It's a little tricky just now to know exactly where the property market is heading.
We know from past evidence that typically the level of uncertainty we currently have with a new PM pending, Brexit in 'no mans land' and a parliament and politicians seemingly at a 'loss' to know how to get us out of the mess Mr Cameron kindly got us into in the first place, that this would slow the property market.
Buyers and sellers don't like uncertainty. They want to sell when they know they can get the maximum price and buy when they think there is a bargain to be had, or their dream home has just come up for sale.
However, the difference is that the current uncertainty comes off the back of loads of uncertainty about Brexit which slowed the market last September.
What this led to was a good six months between September and March of people thinking 'I might as well wait six months to move, then we'll know what the impact of Brexit will be on my property sale or purchase'.
But we are now way past those 'wait and see six months' and in reality, although a correction has happened in some areas, the 'big falls' in house prices many were predicting - and some hoping for - just don't seem to have materialised.
In fact, what has happened is that in the main, the South, London and East slowed as expected and may be slowed a little more because of Brexit fears, but the rest of the country which in some places saw double digit growth in prices year on year, has just slowed a little.
And with the 'six months' being up, people are still having babies, getting divorced, married and more sadly getting into debt or saying goodbye to loved ones. So whatever the market is up to, people still have to move.
Looking forward to the rest of the year, I think we will continue to see subdued activity and house price growth and this will help people decide to move from September - providing by then Parliament hasn't dissolved into more chaos. From a rental perspective, I think rents will continue to rise where wages allow, but steady in areas like Swindon which is going through it's own period of uncertainty and areas where rental stock is matching demand.
For investors, it's likely to be 'business as usual'. Property is typically a long term investment, so these hiccups will come and go and often mean it's possible to grab a bargain that may not normally be available. Buying at a discount is particularly important for those investing in buy to let due to the rise in taxation which has made the model difficult to stack up. However, for newbies, do ignore the online sales pitches from property investment clubs that they will find deals for you, don't believe a word of it until you have independent experts that have nothing to do with them, confirm it really is a good deal.
Want to know more about what's happening in the property market in your area?
Read my latest property price update here.
Read these latest reports on the rental market from LSL Property Services and Belvoir Lettings.
| Buy to let tax - Nicholsons Chartered Accountants |
Help to Buy a new build - Barratt London |
Financing a buy to let - Coreco |
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