Halifax House Price Index: House price growth remains muted as election looms
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“The one thing that will no doubt be on the Christmas wish list of home buyers and sellers across the UK is an end to the market uncertainty that has plagued both house price growth and stock levels for some months now.
While the latest numbers may suggest a Christmas miracle in the making, any real stability or growth is unlikely to return this side of the New Year given the upcoming election and the seasonal market slowdown that comes with Christmas.
The focus now must be setting a firm political foundation on which we can build and doing so will ensure a swift return to normality over the year ahead.
Failure to do so will no doubt leave the UK property market in further limbo with no real movement on either side of the coin and stagnant growth for the foreseeable future.”
Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, Michael Stone, commented:
“Over the last year, we’ve seen market momentum just about maintained as a result of strong delivery on the part of our housebuilders coupled with first-time buyer appetite. As a result, the new build sector has really helped prop up the wider market which has otherwise looked rather weary, to say the least.
While this has been enough to keep things ticking over at a top-level, it’s simply not enough to fuel the fires on a long-term basis or spur a return to previous health. For this to happen we need to see an end to political and economic market uncertainty and so next week’s election is vital for the overall future of the market.
A Conservative majority and the stability this should bring will act as a welcome adrenaline shot into the heart of the UK property market. Even Jeremy Corbyn getting the keys to number 10 would at least allow us to move forward to some degree.
However, the real worst-case scenario would be a hung parliament and yet more indecision, chaos and uncertainty would be very detrimental to a sector that is looking green around the gills having endured such conditions for some months already.”
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