When will estate agents reopen?

[Bitofeverything]

I want to crack on and sell my house (looking for buy simultaneously so not especially fussed if prices are down a bit as long as they’re down everywhere - and not sure they will be anyway) but haven’t seen any indication of when estate agents might reopen. Does anyone know? Have I missed something? Any indication of which step of the reopening they might be part of etc. Friends of mine are trying to sort out renting a place and are having to look online, but presumably that doesn’t work for selling (you might rent a place based on a video walkthrough but surely not buy...) Just trying to plan (yes, I know, but I like to plan!)

They're not all closed, are they? We exchanged during lockdown. Completion agreed for end of May (will legally have to happen then) or earlier if lockdown lifted. My friend has also just sold his flat after a virtual viewing. It's not impossible to get on with things.

This is a big "it depends" question.

Many agents in London are still operating, while others have completely furloughed all but a few central office staff.

You should be able to get your property taken up by any agents that are still working locally - have you tried ringing around? Best time to try is the mornings, around 10am or so. The agents that are open would love to take on a new instruction under the current market, so it would be a win/win for you to at least get the ball rolling with getting your property listed.

We are regularly in touch with our agents as they have sold our STC but they aren’t showing people around new houses etc. Hopefully it won’t be long OP.

I’ve got the opposite problem in our new home, we have only seen it virtually, it’s only a rental but we’ve committed to something without even seeing it in the flesh.

27th May. Just a guess because your guess is as good as mine.

Who really would buy a house from a virtual viewing? This is the most expensive thing you will ever buy! We are looking to sell and have seen a house we want to view and I contacted the agent and said when we can have a physical viewing please contact us. I can see a lot of people pulling out after a sale agreed when they actually view the house physically. It's just wasting everyone's times.

@terrigrey Offer accepted, not exchanged yet! But we see no reason to change our mind. We know the area and the houses well. It has been well maintained and updated by the current owners. We asked a lot of questions, and we have savings available to do any work that is required. Yes, its unusual, but we won't be the only people to do this.