Property sales will continue to rise, regardless of the result of today’s EU referendum, according to an estate agent in Surrey.
David Cantell, of Cantell & Co in Richmond, believes that transaction levels will remain strong whether we vote to leave or stay in the EU.
Property Sales Will Rise Regardless of EU Referendum Result
In the past four months, the agent has witnessed a stable market, with property trading at fair prices for both vendors and buyers.
Cantell observes that pent-up demand from buyers has been building throughout the year, while vendors have adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of the Brexit vote.
“Uncertainty breeds caution,” he says. “A definitive result, regardless of in or out, will lead to more sellers and more buyers and ultimately to more transactions after today’s vote.”
Cantell has witnessed similar trends ahead of general elections in previous years.
However, he has also seen the majority of estate agents scaremongering their clients into price reductions over the last few weeks, having over-valued at the outset.
Disappointingly, he says that it’s not just the “usual suspects” adopting this approach, but also the higher-end estate agents that are normally considered reputable and respectable.
In his own area, however, Cantell claims that demand is still strong from buyers and the firm has been agreeing property sales in May and June with no reductions in price, “proving that there are still deals to be made if you price fairly from the outset”1.
While the property market looks to remain strong following today’s vote, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) also reports that the lettings sector will prove resilient to the result.
ARLA member agents believe that the private rental sector will be unaffected in the short-term by the EU referendum, regardless of the outcome.
While we will have to wait until tomorrow for the result to be announced, our own research has found that over 60% of landlords and property professionals believe we should stay in the EU.
1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/transactions-will-rise-no-matter-what-the-result-of-todays-referendum/