The Covid-19 pandemic may seem like it’s in the rear-view mirror but it’s impact on the world has created repercussions that are still lingering on, and we’re not just talking about the memes or Judd Apatow’s dreadful new Netflix comedy “The Bubble.”

The pandemic has changed the working lives of many in the U.K. At the height of the pandemic in 2020 we began to see government mandated lockdowns. “Work from home where possible” became the mantra of the country. In January/February 5.7% of workers reported that they worked exclusively from home, by April that had risen to 43.1%.

Even now, as the Prime Minister begins to push the country back into the office we are seeing increased numbers of people who are working from home. As restrictions were lifted across the country, many workplaces adapted to hybrid models that could see workers commuting less, as they began working in the office for only three days and then remotely from home for the other two. This new work culture has seen towns, that were originally seen has commuter towns, enter into a revival period as their previously barren high streets are seeing an increased footfall.

As the nation’s workforce spend more time at home, they are beginning to re-evaluate their living situation and their criteria is relying less on the proximity to their workplace. Where workers are seeing reduced “in-office” days, a longer commute has become more palatable with buyers increasingly looking for properties with more open space.

Although it is predicted to change in the coming months, we are still in a market that is favouring sellers over buyers. There are just too many buyers looking for properties than there are properties coming to market. This has seen buyers turning to desperate new tactics like contacting sellers to prove their worthiness to buy the property, with sellers favouring buyers looking for a family home over investors or those looking for second homes.

However, it being a seller’s market doesn’t mean that selling a property doesn’t come without its complications. While sellers aren’t finding it difficult to find a buyer and get a sale agreed, what they are finding is an increased difficulty on getting to that all important completion date.

The cost-of-living crisis is eating away at everyone’s wallets and, on top of that, mortgage rates and house prices are rising. Buyers are under ever tightening constraints and purchasing property is becoming out of reach for many. Many banks and building societies are entering into crisis-limitation mode, during mortgage surveys they are marking down properties by around £20,000 to £30,000 in order to protect themselves. This is causing many purchasers to become unable to raise the finances needed to complete their sales which can potentially create a knock-on effect that sees whole property chains collapse.

Some sellers are looking for ways to proactively avoid the potential pitfall of a property chain and are selling their homes regardless to move, temporarily, into rented accommodation. This tactic reduces the pressure for the buyer to rush into their next property purchase but could also become more expensive, even if house prices drop in the next two years, as rental prices continue to increase during the cost-of-living crisis.

Property auctions are increasingly becoming a preferred method of both buying and selling as the auction terms provide a securer sale than that offered through private treaty. Currently, the market sees around four in every ten property sales fall through, whereas, with auction the number becomes closer to four in every one hundred. The securer sale provided by auction also comes with faster and stricter timescales in place that can see a property sell and complete within 28 days. In these increasingly uncertain times, particularly in the property market, the certainties provided by auction are an advantage to any potential buyer or seller.

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