Buying and selling properties has been near impossible during lockdown, with around 450,000 transactions suspended.

But with restrictions now partly lifted, estate agents are seeing a huge rise in enquiries. Yet the impact of coronavirus is still being felt in the property market – from nervous sellers to buyers trying to scoop a possible bargain.

Dog trainer Joe Nutkins and husband John, a community support officer, were looking forward to selling their bungalow in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, and moving to a larger home nearer Colchester where they both work.

Having put their property on the market at the end of last year, they accepted an offer in mid-March, meaning they could start their own property hunt in earnest. But within a week, Britain was in lockdown, their buyer had withdrawn their offer – and everything ground to a halt.

‘We’ve been stuck in limbo,’ says Joe. But even now that property viewings and valuations have resumed, Joe, who suffers from myalgic encephalomyelitis, is horrified by the thought of prospective buyers tramping through her bungalow.

‘I just don’t understand how that is being allowed,’ she shudders. ‘Even though the guidelines have eased, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s OK. I don’t want strangers coming round my house – how many houses have they been round before mine?’

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