【World Property Journal】Political, Economic Uncertainty Continues to Drag on UK Housing Market

According to International property consultant Savills, UK house prices remained flat in August 2019 to leave nationwide annual growth at 0.6%. Savills now expects average house price growth to be flat in 2019, down from the prediction of 1.5% growth predicted last November 2018. That prediction had been under the assumption of an orderly Brexit earlier in the year.

The impact on the housing market of the delayed return to greater economic and political certainty is becoming increasingly clear. As Conservative leadership candidates jostled for position through June and July, the reduction in housing transaction numbers gained pace again after a period of slower falls in April and May. This resulted in the weakest June since 2013, and the first June to see fewer transactions than the preceding May since 2008.

The RICS Survey for July 2019 gave some hope that activity levels may pick up. A small majority of surveyors reported increased buyer enquiries in July, but almost equal numbers of surveyors reported increases as decreases in the number of instructions. Uncertainty has only increased since then and will continue to shape the market until the Brexit impasse is resolved, says Savills research team.
 

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