Jackson-Stops Director of the Cotswolds, David Parris, reflects on the effect the snap general election is having on the property market.
 

After last month’s announcement about the snap general election, there must have been a collective sigh from estate agents and their clients around the country after the disruption the Referendum caused last year. I have said many times that markets don't like uncertainty and this seems to be the case here although with a more positive outcome this time. If the polls are to be believed (and let’s not forget last year) then it's a foregone conclusion that the Conservatives will win the election, it's simply a case of by how much. We had extracts from our national survey published in The Times newspaper last week which shows that across our 44 offices 93 per cent showed no negative impact on instruction levels as a result of the announcement. Eighty-three per cent thought a Conservative win with an increased majority would have a positive effect given that it should make the Brexit process easier.

Positive signs for homeowners

This is of course a simplification of what is an extremely complex and unknown process of an election followed by Brexit. However, last year’s housing market was subdued and prices in real terms were pegged back. These stabilising periods are very typical of the ebb and flow of the residential property market without the same dramatic peaks and troughs as we saw in the first decade of this millennium. Against this we have an announcement from the Yorkshire Building Society of the lowest ever mortgage rate in Britain. Clearly there is an appetite and competition to lend which can only be positive for homeowners. The message remains the same in the Cotswolds; buying a property whether upsizing, downsizing, second-homing or being new to the area is driven by personal considerations being the overriding factor rather than what is quickly becoming the norm of political derangement.