Brexit´s effect on property not as bad as feared, says estate agent

Brexit did not cause any immediate reduction in demand for residential property, claims estate agents Haart, though it admitted there had been a spike in last-minute withdrawals.

Haart said that there was no effect on the number of demand for housing as 1,500 new applicants registered between Friday and Monday since the EU referendum, which was the same level seen over the last weekend in June the previous year.

The effects on website traffic and on the number of calls to its branches was also minor with only a 7% decline in call volumes compared to the three weeks leading up to the Brexit vote.

However, the estate agent said that the number of buyers pulling out of transactions increased by 11% against the final weekend in June last year, but this was a “small blip”.

It also said valuations had increased but Haart said this was mainly due to vendors being keen to get a professional opinion on the value of their home to understand what effect Brexit had had on them.

Chief executive Paul Smith said: “While it’s true we have seen some buyers pull out of transactions due to the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote, the effects haven’t been as great as we anticipated and we expect this to be a small blip as people come to terms with the result and get their head around what Brexit means for them.

“Less than a week after the decision, we’re starting to see the market settle and confidence returning after the Friday morning low. The result has had no impact on website traffic or applicant figures; in fact the outcome may be resulting in opportunist buyers taking advantage of the situation by snapping up bargains caused by the uncertainty.

“What has been positive is that valuations have actually increased as vendors look to get a professional opinion on the value of their home to understand what effect there has been.”