What has Brexit done to property prices?

The London and UK property market has, so far, remained relatively impervious to any post-Brexit related decline. Despite claims by the Bank of England that leaving the EU could see house prices fall by up to 35 per cent over three years, new research by Keller Williams UK has found that, so far, this has not been the case.

The capital has seen an increase of 3.2 per cent, even though the City of London (-20.9 per cent) and the City of Westminster (-9.3 per cent) saw some of the largest declines in property prices since the vote.

Across the UK, house prices have climbed 14.1 per cent since the vote in June 2016. The research found this growth has largely been driven at a regional level by Wales and the Midlands, with the East Midlands seeing the greatest increase in house prices since the Brexit vote at 20.9 per cent, while values have climbed 19 per cent in the West Midlands.

Leave vs remain

Property prices in areas that voted Remain in the EU Referendum averaged £302,688 when the vote took place in 2016. Since then, they have increased by 8.1 per cent to an average of £327,316.

However, in areas to have voted Leave, house prices have increased by 14.1 per cent to an average of £232,976 today.

Just two of the top 10 areas for house price growth since the EU Referendum were home to a majority Remain vote, the firm found. Newport has seen the largest increase at 31.7 per cent, having voted Leave, while Monmouthshire has seen the largest increase of all Remain areas and the second largest increase in the UK at 30.5 per cent.

Leicester is the only other area to have voted Remain to make the top 10 with an increase of 28.2 per cent.

In contrast, just three of the 10 areas for the worst house price growth since the vote are Leave areas; Bracknell Forest (-4.7 per cent), Hartlepool (-1.3 per cent) and Spelthorne (-1 per cent).

“Regardless of whether you voted Leave or Remain and purely from a property perspective, you could argue that Brexit has provided the perfect tonic for the UK property market,” said Ben Taylor, CEO of Keller Williams UK.

“Yes, a handful of areas have seen prices fall since the vote itself. However, the vast majority of the UK has seen the value of bricks and mortar continue to climb despite the rollercoaster ride that Brexit has been,” Taylor concluded.

via CityAm