The UK housing market has shut down. But what happens after Covid-19?

Covid-19 has brought the UK housing market to a standstill. John Stepek looks at what could happen to house prices once the market opens up again.

Shuttered estate agent's office © Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The housing market has all but closed down © Getty
(Image credit: Shuttered estate agent's office © Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Yesterday, we were talking about oil prices going negative. That’s pretty grim news for anyone producing the stuff (not so bad for consumers though).

Still, at least there’s still a market in oil. There’s one market that I know you’re all extremely interested in. But it’s impossible to get any prices for that one right now, according to one major market player.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Explore More
John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.