Comment: New worry for movers as housing market grinds to a halt

We’re well into week two of lockdown – how are we all feeling? Ever so slightly deranged, maybe? Sick of the sight of our families?

I can’t deny that I’ve fantastised about setting out for my daily walk and just carrying on, never to return.

Attempting to #stayhome brings with it issues aplenty, both practical and emotional. We know it’s the right thing to do, but that doesn’t make it any less challenging.

And while struggling to get hold of pasta, flour and handwash presents a problem in the short term, it’s the longer-term impact on the nation’s mental health that I’ve been worrying about. That and, obviously, the economy.

The economic impact of the pandemic has been far-reaching, and the property industry has been hit hard.

Government advice is for buyers and renters to stay put while current coronavirus measures are in place - and staying at home and avoiding others obviously isn’t great for an industry that requires physical viewings of properties by wannabe movers and a whole host of professionals (as Richard Burton discovered in this week’s feature).

No, it’s not just movers and estate agents that have been affected: surveyors, conveyancers and removal firms have all had to adapt. Even companies offering end of tenancy cleans are struggling.

These are unprecedented times and local businesses are working hard to keep things moving in whatever way they can within the current constraints. Worrying and stressful for many, but, we accept, necessary for the greater good.

For those of us who now find our longed-for moves in limbo, the always-stressful process of moving house has an added layer of epic uncertainty and stress, the likes of which none of us have ever seen before.

We know this too shall pass, if only we knew when.