News

The last six months have been incredibly challenging for everyone and the impact on the property market has led to modifications in the way the sector operates. Changing guidelines and the obvious importance of health and safety has meant that regular updates on current practices are required.

The latest announcement and guidelines issued by the government week commencing 21 September 2020 in relation to house visits appeared complex and may have caused some confusion.  However, the undernoted statement provided by the Scottish government confirms that, in accordance with their new updated guidelines, we are still permitted to visit your property both to prepare marketing information and to carry out accompanied viewings. 

Scottish government statement

From 29 June 2020, all home moves are permitted, provided they can be carried out safely.  This continues to be the case following the announcement of new measures to drive down the infection rate on 22 September 2020.   Detailed information on government guidance on moving home can be found here.

ASPC

Since the official ‘reopening’ of the market on 29 June, the market conditions have been very positive. The figures provided by Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre (ASPC) on 24 September advise that traffic to their website has increased dramatically with, in particular, a large increase in numbers of prospective buyers registering with the site.  These figures take into account the local lockdown that effected Aberdeen City in August and are therefore very encouraging. 

"In August, traffic to the ASPC website broke all records, recording 1.36 million website sessions and 447,000 users. 

To put this in context, average monthly website traffic is usually around the 1 million session mark and the previous record was 1.13 million in May 2019.  The previous record for number of unique users in a month was 381,000 in May 2016.  Boosting this figure further, there were 175,000 sessions on the App by 16,000 users, compared to 117,040 sessions by 12,965 users in August 2019."

Technology

We continue to encourage the use of ‘virtual’ tours of homes, they are successful in reducing the number of initial in-person viewings and therefore the number of people that enter the home.  They have proved to be very popular with sellers and buyers, and landlords and tenants, and we have been pleased to note a number of sales and leases finalised, purely on the basis of these tours. The majority of properties are coming on to the market in excellent condition and virtual tours can demonstrate this to good effect.   

Safety

When visiting properties all members of our team, including viewing agents, follow our designated protocol which includes the safeguarding practices we adhere to. This protocol is also shared with any clients who wish to attend viewings in person.  

Coummunication

Whilst there will inevitably continue to be a level of uncertainty over the next few months, we want to reassure you that we are available and here to ensure that all our clients receive the very best service.  Communication is key and we are contactable as always, with no reduction in hours or accessibility.  Working from home or office we can be reached as normal. 

Stronachs are committed to ensuring the safety of staff, clients and contacts and are well equipped to continue working in this manner for as long as it is necessary.   So if you’re thinking of moving, give our team a call on 01224 626100 and have a chat!