7^th Jan 2019

According to Jonathan Samuels the CEO of a property lender, Brexit has “smashed property market sentiment to smithereens."

Property being sold and bought is governed by confidence in the sector, the CEO claims that as the Brexit outcome is still unresolved, it has resulted in virtually a zero confidence factor in the market.

For many potential buyers they are awaiting the Brexit outcome before they can seriously consider investing in new properties.

Samuels said: “What growth there is, is in the north, which hasn’t experienced the over exuberant price inflation of the capital and other areas of the south.”

Samuels bases his comments after reviewing Nationwide’s December House Price Index.
The index shows that in December UK house prices were only up by 0.5% on the previous year, which is the lowest annual rate since over 5 years ago in February 2013.

Samuels says that political and economic uncertainty has hit the market, as according to the House Price Index, the average price of a home has dropped by 0.7% from November which is the biggest monthly drop since July 2012.

In 2018 the capital and surrounding areas underwent only a minor fall in prices, whereas Northern Ireland had the highest rise in values by 5.8%, Wales increased by 4%, Scotland's prices increased by 0.9% and England rose by 0.7%.

Northern Ireland saw the biggest rise values, up 5.8%. Prices in Wales climbed 4%, in Scotland they were up 0.9% and in England they rose 0.7%.

Andy Soloman, CEO of an internet marketing service, said the drop in house price growth was worrying, and shows that the UK property market “is far from match fit” as the year ends with “more of a whimper than a bang”.

He commented: “This slowdown in house price growth has, of course, been exacerbated by the wider political landscape and the continued issues surrounding Brexit. This European hangover will no doubt stretch far beyond the Christmas and New Year and will continue to be a factor over the coming months."


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