House prices across the UK increased by 0.6% in the three months to June despite all Brexit fears – only London house prices saw a drop of 1.4% between May and June.
Reeds Rains monthly house price index revealed that prices across Britain were up 6% in June 2016 compared to 12 months earlier. The report also identified England’s East as possibly the new regional hotspot for house price growth after the region experienced a growth of 9.4% year-on-year.
On average the sale price for a house in the UK is now at £293,444.
The report also showed the number of transactions between March and May rose by 8% compared to the same three months one year earlier. However Reeds Rains also highlighted that this number is reflective of the huge rise in market activity when buyers tried to complete purchases ahead of the new stamp duty surcharge coming into effect the MEN reportedhttps://www.buyassociationgroup.com/en-gb/2016/06/20/stamp-duty-stampede-shows-its-consequences/.
“Brexit will undoubtedly have a wide range of consequences for the housing market, however, it would be wrong to assume that these will all be negative,” said Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains.
Exactly how the implications will play out in the sector over the coming months is yet to be seen, and whist London is likely to feel the effects more acutely, it is important to remember that the outlook is not all doom and gloom. Already lower interest rates promised by the Bank of England to stave off any slowdown are set to ease affordability and support prices.”
Gill added:
What is clear is that the impact of April’s Stamp Duty increase has now largely played out, and there’s little evidence to suggest it has significantly hit investor appetite: first time landlords seem no less common and there’s new interest in mixed commercial and residential purchases, such as flats over shops that escape the increase.
“Ultimately, with interest rates set to remain lower for longer, the Bank of England reducing banks’ capital requirements and changes in government imminent, the short-medium term outlook for the housing market could well remain positive after all.”
These finding by Reeds Rains follow other announcements forecasting that house prices in the London market are set to suffer more than any other part of the UK after the country’s vote to leave the EU.
