With everything that is going on in the housing market, Brexit, Trump, and so on, does it mean that now is a good time to get rid of your property? The rise of the landlord culture in the guise of buy-to-let schemes was as a direct result of tax breaks and demand for rental properties. With the stricter laws that will be imposed on migration due to Brexit, the demand for properties will inevitably decrease. What is going to happen this year in the market, and what are people’s options for selling their home?
Looking firstly at the impact of Brexit, the economy will slow down, and property owners may look to the UK leaving the EU as an opportunity to cut their losses and run. This will also have an impact on the economy if it happens in droves, and people may be looking for the quickest way to sell their property to get a sufficient splash of cash before the UK officially leaves the European Union. There are now companies that will buy your property fast for the best price, and before you jump into this as an option, you need to do your research on this as a viable solution. Will it be the answer to your prayers? Conversely, there are still people looking for their first property to buy so they can get a leg-up on the ladder. This can be an option for selling your property, but you may have to be prepared for getting a lot less money than you originally thought.
Inflation is likely to come back with a bang, and so, selling your home now before the rise may be a sensible solution. Another approach may be to take advantage of the drop in the value of sterling. While this may sound counterintuitive, there will be opportunistic wealthy foreigners looking for a holiday home for cheaper than usual. The area in which your home is located is a massive factor in selling it currently. If you are UK-based with a home in London, you will struggle. The trend in moving to commuter towns and traveling into the City has been around for some time now, and it will continue. As a result, people have been moving further out of the big cities into rural areas. And with transport slowly developing to meet the demands of those that need to travel to the big cities for work, such as the financial sector, it means that there has never been a better time to sell your little home that is far from the beaten track.
While the amounts of rental properties have increased over the years, which sparked the buy-to-let boom, the cost of rentals is something that will loom large in prospective buyers’ minds. The feeling of “wasting their money” when they could buy is something that sellers can take advantage of, and as the memories of the market crash of 2008 to 2010 fades, and before Brexit drives costs upward, this could be the best time to get rid of your home. Even though the mortgage rates may prove to be at its highest for some time, this could still be a better option for many than the money they are throwing into their rental property. Ultimately it is a pointless investment if the landlord is looking to sell up, and this is something you can take advantage of.
For many financial forecasters, the wake of Brexit is going to put a big question mark over the next couple of years. But it may look like it will get worse before it gets better. The signs of a crashing economy are beginning to show now, and if you are in a position to get rid of your home, the value of it right now might be at its highest until the economy balances out. That could take some time yet. As the Brexit processes begin to slow the economy and increase the competition for fewer jobs, something is going to have to give. And while it could be some time until the housing market sees the impact, you will now need to weigh up when to sell now or hang on for a few more years. A spate of panic selling could occur very shortly, and so you either need to sell it up now or wait for the dust to settle.
There is no definitive answer, but the market is going to be incredibly precarious now, so tread carefully and keep a close eye on the Brexit process!
