Elections and referendum causing uncertainty

April 26, 2016

Only just last week we had the Hometrack cities House Price Index for March 2016 telling us that City level house prices at highest quarterly growth for 12 years, in the report this was put down to seasonal upturn being boosted by investors rushing to beat the stamp duty deadline.

The outlook from here on however is not so certain, experts are claiming that there is evidence that  up and coming elections, Brexit and changes to landlord tax are starting to affect the buy to let and could lead to falling house prices in the UK.

Surveyors and estate agents reportedly claim that  uncertainty around Brexit is shrouding the market and many expect the number of house sales to drop.

According to a spokesman for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) “Uncertainty are part and parcel of elections and we have several coming in London – including the vote for a new mayor and local council polls as well as the referendum.

“Our members have seen house prices rise every month for three years running, but say they are starting to fall in some parts of the capital.

“The referendum and tax changes are a damper on the buy to let market in particular.”

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Commonhold White Paper – Thoughts from the Industry

The sale of new leasehold flats in England and Wales is to be banned under Labour’s plan to end the  ‘feudal’ system. Labour wants to switch to Scotland’s commonhold system There are around 5 million leaseholders in England and Wales. Under commonhold, each flat owner would own the freehold of their home, but also have…
Read More →
Breaking News

Greenpeace Ruling Exposes UK Government Policy

In January 2025, Greenpeace brought a collective action against the Dutch state for failing to comply with a 2018 European Court of Justice ruling on nutrient neutrality. An appeal is expected: however, as the UK Government has adopted the same ‘tax builders for pollution others cause’ approach to reducing nutrient pollution, it may find itself…
Read More →
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove commentary on mortgage market + weekly tracker

Commenting on the mortgage market, Rightmove’s expert Matt Smith said: “The market has settled after the unexpectedly high inflation figure. Average mortgage rates on many products have trickled downwards, and we’ve even seen the return of some eye-grabbing sub-4% mortgage rates for those with the biggest deposits. It shows that mortgage lenders are still keen to…
Read More →
Breaking News

Government plans to ban new leasehold flats

With the Government’s plans to ban new leasehold flats, an expert says the system must be ready to cope. With the news that Government is to outline plans to ban new leasehold flats and adopt commonhold, with draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill to be published later this year, Scott Goldstein, Partner, Payne Hicks Beach,…
Read More →
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England Money and Credit Report – January 2025

Overview These monthly statistics on the amount of, and interest rates on, borrowing and deposits by households and businesses are used by the Bank’s policy committees to understand economic trends and developments in the UK banking system. Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by £0.9 billion, to £4.2 billion in January.…
Read More →
Breaking News

Right to Manage: changes to legislation come into effect on Monday

On Monday 3 March further provisions within the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 come into force, including Section 49 which concerns the change of non-residential limit on Right to Manage (RTM) claims. This secondary legislation will mean that residential leaseholders within a mixed-use scheme will qualify for RTM when the commercial element of a…
Read More →