New beginning

You are not running the country, but you bemoan the way that those that currently are, are. You have now been handed the chalice. Is it poisoned? What will you do? Will you make changes? And if so big changes or little changes?

All of this will unfold, and here at Cooke Curtis we are proudly apolitical, or at least we are politically diverse. An ideological richness that makes us who we are. Naturally our sweet spot is how these events, monumental or otherwise, will affect the property market. Here are some that we feel may interest you too: 1. Compare My Move looks at house price changes after the last seven general elections. The report shows that house prices rise by an average of 4.6% in the 12 months immediately after an election. 2. In the same survey on average, a Labour government sees a slightly larger rise, with house prices growing 1.1% more than under a Conservative government. 3. And furthermore, when a party wins by a majority house prices rise on average 6.9% more than if the election ends in a hung parliament. 4. More anecdotally A new government could provide a “new beginning,” potentially boosting sentiment and aiding economic recovery.

5. Labour has set out a range of policies that are pertinent to and broadly supportive of the real estate market. Many welcome the commitment made to boost housing delivery – Get Britain Building Again – reform planning and exploring the potential for “new towns”. 6. The Labour manifesto presents significant opportunities for clients operating in the large-scale development and living sectors across England. 7. A new government, particularly one with a sizeable majority, will be empowered to deliver their manifesto commitments. This should bring a level of stability, certainty, and increased confidence, which should benefit the housing, infrastructure, urban regeneration, green energy, community building, healthcare, and life sciences sectors. 8. Headline inflation’s fall to 2.3% in the year to April indicates two or three bank base rate cuts, this year. That is likely to mean mortgage markets remain relatively stable in the short term, with the prospect of lower borrowing costs as the year progresses. And with the shorter than expected run into the general election, there is more opportunity for buyer demand to gain traction over the autumn, with most of the uncertainty behind us.

So, my conclusion, and as I say this apolitical, is that the electorate have on balance helped the UK property market. Thank you to all those involved. Sources: CBRE, Compare My Move, Savills.