Brexit may have created uncertainty and confusion within the property market, but that has not stopped people buying or selling property in 2019. It may have slowed down the rate of growth, but according to recent Rightmove statistics, London’s house prices experienced their first increase in two years. Buyers and sellers are finally taking the plunge after years of waiting for something drastic to happen regarding Brexit.

Chris Osmond – our Sales Director – comments that: “It’s been three years since the vote and Brexit fatigue has kicked in. After all, life goes on and you can only put plans on hold for so long. We’ve also seen the number of vendors wanting to cash in on long-held investments increase.”

In direct correlation to this increase, 2019 has seen a steady increase in the number of new mortgage approvals. In June, there were just under 70,000 new mortgage approvals according to UK Finance, which is 5% higher than the level reported in May.  Loans to first-time buyers (comprising 47% of approvals) were once again greater than those to existing home owners (45% of approvals). First-time buyer loans rose by 6.2% in the month. Lending to buy-to-let investors has remained fairly consistent over 2019, comprising just 8% of approvals in June.

While the level of mortgage lending has been on a generally upward track over 2019, figures for June 2019 remain below those recorded the year previously, in June 2018. Approvals to first-time buyers were down 1.5%, to homeowners they were down 3.5% and there has been a 3.6% fall in approvals for buy-to-let investors.

Take a look at our available properties here.

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