Bellway story

From July to the end of September, Bellway saw a 33 per cent increase in the number of people reserving new homes in Yorkshire who had already sold their current house compared to the same period in 2019.

There was a staggering 300 per cent rise during the same period in the number of people reserving using Bellway’s Express Mover package.

This sees the housebuilder boost the chance of a quick sale and move by handpicking a local estate agent and actively helping to market a buyer’s current home.

Melanie Smith, Bellway Yorkshire’s sales director, said: “The lockdown months saw us all spending far more time at home than normal, and while it was widely reported that home improvements were top of everyone’s agendas, it looks like spending all that extra time at home has led to people all over the region deciding they want to move house and they don’t want to wait!”

Pre-lockdown it would typically take four to six weeks from first enquiry at a Bellway Yorkshire development to reservation, but during July, August and September this dropped to just seven to 10 days.

“The chance to get a bigger house is certainly driving the speeding up of the market,” added Melanie.

“On top of that, the combination of the stamp duty holiday and the extension of the Help to Buy Scheme have created a window of opportunity for house buyers, which is never likely to be replicated,” added Melanie.

“But what needs to be remembered is that people don’t move home unless they have a reason to do so, and lockdown clearly provided plenty – and an urgency to go with it.”

Bellway is currently building on 17 locations in Yorkshire, with developments in Anlaby, Driffield, Guisborough, Harrogate, Howden, Menston, Pannal, Pocklington, South Cave, Swanland, Thirsk, Wakefield and Wetherby.