Today’s Halifax House Price Index – Immediate Comments

August 12, 2019

Marc von Grundherr, Managing Director of Benham and Reeves, a London estate agency with 17 offices:

“Are we seeing a further indictment of Brexit paralysis? Or is this a seasonal blip given that the summer months simply tend to see lower demand? I favour the latter especially given that the numbers that we really should focus upon here are the quarterly and annual figures. For the UK property market to have seen year on year growth of over 4% despite the best endeavours of our politicians to de-rail public sentiment, has to be viewed as at least resilient – perhaps even astonishing”.

 

Shepherd Ncube, CEO of Springbok Properties, the national estate agency and ‘fast sale’ business:

The problem with these indexes is that they paint a very generalised picture of the property market. Almost nowhere in the UK is performing at the ‘averages’ seen here with London and the South East continuing to drag the national data down with significant decreases in value. The north though, in contrast, is indeed a powerhouse currently with house prices running ahead at ‘non-Brexit’ rates. Is it a coincidence, I wonder, that many of these areas were Leave voting?

Regardless, my money’s on a post-Brexit bounce and, should the new PM actually deliver an EU exit on October 31st, whilst this may not sit well for many, it will at least draw a line in the sand for hesitant house buyers and sellers and perhaps restore our battered market to some normality thereafter’.    

 

Colby Short, CEO of GetAgent, the estate agency comparison website says this:

‘The media may well report today’s Halifax numbers as doom and gloom given the monthly drop. But is property a safe bet in the long term? History tells us that this is so and frankly, perhaps we should pay less attention to the numerous indexes that are forced down our throats as starkly indicative when, actually, they affect only those looking to sell right now and, in this market, that’s far fewer people than is usual’. 

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