Brexit has had no real effect on housing market

The local housing market has seen no noticeable change since the EU referendum, prices have not suffered and the market remains resilient.
Chris Thomson of Eadon, Lockwood and RiddleChris Thomson of Eadon, Lockwood and Riddle
Chris Thomson of Eadon, Lockwood and Riddle

Looking at data collected from Rightmove (which represents 90 per cent of the UK’s housing stock) on June 22 - the day before the Brexit vote - there were 866,179 properties for sale nationally.

Of these, 352,301 were under agreed offer, representing 40.7 per cent of the market.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The same analysis taken on August 8, shows the number of properties on the market (including those under offer) has risen by 1.7 per cent to 872,953.

Of these, the number under offer (including sold subject to contract) has fallen by 4.3 per cent to 335,176 - this represents 38.4 per cent of all properties on the market, a modest 2.3 per cent drop on the June 22 figure.

Having read many articles from the national property media, I believe the slight fall shown in the above fi gures, is almost entirely down to the London property market, with investors being put off by increased stamp duty rates, and overseas buyers not enjoying such a good an exchange rate as they did ‘pre Brexit’.

ELR sales fi gures have seen a healthy rise compared to last August, with an increase of around 12 per cent. The problem of limited availability remains an issue, with many homes receiving multiple offers and selling within the fi rst couple of weeks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Shortage of stock is something we would expect to ease through the September and October months, as traditionally these are good times to market, due to sellers working towards a pre Christmas move. With reducing interest rates, and no apparent dip in the economy, we would expect stability for the remainder of 2016.