COVID-19 forces would-be buyers & sellers to freeze property plans for FIVE MONTHS¹

  • Nearly half of active buyers stopped looking for a new home BEFORE the Government ‘suspended’ the housing market² ³

  • On average, both buyers and sellers expect to put their plans on hold for just over five months¹

  • But homeowners are showing resilience with 16% planning to remortgage to cut monthly payments because of the coronavirus outbreak⁴

6th April 2020 – People who’ve been planning to buy or sell a property expect, on average, to suspend their plans for five months¹ – according to new research by online mortgage broker Trussle. 

A third of people in the UK (33%) were planning to buy and/or sell a property according to the nationally representative study carried out in conjunction with Censuswide.²

The Government temporarily froze the housing market in late March, discouraging buyers and sellers from moving house³. But before those measures were announced, a staggering 49% of those planning to buy decided to ‘stop looking for a new home’ as a result of COVID-19². Fewer sellers pulled the plug, with just 20% deciding to halt proceedings on the sale of their home².

Overall, both would-be buyers and would-be sellers expect to defer their property plans for an average of just over five months¹.

However, despite the scale of the disruption, one-in-six homeowners are demonstrating resilience by thinking about remortgaging in the near-term⁴. Trussle’s research found that, on average, customers who remortgage to avoid lapsing onto their lender’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) could save on average £344 per month or £4,128 per year⁵. 

Of those who are considering switching, the majority (66%) are aged between 25 and 44. Nearly a quarter of those (24%) thinking about switching due to coronavirus are based in Greater London - the highest proportion. This is followed by those in the South East (13%) and the West Midlands (10%). Northern Ireland has the lowest take-up, with just 1% of those considering switching being based there, Wales is second with just 2%.⁶

In the current climate, Trussle is urging everyone with a mortgage to urgently check when their initial term ends and to consider remortgaging if they’re approaching the end of that period. Remortgaging is easy: just follow these 4 steps.

Ian Larkin, CEO of Trussle comments: “The coronavirus pandemic has not only had a huge impact on the economy, but also on everyday life in the UK. 

“Just last month, it would have been nearly impossible to contemplate the scale of the lockdown and its economic impact. We’re now feeling the effects in the housing market and it’s difficult to predict how long it will take for transactions to return to pre-crisis levels.

“With the government’s latest plea discouraging buyers from moving house, It’s entirely understandable that people are putting off their housing plans.

“At a time of financial uncertainty, it’s a good time to think about your personal outgoings. We know that people could save an average of £4,100 per year just by switching their mortgage to a better deal⁵. 

During these uncertain times, people are taking steps to protect themselves financially. Reducing mortgage payments, the biggest monthly outgoing most homeowners will face, is a priority for many.”

– ENDS –

Notes to editors

For further information, please contact:

We’ve taken extra care to ensure the information provided within this release is presented in a way that’s compliant with regulatory requirements. If you have any questions about how to repurpose this information or require any further assistance, please contact Katie Halfhead at Trussle.

Methodology

On behalf of Trussle, Censuswide carried out a nationally representative study of 2,011 people between the 20th and 23rd of March 2020.

1. Respondents who are or have been planning to buy or sell a property, but reported news around COVID-19 affected their plans were asked:

‘How long are you planning to defer your decision of buying or selling a property for?’ – The mean average was 5.37 months

2. Respondents were asked ‘Are you, or have you been, planning to buy or sell a property?’ – 33% were ‘net yes’ respondents. 

Of those, 49% said they ‘decided to stop looking for a new home’

20% said they ‘are no longer going to sell their home’

3. Source: https://www.ft.com/content/c08ec3d9-079e-40ff-baae-11388c650f6c 4. Respondents who own a property with a mortgage were asked whether the current situation with COVID-19 has made them consider switching their mortgage deal

16% responded ‘Yes’

5. Source https://trussle.com/marketing-claims 6. Of the respondents who answered ‘yes’ to whether ‘the current situation (COVID-19) has made you consider switching your mortgage deal soon?

66% were aged between 25 and 44, 13% were aged over 45, 24% live in Greater Londonl 13% live in the South East, 10% live in the West Midlands, 2% live in Wales and 1% live in Northern Ireland.

 

About Trussle

Trussle helps people love their journey of owning a home. We’re the online mortgage broker helping you wherever you are on the ladder.

See how much you could borrow or save in minutes. Whether you're looking at homes for the first time, or you're looking to remortgage for the fourth time. Our quick online calculators will help you take the next step on your home ownership journey.

Say goodbye to paperwork, long phone calls, and being left out of the loop. Say hello to a quick, jargon-free, personal service that you can access from anywhere at any time. We’ll help you find and secure your mortgage entirely online.

Relax while we ensure you're always on the right deal. We compare your mortgage with the latest deals on the market every day, and we’ll alert you the moment it's time to switch to a more suitable deal. That way, you'll never pay more than you should to own your home.

In September 2016 Trussle launched an industry-first partnership with online property portal Zoopla, making it possible to find and buy a home in one seamless experience. Trussle is backed by some of Europe's leading technology investors including Orange Growth Capital, LocalGlobe, Ed Wray (founder of Betfair), Ian Hogarth (founder of Songkick), Seedcamp, and Zoopla Property Group.

Trussle is a trading style of Trussle Lab Ltd, which is an appointed representative of Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited and Mortgage Advice Bureau (Derby) Limited which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

More information can be found at https://trussle.com/

Trussle’s press pack is available here

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