Last week my Twitter feed was full of news about the housing market and how well it was doing after its surprise re-opening in May. Rightmove showed asking prices were up 1.9% on the quarter, so sellers are optimistic; Zoopla and Halifax data was similarly upbeat. Transaction levels and enquiries, it is said, have bounced back to pre-covid levels. The expectations of estate agents and property ‘experts’ seemed to be that we have seen a very brief ‘V-shaped’ downturn and are back on the sunny road to robust property market activity and ever-increasing housing wealth.

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