Agents warn of difficult 2015 market

General election fever will dampen next spring's housing market says central London estate agency Sandfords.

Fears of an interest rate hike from the current low of 0.5 per cent and the introduction of a mansion tax may lead to a slow market in the opening months of 2015 until at least election day on May 7.

These factors will create an atmosphere of uncertainty that is never good for the property market explains Sandords director Andrew Ellinas.

Similar sentiments have been expressed by Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops & Staff, who says the market's already-fragile recovery could be endangered if house prices become an election football.

He predicts a nervousness at the beginning of 2015, which will mean a slower start, followed by a lull in April and May around the General Election when many purchasers will delay making decisions.

The market for higher valued properties in the country will continue to be impacted by the concerns over the threat of mansion tax and increased maintenance costs he says.

He predicts that the London property market will have less influence on the market outside the capital.

Some London owners will want to cash in on the value of their properties and move to the country but the majority of these will want to buy around the commuter hubs in the South-east, with good transport links to the capital. The London effect is not as pronounced as in the past, as longer working hours and concerns over losing a foothold on the London property market increas he warns.