2020 Forecast for Property Prices

More than three years after the Brexit referendum, the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, ahead of an 11-month transition period. The UK will remain in both the EU customs union and single market until the end of this year, allowing time for lengthy trade negotiations.

There has been much speculation about life beyond Brexit and the terms of the exit agreement, which follows a prolonged period of political and economic uncertainty. The general consensus from economists and property experts is that the clarity of the election result stripped away some of the uncertainty that has shrouded the UK homes market.

The Tory general election win brought a flurry of house price predictions as last year drew to a close, all pointing to a marginal rise for the average home across the South coast and a return to growth in the capital’s prime neighbourhoods.

So, is there a better chance of selling a property post-Brexit?

Rightmove said it expects a buoyant spring market. “The housing market dislikes uncertainty, and the unsettled political outlook over the last three-and-a -half years since the EU referendum caused some potential home movers to hesitate," says Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside.

In addition, the London market was already in slowdown due to stretched buyer affordability after a five-year price boom. “There now seems to be a release of this pent-up demand, which suggests we are in store for an active spring market, with more properties being listed by new sellers than we have seen in recent years,” adds Shipside.

"While there may well be more twists and turns to come in the Brexit saga, there is now an opportunity for sellers to get their property on the market for a spring move unaffected by Brexit deadlines. However, it is still a price-sensitive market, with stretched buyer affordability, so sellers should be careful not to get carried away with their pricing and miss out on this window of increased activity."