Diary of an agent: Katya Zenkovich and Roly Ingleby-MacKenzie

Katya Zenkovich (KZ) is part of Knight Frank’s Private Office, a residential and commercial real estate team that advises high net worth clients and family offices.

Roly Ingleby-MacKenzie (RM) is a negotiator in Knightsbridge, home to the Harrods department store and a popular destination for overseas buyers.

With the housing market having reopened under strict social-distancing rules and Knight Frank introducing protocols to keep everyone in the process safe, they talk about the prospects for the remainder of the year.

How were the pre-lockdown months?

KZ - January is quiet. I was born in Moscow and traditionally many of the clients I deal with are Russian or from elsewhere in the CIS, and most are on holiday at the start of the year. Despite this, the private office had a strong year (to the end of March 2020) and we had started this year in line with the last one.

RM – We’d started well with a lot of interest from Chinese and Hong Kong-based buyers that have come to the fore in the past 18 months and are typically interested in schooling their children here. 

How did clients respond to lockdown?

KZ - We had several clients that had apartments in London that asked if we could relocate them to the country. We looked across our network and where we had vacant properties for sale – such as St George’s Hill in North Surrey – we were able to negotiate short rental agreements in some cases. Larger families chose to stay where they were. A number of deals happened during lockdown too, with several buyers having viewed before the restrictions came into force, and another purchasing on the strength of a video viewing alone. 

How will social-distancing change the way that you operate?

KZ - Due to the international nature of my clients, we would typically organise a tour and take them to a number of properties that are often spread out. We’ll now be relying on our local office network to let clients into a property and wait outside for them as I won’t be travelling with them anymore. That works well for a trip to Surrey with one or two viewings but isn’t quite as easy if it’s a tour around London spanning Kensington to Hampstead. We are also waiting to see what the final international travel restrictions will be and how long they will last.

RM – This week is my first back in the Knightsbridge office and it’s good to return. We’re normally a team of eight but we are manning the office as a four, with full PPE, social distancing and the front door locked to prevent walk-ins. I undertook a market appraisal this week by appointment. There was a risk assessment before I went and I then safely handed over PPE on arrival. The client opened up the property and allowed me to walk around it. I met them back outside for a conversation. You do lose some of the natural rapport you’d otherwise build when wearing PPE, but it’s great that the company has taken a lead on this. On the 28 May I’ll be taking over Knight Frank’s official Instagram account, so you’ll be able to see more first-hand about how we’re working now.

What’s the current sentiment now the property market has reopened?

KZ - Some people are in a rush and want to get moving. Other clients are planning to continue quarantining in London and may look to buy or even move to the country but down the line when things have relaxed further. There are of course people that have rented until now that have growing families and now to find somewhere that suits their changed requirements and will commence that search. 

RM – The return of physical viewings is good as buying somewhere is an ‘emotional game’, and while video viewings have proved useful people need to see the home they are buying. As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve had several requests for market appraisals – more than I’d typically get in a week – and I feel that following Brexit and now lockdown there’s a lot of people that want to get on with their lives. That might be as simple as finding somewhere bigger or somewhere with room for a home office, but they are all current drivers.

There’s plenty of talk about what will happen in relation to pricing, isn’t there?

KZ – Knight Frank’s forecast suggests a 5% fall for London prices this year, although most of that will already have occurred during the lockdown period. The question I’m most interested in seeing answered in the coming months is whether the fall in pricing will drive interest amongst investors taking a longer-term view. It will also be interesting to see if sellers and buyers are aligned over pricing, and how quickly we’ll receive new instructions following the lockdown.

RM – I think the end of the year will be stronger as the pound comes under pressure due to concerns about EU trade negotiations and there could be the introduction of the 2% surcharge for overseas buyers – as much as 70% of buyers I deal with come from overseas. At the moment with interest rates so low and mortgage holidays in place there is little reason to sell beyond personal need. So as a seller you will need to be realistic this year but if it’s a good property it will sell. It is properties that might be compromised, a lower ground floor flat or something with a short leasehold where pricing will come under pressure.