Lockdown divorce spike could boost property sales by £9.3bn

June 10, 2020

Recent figures from Co-op Legal Services show that there has been a spike in the number of couples filing for a divorce during the current lockdown. The firm has reported a 42% increase in divorce inquiries between 23 March and mid-May, compared with the same period in 2019.

The latest data on divorces in England and Wales shows there are some 91,299 divorces on an annual basis and should this trend continue, that’s an additional 38,346 couples who could be calling it a day in 2020.

What could this mean for the property market?

Research from estate agent Barrows and Forrester shows that even with a prolonged period of Brexit uncertainty, just over one million property sales transacted in 2019. While this number is likely to be far lower in 2020 due to the national lockdown, the market could see a boost of 38,346 homes entering the market if these additional divorces lead to the inevitable sale of the family home.

A long family law firms in mayfair blog post from Peters And May could be a useful read for anyone interested.

While this is bad news for those filing for divorce, it would help boost property stock in a market that has seen a huge uplift in buyer demand since the industry lockdown was lifted in May.

With the current average house price sat at £243,809, the addition of divorce property stock hitting the market could equate to a total value of £9,349,099,914 in transactions for the nation’s property market.

Data Description
Data Point
Annual Divorces in England and Wales
91,299
42% Increase
38,346
Potential additional transactions
38,346
Average house price for England and Wales
£243,809
Additional transactions x average house price
£9,349,099,914

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Social Housing 2019
Breaking News

Only 1 in 10 new-build homebuyers happy

Just 1 in 10 new-build buyers got the home they wanted before moving in   The latest research from UK Property Development (UKPD) has found that just 11% of people who purchased a new-build home in the past two years were able to personalise their property exactly as they wanted before moving in. As a…
Read More →
Breaking News

One-third of tenant income in the UK goes on rent

Lomond’s Summer 2026 Quarterly Insights report reveals tenants now spend an average of 32.7% of their yearly income on rent UK average rents rise to £1,369pcm, increasing by +4.3% in the same period last year Average rent in London reaches £2,418pcm, 76% higher than the UK average The average age of renters across the UK is now 31.5   Lomond, the UK’s leading network of lettings and sales agents, has…
Read More →
Finance

Six in 10 UK businesses look to adapt operations in response to extreme heat

37 per cent have increased heat-related investment, with 23 per cent considering it Cooling equipment, including air conditioning and ventilation, is the most common investment priority (28 per cent) Barclays anonymised client data shows that air conditioning suppliers saw cash inflows increase by 4.3 per cent year-on-year into Barclays accounts Consumers claim 25.1°C is their…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

Weathering RRA: It’s Not a Storm, It’s the Climate

Opinion: This Isn’t a Storm Agents Can Wait Out – It’s the New Climate By Sally Lawson    “Agents are heads-down, working their asses off to survive the RRA changes, to the detriment of everything else. But in order to get where they’re thriving too, agents must refocus and rebuild to make back the property…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 26/8/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   AI has Changed the value of proptech and legacy technology is paying the price AI has Changed the value of proptech and legacy technology is paying the price Thought leadership by Andrew Stanton For more than two decades, the value of proptech was built around…
Read More →
Breaking News

Commuter belt property values outperform every major UK city

The latest research from Yopa has revealed that house price growth across the commuter belt is outperforming the city itself across every major UK city analysed, with the gap as wide as 4.6 percentage points.   Yopa analysed the annual rate of house price growth across 12 major UK cities and compared it to the…
Read More →