According to Britain’s leading mortgage provider Halifax, property prices in the UK have taken a hit this March by decreasing as much as 1.6% compared to the previous month. Reports suggest that London is being particularly affected by the fall in house prices.
These statistics are at odds with the first quarter of 2019 when the UK property market showed resilience with house prices being 2.6% greater than the same period during 2018. It would therefore seem that the prolonged instability of the UK economy is beginning to take its toll on the UK property market.
The absence of activity on the part of both buyers and sellers in Britain will, in Halifax’s view, be unlikely to cause a significant drop in property values and therefore, it remains a tough time for many first-time buyers trying to save for a deposit.
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, has commented that: “For the past couple of years March was flagged up as the date when we would get Brexit but people have been too busy watching the political shenanigans on television to go out and view houses. The Brexit saga is such a debacle and until it gets sorted, one way or another, few people are going to do anything.”
On the other hand, Rightmove Property have produced statistics showing that the average value of new-to-the-market properties has risen by 1.1%. Indeed, this is the greatest monthly increase since March 2018. Estate agents have claimed that people are starting to become ‘bored of Brexit’ and simply want to move on with their lives as normal again.
It can therefore be said that the political and economic unknown faced by the UK during the Brexit era continues to suppress the British property market, with less properties being advertised and purchased, as well as the number of conveyancing transactions generally slowing down. However, it remains to be seen whether the decrease in property prices will continue into the Summer months or whether these figures will be prone to fluctuation.