Brexit uncertainty prompts decline in UK property activity

Home buyer demand has seen a slow recovery from initial Brexit uncertainty. Now, there are only 24 hours to go until the Prime Minister plans to trigger Article 50, in what is set to be a historic day for Britain.

A new YouGov poll for HomeOwners Alliance and warranty provider BLP Insurance has discovered than over one million people have put off plans to move this year because of Brexit uncertainty.

Brexit

The housing market in Britain has slowed during the past 12 months, against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty. This is attributed somewhat to the outcome of the EU referendum, with 15% of people saying that they had postponed moving plans for this year. One in six cited Brexit as a main reason.

650,000 people were found to have been deterred from moving due to higher stamp duty rates.

Other main reasons for putting people off moving or from buying a home were:

• Rising property prices-26%
• Living costs-25%
• Difficulty in obtaining a mortgage/re-mortgage-25%

Those in the North East (27%) and Northern Ireland (21%) were most likely to have cancelled plans to move since the vote.

Brexit uncertainty prompts decline in UK property activity

Uncertainty

Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said: ‘With the Government preparing to trigger Article 50 this week, we expect further uncertainty in the market until the UK’s future relationship with Europe is more clearly defined.’[1]

‘The Government could help to ameliorate the situation, by looking again at stamp duty. It remains stubbornly high and acts as a drag on the market. Reducing the burden for genuine owner-occupiers could really help to keep the market moving in these uncertain times,’ she added.[1]

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/3/brexit-uncertainty-prompts-sharp-fall-uk-property-sales