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March saw a stampede of landlords racing to complete on new buy to let purchases before George Osborne’s stamp duty changes kicked in. This sudden flurry of activity has had a knock-on effect on the UK housing market, leading to an increasing gap between supply and demand.
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Figures released by the Office of National Statistics reveals that property prices in the UK rose by 9% in the year leading up to March 2016, compared to 7.6% the previous year. In London, the average price of a property rose by 13%.
Brexit Fears Hit Higher-End Property Market
Andy Sommerville from Search Acumen has an explanation for the trend: “Fears of Brexit appear to be hitting the wealthier, higher-end of the property market, while having no noticeable impact on slowing down house prices for the mainstream market – particularly in areas of high demand like London and the South East.
“The only areas to see slight respite in London are ones that will be unaffordable for most buyers in any case – such as Kensington High Street and Hampstead. Perhaps a slowdown in these areas could cause a domino effect as some commentators have speculated, but there is no evidence of this in today’s ONS data.”
First Time Buyers Struggle
First time buyers continue to face problems finding affordable properties. It is taking them even longer to save up enough for a deposit, so the dream of property ownership remains well out of reach for many young people.
