London housing takes a real beating due to Brexit uncertainty

LONDON: London’s house price slump left Britain values stagnating for a fifth month in September as Brexit concerns and interest rate rises discouraged buyers.

The Britain’s negotiations over leaving the EU dominated the concerns of London agents in the monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. They said there hasn’t been much of a pickup after the traditional summer lull, with buyers more cautious and sellers forced to cut prices to secure an offer.

Nationwide, prices weakened slightly last month, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said in a report yesterday. Brokers in the capital reported the steepest slide in home values, with the southeast and East Anglia deteriorating. That was offset by increases across much of the rest of the country.

New buyer demand declined for the second successive report, with RICS’s forward-looking sales expectation indicators turning more pessimistic.

The British housing market also has lost its momentum after a threedecade boom that was fanned by a shortage of supply across the country. London, which led the explosive gains, is now bearing the brunt of concerns over the economic and political outlook ahead of Britain’s divorce from the European Union.

Allan Fuller of Allan Fuller Estate Agents said: “Market generally slow, vendors have to accept that values have dropped. The future of the market depends almost entirely on Brexit negotiations.”

Allison Steele, Regent Property also said that uncertainty over Brexit is having a massive impact combined with CGT implications.

“Main focus of concern with buyers and sellers is the stability of current government and Brexit. Plenty of mortgage deals available, as lenders chasing very few buyers,” said B. K. Bhalla of Acrewoods.”

James Cooper, Knight Frank added: “It appears to be a long summer with the quiet holiday months extending in to the autumn. The constant negative rhetoric surrounding Brexit, and now the potentialadditional SDLT for overseas buyers is further causing uncertainty.”

Another real estate specialist, James Gubbins said there are many enquires but buying is poor.

“Enquiries are on the rise but many are expressing caution in committing to purchase unless they are getting a real deal,” he said.