According to one leading national Estate Agent, the number of buyers withdrawing from purchases increased by 11% on the last weekend of June as compared to May. This is being blamed on the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the EU, and the subsequent resignation of the Prime Minister, David Cameron.
However, the same Estate Agents reported that other ‘measures’ had remained static such as call volumes, traffic to websites and applications. This suggests that the reaction is a blip and that, in the short term at least, there will be no dramatic repercussions in terms of transaction levels and prices.
The last quarter has been a mix of peaks and troughs, starting with the artificial high generated by the changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax regime in March, followed by a lull in the lead up to the referendum and then the fallout from the unpredicted result.
Valuations are reportedly ‘up’, perhaps borne out of curiosity from Sellers as to what effect the result has had on property prices?
The summer months are, statistically, quieter for house buying and selling and a lot of Estate Agents are reporting that ‘summer has come early’ – nonetheless there seems to be optimism that ‘normal service will be resumed’ in September.