Brexit & The Property Market

Brexit & The Property Market

Hard of soft, not Boris Johnson’s choice of boiled egg, but how Brexit unfolds will have an affect on the property market. As Carol Lewis writing in the Sunday Times recently summed it, ‘The average UK homeowner made more money from their home in the first ten months of this year than in the preceding three and a half years. The question now is whether they will keep that record gain, or see it wiped out by a poor Brexit deal.’

Looking at the Bank of England for a steer, worryingly in June and September they were talking about imposing negative interest rates, which given the base rate is 0.1% seems an indicator that if Brexit goes badly and inflation is to remain at 2%, draconian measures may prevail.

What then for the housing market? In some ways the biggest stimuli to the property market is the SDLT holiday. But if jobs become impacted and food becomes more expensive, late Spring 2021 could be an interesting time if Jan 1st sees a hard Brexit.

Asking agents for their view of Brexit, those I spoke to in London had as differing views on how Brexit would play out as those in the shires and in the North. Bullish sales and lack of inventory to sell certainly seem to be the watchwords, and Brexit well not really on most agents agenda.

Interestingly one agent said we are an island nation so probably we will just keep on going, whilst I admired his spirit, I am not 100% convinced. As Brexit in a way has split the country, hence the closeness of the national vote, but its impact has been magnified by the extraordinary ravages of the pandemic that no-one could have planned for.

The only thing that became clear to me as I cast around asking for opinions on Brexit and what it will or will not do for the marketplace, the more I realised that we have never been here before.

Yes, there has been boom and bust, peaks and troughs, but for decades it was against a European Union background.

Now for better or for worse – the property world will wake up bleary eyed in three weeks’ time to reality of a divorce situation, the terms of which may weigh heavily on the industry. If you have any thoughts either way, please let me know.

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate.

You May Also Enjoy

Damaged timber from Dry Rot
Estate Agent Talk

Mould and damp – what you need to know ahead of winter

With the winter months just round the corner, problems with damp and mould can become far more prominent. Autumntime is when many people turn on central heating systems and choose to close windows, preventing fresh air ventilation needed to allow damp air to leave a property. Unfortunately, the combination of warm and damp air can…
Read More
Breaking News

Rental price and average salary tracker – September 2025

London and South East see biggest dips in required rental salary year-on-year London and the South East saw the sharpest dips year-on-year in the average salary needed in order to rent the average home in that area. London saw a 4.2% drop, whilst the South East saw a decline of 2.9%. Yorkshire and Humberside saw…
Read More
buying at auction uk
Breaking News

The cities where buying beats renting – with just a 5% deposit

British first-time buyer mortgage payments are typically 17% cheaper than renting, even with a low 5% deposit The average 5% deposit is £11,412 based on a typical first-time buyer property price of £228,233 Among major cities outside London, the biggest gap between owning and renting is in Glasgow, where buyers could save more than £4,750…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove’s Weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker

Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Average rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 4.51% +0.00% -0.37% 5-year fixed 4.55% +0.01% +0.01%   Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Lowest rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 3.77% +0.05% -0.07% 5-year fixed 3.97% +0.10% +0.29%   Average…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Data and commentary from Rightmove on stamp duty reforms

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert said: “We’ve been calling for stamp duty reform for some time now, as it’s a significant barrier for many people moving home. Abolishing it completely would remove one of the biggest barriers to moving, unlocking more moves at all stages of the property ladder. “Our data shows that only 5%…
Read More
Breaking News

Second-time buyers dominate demand for longer term fixed mortgage deals

Second-time buyers are dominating demand for longer term fixed mortgage deals, fresh data from Moneyfacts Analyser can reveal. Of those looking for fixed term deals on moneyfactscompare.co.uk: Almost two-thirds (58%) of second-time buyers who compared mortgage deals using the moneyfactscompare.co.uk website were considering terms of three years or longer in the 30 days to 1…
Read More