- It generally reduced home buying activity among FTBs. The negative effects were more pronounced at the start of the pandemic in 2020 rather than in 2021, when lockdowns began to ease.
- It changed the demand for professional support.
- It encouraged an online virtual journey rather than a real work journey. Journeys went from bricks to clicks.
- It lowered the dependence on mortgages as a source of finance for the first home. This could be because during COVID high LTV mortgages were withdrawn, meaning the market shifted towards more affluent FTBs who rely less on mortgages when buying.
- It made customer journeys harder to navigate. Journey takers impacted by COVID and more generally all FTBs taking a journey in 2020 and 2021, found the journey harder, compared with those taking journeys in 2018/2019.
- It inspired customer-provider communications.
These are just some of the findings from the report.