No signs of so-called ‘Boris bounce’

There are no signs of a New Year ‘Boris bounce’ in housing instructions or asking prices, the TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report for Q4 2019 said.

However the report speculated whether things could shift for those in the ‘middle England, middle income’ category.

If this area rebounded the company said there could be a significant and material change in the market in a relatively short space of time.

Colin Bradshaw, chief customer officer, TwentyCi: “The unprecedented turmoil of 2019 has demonstrated the resilience of the UK property market with transaction volumes and average prices remaining remarkably stable against a back drop of political upheaval and economic threats.

“Consumers have still been behaving hesitantly when it comes to both buying and selling their homes, however with Brexit now planned for later this month, we could see a welcome boost to the slow-moving property market of 2019, at least in the short term as people look to get on with the job of moving house.”

Property exchange volumes increased by a slight 0.8% year-on-year in 2019, with 928,234 homes being exchanged.

Asking prices remained flat overall across the country, with some price growth in London (2%), Scotland (4%) and the North of the UK (1-2%).

However, many areas in the south of the country saw a slight decline overall last year, showing a small percentage reduction in average asking prices (-1-4%), with the exception of London.

Colin Bradshaw, chief customer officer, TwentyCi, said: “The value of Homemovers to the UK economy exceeds £12bn per annum on expenditure on the home outside of the transaction.

“Enabling this high value consumer audience through political stability, property affordability and stock availability will be an essential pillar to fuel the UK economy and boost retail confidence.”