Commenting on Nationwide's House Price Index announcements for March 2020, Lucy Pendleton suggests there is light at the end of the lockdown tunnel for the property market.
Despite the uncertainty being faced across both the UK and global economies, the housing market will bounce back quickly when lockdown ends, according to independent estate agents James Pendleton.
Following the release of Nationwide House Price Index (HPI), which showed that house prices rose by 0.8% in March 2020, Lucy Pendleton, founder and director of James Pendleton, branded the numbers "irrelevant" following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, she said there was light at the end of the lockdown tunnel.
She said: "The only silver lining to this situation is that political uncertainty and underlying economic weakness play no part in this chaos.
"The housing market will come roaring back to life as soon as the lockdown ends, aided by interest rates that are significantly lower than when it began."
As a result of the crisis, James Pendleton has seen an annual reduction in sales of 84.2%, in exchanges of 66.6%, and in offers of 60%.
Meanwhile, viewings have ceased altogether. The business has also had to furlough more than half of its staff.
Pendleton added: "It wasn’t so long ago that commentators talked of Brexit uncertainty putting transactions on ice, but that feels like ancient history now.
"COVID-19 has brought brutal new meaning to a frozen market.
“Coronavirus has broken the spirits of businesses on a scale not seen since the financial crisis.
"It is an incredibly testing time, but we must come out the other side, and come out fighting.”
