Concerned that Brexit uncertainty could taint the purchase of their first taste of home ownership, first-time buyers are delaying making a housing offer prior to the Article 50 deadline of March 29th.
Although confidence in the property market has struggled during the last quarter of 2018, the apocalyptic announcement in September by the Bank of England and its governor, Mark Carney, that house prices could fall by 35% in the event of a no-deal Brexit has certainly exacerbated feelings of reticence further.
According to a recent report by financial services provider One Family, over 136,000 potential first-time buyers are postponing their property purchase until the political landscape looks a lot clearer.
55% of eager buyers, that have already saved their deposit money, will not make an offer on their desired home for fear that Brexit outcomes could affect their home purchase.
Whereas 65% of people ready to purchase their first property are deeply concerned that completing a deal before March 29th could end up being a poor financial decision.
Ambitiously, there is also a shrewd amount of optimistic savers (19%) that are delaying their investment in property as they are hopeful that a property market downturn of 5% will enable them to make the purchase on their dream home.
Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, managing director of lifetime ISAs at OneFamily, said: “At times of uncertainty it’s always hard to know what to do, and many would be homeowners would benefit from the reassurance of speaking to a financial adviser to help them understand the options available to them.
“While any market fluctuation as a result of Brexit could give first-time buyers a golden opportunity to get on the housing ladder, it could just as easily make it harder.
“If your clients are thinking of waiting a little longer it provides them with a good opportunity to boost their savings toward their first-home. The Lifetime ISA that replaces the Help to Buy ISA, that closes this year, gives first-time buyers a 25% boost to their savings on up to £4,000.”
Will the property sector witness a mass exodus of FTBs until Brexit has reached a certain conclusion? What could this mean for the conveyancing sector?