House prices will not be affected by the EU referendum, according to homeowners.
Recent research by estate agent Knight Frank found that UK household sentiment remained positive in May, despite political uncertainty surrounding next month’s EU referendum.
House Prices Will Not be Affected by EU Referendum Claim HomeownersEU referendum.
The firm’s latest House Price Sentiment Index shows that 25.6% of the 1,500 households surveyed believe the value of their home has risen over the past month, while just 3.6% say that house prices have dropped.
The results give an index rating of 61.0, which, although higher than the 60.1 recorded in April, is still below the peak set two years ago of 63.2 in May 2014.
Household sentiment grew among all age groups, except the over-55s.
Households in the South East are the most confident that house prices will increase in the next 12 months, with an index rating of 79.5, followed by 78.2 in London.
Around 5.4% of UK households plan to purchase a property in the next year, up from 5.0% in April.
The Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, Grainne Gilmore, comments on the findings: “The steadiness of the headline House Price Sentiment Index during such political uncertainty over the EU is a reflection that the fundamentals of the market remain unchanged – there is still an imbalance between demand and supply of housing, and for those with access to deposit payments, mortgage rates are still near record lows.
“However, there has been some softening in sentiment among those aged 55 and over – the age group who have the largest equity stake in the UK housing market.
“While the sentiment reading for this group is still one of the highest, indicating they expect prices to rise, there has been a notable fall from last month, indicating that the current economic and political climate is affecting some corners of the market.”
A recent report from the National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents mirrors the sentiment of the Knight Frank study, suggesting that house prices will rise whether we stay in the EU or not.
As a landlord, how do you think prices will change as a result of the referendum?