Brexit breathing space leads to surge in applicants a...

The breathing space offered by the October Brexit deadline and the receding prospect of a No Deal exit from the EU has boosted the housing market.

That’s the view of Winkworth, the London-focussed franchise agency that also has some of its 100 branches in country and coastal locations.

It says that as soon as signals of a softer Brexit emerged some weeks ago, there has been a significant increase in buyer interest, with the agency seeing 26.8 per cent more applicants registering since March 22.

Winkworth also reports a 23.5 per cent rise in sales agreed over the same period.

Having seen just a one per cent increase in instructions over the same period, Winkworth says it now has almost 10 buyers for every new property that comes to market compared with eight during the first three months of the year.

With the gap between demand and supply at such a high, the estate agency believes that now is a prime time to sell.

“Now that Brexit has been pushed back and a 'no deal' is less likely, people are able to relax more and this has led to a significant increase in applicants registering their interest to buy a property with us. With this underlying demand, we strongly believe that sales will start to pick up this year and market confidence will resume, but to do that, sellers need to see the benefits of putting their home on the market after what has been a turbulent time for the property market” according to Dominic Agace, Winkworth’s chief executive.

“With the right agent, marketing and realistic pricing, sellers should be confident that their property will sell and we advise that they get ahead of the curve to take advantage of the high competition amongst sellers before other homes come to market. This is a particularly good time to trade up, given the slight reduction in sold prices presenting a larger saving on more expensive property, and those taking a longer term view to moving will reap the rewards of purchasing now further down the line” he adds.