Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments:
“Paralysis continues to grip the property market, with activity remaining flat. First-time buyers are accounting for a significant chunk of the limited market activity, while those few who need to move, despite wider uncertainty, are also helping to keeping the market moving, albeit at a glacial rate.
“The property transaction process in the UK can be slow and inefficient even under the best market conditions, with more than one in four home moves in the UK falling through before completion.* Without a doubt, Brexit is only exacerbating what is already a frustrating process, and we’d be surprised if the fall through rate hasn’t been heightened by political and economic uncertainty as our EU divorce date fast approaches.
“From our close relationships with leading law firms and with public bodies, we know in-roads are being made to transform the process of buying and selling property, whether that’s putting an end to gazumping, streamlining the dreaded ‘chain’ or digitising elements of the legal and mortgage application process. These innovations will be instrumental in helping to develop a market that can be efficient and resilient in the face of significant uncertainty.”
