With all the general concern with how thing will be after Brexit, there is some confidence that although some buyers may be playing a waiting game, there is an underlying belief that the are just bubbling under the service and waiting to come out of the stalls.
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Brexit uncertainty is dominating the prime property market in London but despite this the residential sector performed reasonably well in the first quarter of 2019, with continued slowing in the rate of price falls, according to the latest research.
Across the prime property market values fell by just 0.3% in the first three months of the year, the smallest quarterly fall since the Brexit vote and meaning that the annual rate of price at 2.5% was down from a fall of 3.7% a year earlier.
The outer prime London market has done best of all with prices down 0.2% quarter on quarter, down 2% year on year and some 8.3% below the peak of 2014.
‘Uncertainty aside, this leaves prime London looking relatively good value and some buyers, particularly those in the most expensive central postcodes, are sensing a market that could be at or close to its bottom,’ said Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research at Savills.
‘Good property that is appropriately priced has continued to trade, but it has required great pragmatism from buyers and sellers and a significant narrowing of the gap between the price expectations of those in the market,’ he added.
Almost half of Savills agents across London reported a narrowing of the gap between buyer and seller expectations over the past three months, despite mounting political and economic uncertainty.
Kensington, Notting Hill and Holland Park, locations often associated with European buyers, all saw values stabilise between January and March, while annual price falls averaged just 1%.
However, despite prices stabilising, Brexit uncertainty means many would-be buyers and sellers continue to sit on their hands.
‘Whichever way the Brexit pendulum swings and whatever the fundamentals of demand that underpin the prime housing markets, it could be some time before we have a clear understanding of what lies ahead both politically and economically,’ he explained.
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