"It seems as though sellers are less fazed and are continuing to move forward with their plans to sell and so we don’t anticipate any lull in market activity over the coming month or so."
- Colby Short - GetAgent
On 22nd May, Rishi Sunak announced that there would be a general election on Thursday 4th July, leading many to question what impact it could have on a property market that has been showing signs of positivity in 2024, following a period of subdued activity caused by higher interest rates.
Political uncertainty can prove problematic for the property market, with house prices increasing by just 8.4% between the EU Referendum in June 2016 and the UK actually leaving the EU in January 2020, as the nation sat in a state of political limbo, not to mention the market fallout that followed the disastrous mini-budget of 2022.
However, since the election was called in May, prominent names from across the property industry have been quick to call that it will have little to no impact on current property market performance, with Nationwide supporting this narrative just last week with market data.
The latest insight from GetAgent supports this view, as a survey of 846 estate agents, commissioned by GetAgent, found that since the election was called 58% of agents have seen buyer enquiry levels remain consistent, while 16% have actually seen an increase.
Just 26% stated that they have seen a reduction in buyer interest, as potential buyers put a hold on their plans to purchase in hope of a government-led incentive come July.
It seems that sellers are also largely unfazed by the prospect of an upcoming election, with 57% of agents noting the same level of seller activity since the announcement was made.
However, 31% have seen a reduction in enquiries since the election was called, suggesting that like some buyers, a segment of sellers are also keen to wait and see what potential incentives are announced.
Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented: “The UK property market has continued to demonstrate its extraordinary resilience in recent months and the upcoming election is expected to have little impact on the strong level of market activity that has been building so far this year.
"Of course, there is a good chance that both parties will dangle some sort of carrot in front of homebuyers in the form of a property purchasing incentive and so there are a small proportion of buyers who are now deciding to sit tight until July.
"However, it seems as though sellers are less fazed and are continuing to move forward with their plans to sell and so we don’t anticipate any lull in market activity over the coming month or so.”
