Over just a few months, Covid-19 has disrupted almost every corner of the globe. In the residential market, this has led to transaction numbers drawing to a standstill in many countries as lockdown measures prevent sales. In Savills Research, we have carried out a sentiment survey of Savills global residential network to assess how Covid-19 is changing the residential property market.
Current Market Sentiment
When asked what proportion of buyers that are still looking and will travel as soon as lockdown is lifted versus those who have put their plans on hold for the time being, there was a fairly even distribution for both. Some markets such as Lake Como in Italy have found more buyers have put plans on hold for a period. Others are still looking and will travel as soon as lockdown is lifted, such as the majority of buyers in the South West of France where there is a
One clear trend is that, whether buyers are planning to look straight after lockdown or will pause briefly, very few buyers are stopping their search altogether. Over 90% of respondents stated that 30% or fewer of their buyer have stopped looking altogether.
Price reductions are topical at the moment and the majority of respondents stated that a high proportion of their buyers expect to get a lower price than before the lockdown. This is particularly noticeable in countries like Spain which have seen severe lockdowns and where there is more available stock. There are a few exceptions; in some luxury second home hotspots including the French Riviera, very few buyers are expecting a lower price.
