What crash? Estate agency reports a ‘surge’ in viewings since the Brexit vote
Kevin Shaw, national sales director, Leaders - Credit: Archant
An estate agency chain is flying in the face of the recent doom and gloom reports about the state of the property market, insisting viewings have actually increased since Britain voted out of Europe.
Leaders – which has a branch in St Albans – had a “surge” in viewings immediately after the Referendum, contradicting reports of an impending property crash.
In the week following the Referendum, Leaders saw a 50 per cent increase in the number of viewings requested compared to the previous week, while property details viewed online went up by 18 per cent.
New instructions to sell, sales agreed and exchanges remain at similar levels to before the vote, while the agency insists there has been no increase in sales falling through – contrary to reports both nationally and locally.
Kevin Shaw, national sales director at Leaders, said: “Our stats show that Brexit’s impact on the property market may not be as extreme as many predicted. The picture post-Brexit is business as usual. People who had perhaps been delaying plans to move until after the referendum are now starting to look at what’s available.
“The UK’s housing market is very resilient and well placed to stand up to the uncertainties surrounding it. This has been proven before, for example, when within 18 months of the financial crisis it began to flourish once again.
“Now that the uncertainty of in or out is over, people want to get on with their plans and won’t be willing or able to wait two or more years until the Brexit negotiations have been finalised. People will always need a roof over their head and need to move home, and we expect demand to remain strong.
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Craig Vile, from online property valuation tool, ValPal, said: “We have not seen any drop off in interest in valuing and selling houses so far.
“Potential vendors should keep an eye on the value of their properties over the next few months with help from their agents, but there is no reason why confidence in the market should decrease as the economy starts to settle after the recent blip.”
