London property market sentiment strengthens after Conservative election victory
London’s property market has enjoyed a “Boris bounce” following the result of last month’s General Election, as the capital saw a sharp increase in buyer interest and sales prospects.
In December, 31 per cent of chartered surveyors saw a rise rather than a fall in enquiries from new buyers, up from minus 12 in November, in a sign that the property market could be picking up due to the clarity offered by the Conservative election win.
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The number of agreed sales in London increased to a 22 per cent net balance, which is the first time since April 2018 that the number of agreed sales in the city has shown a positive result.
In total 49 per cent of respondents to the Rics residential market survey predicted that transactions will rise over the next three months, marking the highest reading in the capital for nearly six years.
Over the next 12 months, 69 per cent of respondents said they anticipate that sales will rise.
Rics chief economist Simon Rubensohn said: “The signals from the latest Rics survey provide further evidence that the housing market is seeing some benefit from the greater clarity provided by the decisive election outcome.
“Whether the improvement in sentiment can be sustained remains to be seen given that there is so much work to be done over the course of this year in determining the nature of the eventual deal.
“However, the sales expectations indicators clearly point to the prospect of a more upbeat trend in transactions emerging with potential purchasers being more comfortable in following through on initial enquiries”.
Scott Chapman, of south London chartered surveyors Selectsurv, added: “Although Brexit has has an impact on the residential market in recent times, there has been a degree of optimism since the result of the general election.”