Market kick starts with rise in visits, new listings and enquiries to agents on Rightmove

Market kick starts with rise in visits, new listings and enquiries to agents

• Visits to Rightmove were up 45% on Wednesday morning compared to the previous day following the government’s surprise announcement to reopen the housing market¹
• Email enquiries sent to agents rose by 70% now that physical viewings can again take place²
• New listings are also starting to rise, with 2,115 new properties added in just five hours³

Early signs on Rightmove show a surge of home-mover activity now that the government has eased restrictions on moving home in England. Ahead of the announcement, activity was already starting to steadily recover, with yesterday (Tuesday 12^th May) being the busiest day of lockdown for visits to Rightmove. The surprise announcement last night has ignited further interest.

Rightmove’s Housing Market Expert Miles Shipside commented: “These are clear signs that the news from the government has prompted more home-hunters to start looking for their next home, and we anticipate further uplift in activity once agents have time to adjust to the new social distancing guidance specific to the home moving sector. Home movers who have been eagerly waiting to take their home moving plans to the next stage should show some patience with agents given the unexpected announcement, to ensure there’s time to adapt to the new guidelines and ensure everyone is kept safe.”

Rightmove has created some guidelines on how to view property safely based on the government’s published guidance for home-movers, available at:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/how-to-view-property-safely/

ENDS

Notes to editor

1 Visits to Rightmove, 7-8am on Wednesday 13^th May, compared to 7-8am on Tuesday 12^th May

2 Email enquiries by home-hunters to estate agents on Rightmove, 7-11am on Wednesday 13^th May, compared to 7-11am on Tuesday 12^th May

3 New listings added to Rightmove, 7am-1pm on Wednesday 13^th May.