Whilst many adopted a “wait and see” approach to property buying in the lead up to the election, now might be the perfect time to reap the rewards that came with that mentality.
Demand for homes, house prices and enquiries from new buyers declined during the last month whilst new instruction from sellers were also rare to find, the latest residential market analysis by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) revealed.
Demand from Investors for UK Property is on the rise, RICS says
Whilst the report focused on London, the overall sentiment could be felt across the country.
Rics’ chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, commented: “Although the latest survey suggests that uncertainty related to the General Election may have contributed to what appears to have been a disappointing level of transactions in the housing market over the spring, perhaps the most ominous signal emanating from the data released today is that contributors still expect house prices to increase at a faster pace than wages over the medium term despite the difficulty many first time buyers are clearly having in taking their first steps onto the property ladder.”
“The increasingly tight second hand market remains a cause for concern with the Rics series tracking new instructions to agents recording its fifteenth successive negative reading. It is hard to see this as anything other a major obstacle to the efficient functioning of the housing market.”
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, also commented the results. He explained that the “wait and see” approach many buyers and sellers show is a reasonable reaction to the many political changes that happened this year. From triggering Article 50 to announcing the snap General Election, he says a lot has happened leading people to prefer to wait rather than making a quick decision.
Now that one of the uncertainties, the General Election, has been lifted off the table, Murphy thinks a pick-up in the housing market is more than likely. Which makes now the perfect time to invest, before everyone else.
“Certainly, this would also appear to be the view of many respondents to the RICS survey, with over a quarter expecting to see an increase in activity in the second half of 2017.”
