sincetheEnglishhousingmar
ketopenedin May.
RichardDonnell,directorof
research and insight at Zoopla,
said: “The rebound in housing
marketactivityhastakenmany
in the industry by surprise. It
is welcome news given the pro-
growth and rising unemploy
ment.
“Estate agents and develop
ers are responding and using
the upsurge in demand to re
build their sales pipelines and
open up their developments.”
The wider trends in UK ac
tivity will largely be driven by
England, as this market ac
counts for 80 per cent ofprop
erty transactions in the UK.
As demand levels rise, the
numberofhomesforsaleisalso
rising.Butnotatthesamepace.
The number ofnew homes
15percentlowerthanthistime
last year.
This imbalance between
increased demand and lack
ofstock has resulted in an in
crease in house prices. Aver
age asking prices are up by
seven per cent compared to
June 2019.
MrDonnellsays:“Weseere
turning pent-up demand and
new buyers entering the mar
ket creating upward pressure
on prices in the face ofa lower
supply ofhomes for sale. This
has been exacerbated by the
Thenumberofnewhousesonthemarketisnotkeepingpacewithbuyer
housing.
lockdown.”
demand.
iections for falling economic
for sale in kev UK cities is about
Moving
