Estate agents using video viewings to sell properties amid coronavirus

Peter Sheehan, director and owner of prime property buying agency The London Resolution says that in these unprecedented times, larger estate agents are using video viewings to replace in-person viewings.

As a result, both domestic and overseas buyers are making purchasing decisions from the comfort of their homes.

As the number of viewings collapse due to both vendors and prospective buyers, as well as estate agents undertaking social distancing, pre-recorded video is replacing the traditional estate agent visit.

Peter Sheehan says:

“High-end property investments will still take place, albeit remotely. We know CBRE has created videos of many of their properties and are sure many others will swiftly follow. This will be the new normal for now and remains a sensible approach. Many estate agents’ staff are divided into Team A and Team B, working in fortnightly shifts but are not going to the office.

“Those property transactions which are close to exchange and completion are continuing; at a slower pace, as legal staff work from home and without their assistants. Many transactions which have not yet exchanged are seeing buyers stalling, price-chipping, renegotiating or pulling-out entirely. Buyers are either desperate to reach completion no matter what, hugely fearful of the future or exploiting the situation.

“Planning procedures, council searches and legal processes are all being significantly delayed. We understand that Islington council for example, has sent all staff home and none of them have the capacity to work from home.

“Quiet repatriation of overseas residents all over the globe is having an unsettling effect on the whole London market and those overseas investors are now not around to transact. But in all bad times, there are always those investors looking at the upside – for legacy investors, this is the perfect time to transact as this unsettled market can provide long-term gains.”

Kindly shared by The London Resolution