The Building Societies Association (BSA) has revealed that consumer confidence in the housing market hasn’t fully recovered since June’s General Election.
Their recent research found that over a quarter of respondents (27%) do not agree that now is a good time to buy a property compared to just 23% who do.
Although the political environment has stabilised a bit since June, confidence in the property market continues to be affected by a number of factors. 68% of those interviewed said that raising a deposit remained the biggest barrier to purchasing a property with 45% saying that being able to afford the mortgage repayments was a problem. Another particular concern for home movers is stamp duty costs which prevent those who want to move up the property ladder from doing so thus limiting the stock of housing for those looking to make their first purchase.
Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage policy at the BSA commented:
“Consumers were faced with political uncertainty following the vote to leave the EU and unexpected General Election results, and now the rising cost of living is their latest challenge.”
“It is evident that home- movers are facing the same affordability pressures as first time buyers, meaning some homeowners are unable to sell their property-further reducing choice and pushing up prices for those just getting on to the housing ladder” he added.
If you are looking to buy or sell a property please contact me, Elizabeth Baker, on 0141 552 3422 or by email eb@mitchells-roberton.co.uk