Despite plans to use technology to keep the housing market going, Britain’s famous estate agents are facing a bleak few months.
The U.K. housing market — that obsession of middle-class Brits — has been placed in suspended animation. Buyers and renters have been told to delay moving home to limit the spread of coronavirus.
While a few transactions are still going through, a functioning market depends on prospective buyers and surveyors being able to view people’s homes.
Mobility restrictions and distancing measures make that all but impossible. Set against the loss of life caused by the virus, the anticipated collapse in housing transactions for at least the next few months is a price worth paying.