The UK’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, finally confirmed March 29 as the day when the country will officially trigger Article 50 and therefore kick off the process to leave the EU for good.
After the date had been confirmed yesterday, the Sterling experienced a minor decline in value against the US Dollar and the Euro.
The Brexit law itself was made final last week, when the Queen granted royal assent for the Brexit bill.
The Pound
Since last week, a lot of analysts voiced their opinion that this initial drop in Sterling may happen. They were, however, also fairly confident that the decrease was more of a knee-jerk reaction with very little long-term effects rather than a taste of what’s about to come.
City AM asked a couple of experts about one week ago what they think may happen to the pound after the Government triggers Article 50.
Whilst all of the experts expected some kind of volatility in the short-term, no-one expects this single event to have a lasting effect on the currency. Especially when keeping in mind that it was known for almost eight months that this day will come, the effects on the market shouldn’t be too extreme.
The bigger influencer for the pound and investment in the UK over the years to come, according to some experts, will be Europe’s reaction.
If the Union and its former member state manage to find their way to an amicable divorce, changes are the pound could gain its strength back. If the negotiations were to go smoothly, probably heading towards a somewhat “softer” Brexit, the pound may even recover to a level only known from pre-Brexit times.
The Property
When it comes to the country’s property market, the effect of triggering Article 50 will probably not be very noticeable. Or if so, it will mainly impact foreign investment and currency exchange rates.
Brexit’s weakening of the pound: A foreign property investor’s dream
The Brexit decision happened almost eight months ago and although there have been some ups and downs, especially for certain sectors like the construction industry, the biggest game changers are still coming from within the country. Such as the changes made to stamp duty or the recently released housing white paper.
So if one was to look out for changes that may influence the UK’s housing market, the might be wise to focus on the country’s Government rather than its negotiations with the EU.
The Government, though, might be too busy taking care of said negotiations and its exit from the EU, so maybe don’t expect too much to change over the next couple of years to come.
