Buying and selling houses can still go ahead during lockdown.

Property sales and purchases have been exempted from the legally enforced ban on non essential entrepreneurial ventures announced by the government on Monday to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

Official guidance for homebuyers, sellers, tenants and landlords confirms: “You may leave home to fulfil legal obligations or to carry out activities related to buying, selling, letting or renting a residential property.”

One possible hitch: If you had planned to move yourself to save money, don’t ask anyone outside your immediate family bubble to help you hump boxes from a to b. That’s a risk too far under present circumstances. No date yet for when the ban will be lifted. It’s expected to last until the middle of February.

Two leading estate agents with offices in Bucks and the surrounding counties signed a takeover deal this week.

Connells, owned by Skipton Building Society, has agreed to pay over £134 million for Countrywide, the estate agency group with 60 well known names in its portfolio including Hamptons International, Bairstow Eves and Gascoigne-Pees

Countrywide currently has 651 branches and a staff of 9,000. Its head office is in Milton Keynes.

Connells, established in Luton in 1936, has almost 6,800 on the staff and 581 offices across the country including one in High Wycombe and another in Aylesbury.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of March this year.

The two agencies combined are likely to finish up with a staff of 15,800 and 1,200 offices spread across the UK.

The management have pledged to grow the business.

David Watson, acting non-executive chairman of Countrywide, described the agency as a “great business that has been constrained by too much debt” - £90.2 million.

David Livesey, chief executive of Connells sees a bright future for one and all. He said: “We believe that we have the right management team, strategy and investment firepower to work with the talented teams at Countrywide.”

Pictured is a six bedroom house in Westfield Road, Beaconsfield on the books at Hamptons Country House department in Beaconsfield for £3.795 million.

Associate director for prime country sales Gary Hammond told the Free Press: “It is a beautifully crafted house. It was built by the owner with an eye for detail, not bling.”

The rooms are spread across three floors. There are four en suite bedrooms on the first floor and a further two bedrooms and bathroom at the top of the house. The balconied master bedroom has an en suite bathroom and dressing room.

The living area overall is a few inches short of 6,000 sq ft. All yours for £3.795 million.

Happy New Year!