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Prime property market paralysed by election result

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
21/07/2017

The traditional post-election bounce has not materialised, with London particularly hard hit

The prime property market in the capital is in ‘post-election paralysis’, according to Garrington Property FInders.

The buying agents said that there has been a 7% drop in annual house price inflation following the election result.

In May annual house price inflaton in the London prime market was 3.3%, but it fell to minus 3.8% in June after Theresa May’s gamble spectacularly backfired.

Transactions are down too, with the number of Prime properties sold in the capital during June slipping by 15.8% compared to the May figure.

Dramatic reversal

Garrington Property Finders pointed out that the capital’s Prime market is widely regarded as a bellwether for the UK’s Prime market as a whole – of which June transaction figures are yet to be released.

If they follow suit it will prove a ‘dramatic reversal of the traditional post-election bounce seen by Britain’s Prime property market’.

Following each of the past five general elections, sales of Prime property rose by an average of 26% in the two months.

Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, said: “This early snapshot of the post-election market confirms what many had feared – there has been no sudden relief rally.

“The Prime market tends to be the most sensitive to political and economic uncertainty, and the current dose of both is clearly having a cooling effect, especially in London. Britain hasn’t had a minority government since 1974, so the fragility of the new government’s mandate and ongoing concerns over Brexit are pushing the market into uncharted waters.

“Where London leads other regions tend to follow, and as the post-election fizzle spreads out from the capital, the next few months will provide some strong buying opportunities for Prime buyers across the country.”