The #BrexitAffect - A Surprising Uptick In House Sales

While the average house price in the UK has fallen by 1.0% (0r -£3,192 in real terms), this month the property experts at RightMove have found that there’s still some overwhelmingly encouraging trends in the market.

The price decrease is nothing new - as August is traditionally seen as the month that new-to-the-market sellers are desperate to sell their properties, and will offer lower than average prices to lure buyers away from the distraction of the summer holidays.

What’s surprised industry experts is that buyers are much more eager to secure a property in August than in recent years, with more house sales recorded in the period this year than four years prior.

Indeed, August sales are up by 6.1% from last year.

The last time that the property market showed such promise in August was all the way back in 2015.

Perhaps best of all, every area of the country other than London experienced increases, with the North of England seeing particularly high growth.

It’s expected that Brexit anxiety has pushed buyers to become more savvy with their property research and they’ve figured out the benefits of investing at this time of year:

• There are fewer buyer to compete with.
• Fewer properties too. Lack of choice on the market is pushing buyers to close the deal quicker without deliberation, almost as much as the ticking clock to Brexit.
• Sellers are prepared to take a pay cut so that they can seal the deal. And of course, buyers and sellers want to beat the race to the Brexit deadline. With an average of 3 months between agreeing a sale and moving to waiting for more clarity or a better deal.
• Buyer's now seem to realise that property is historically a very buoyant industry. After all, they’ve been able to see the price increases for themselves year on year even after the Brexit vote.

These stats are yet more proof of how resilient our industry is, and how smart property investors and developers can make money in even the most unreliable markets.

It’s also justified our position that Brexit will change little about property in the long run - especially when both buyers and sellers can see that property investment can weather any storm.

Please note, this blog post is not to be considered as investment advice. We recommend you seek independent financial advice and conduct your own due diligence before making any investment.