INTEREST in new-build homes in East Lancashire remains strong despite people being unable to visit development sites, a housebuilder has stated.

Persimmon Homes, which has development listings in Blackburn, Buckshaw Village, Colne, and Oswaldtwistle, took the decision to close its sales offices across Britain as the Covid-19 crisis worsened.

Despite this, they say their sales advisors have been kept busy by people contacting them from their current homes.

Sales director Diane Finch said: “We have seen strong interest in our developments, even though house hunters are currently unable to visit our sites or speak face-to-face with our sales advisers.

"We know from speaking to people there is still an appetite to get onto the property ladder or make the next move.

“The lockdown is likely to cause delays in the second-hand housing market, as people cannot get out to view properties, but new-builds are typically bought off-plan in any case, so it is less of a problem.”

She added that the fact that people are at home at the moment might mean they have more time to browse houses online and on social media.