Against the odds, the UK housing market has seen a remarkable recovery since reopening in mid-May. This has been boosted by pent-up demand, the experience of lockdown fuelling people’s desire to move, as well as the stamp duty holiday.

According to a new report from Savills, the number of sales agreed across the UK in September 2020 was 92% higher than the same month last year. This increase has likewise been seen in the new build market. The number of reservations for new-build properties in Q3 2020 was the highest ever recorded in any quarter by Savills.

But this recovery is not uniform across the country. While some demand remains for city centres, with many people working from home and looking for more space, more rural markets have so far been the biggest beneficiaries of this jump in demand.

In terms of who is fuelling this recovery in the market, there is a divergence between different types of buyers. With banks shifting their focus to lower-risk lending, due to both the economic environment as well as the increase in mortgage applications, equity-rich homeowners are benefitting more over first-time buyers. The reduction in high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage products has particularly impacted first-time buyers, with the number of 90% LTV products on the market reducing by 92% between March and August 2020.

This shift is apparent in the value of properties going under offer. The number of properties priced between £200,000 and £300,000 SSTC was 88% higher in September 2020 than September 2019. But properties over £1m have seen more than double the uplift: 152% higher this year than last. Yet this may benefit the new build market. First-time buyers with lower deposits are likely to be drawn to products such as Help to Buy or shared ownership, particularly as the new changes to shared ownership may mean a 10% share can be bought with a deposit of just £1,550 for the average home.