Should you transact before the general election?
If you're wondering whether you should transact before the General Election season. a report from property portal OnTheMarket suggests you should.
President of OnTheMarket, Jason Tebb has cautioned buyers against waiting for an interest rate cut and General Election before making a transaction decision.
Whilst he recognised it was understandable that buyers might want to wait for inflation to fall further and the cost of borrowing to drop, he warned that there might be a limited timeframe to transact before the General Election, which could bring about more uncertainty.
He said: “History tells us that market activity tends to slow the closer we get to a general election, with the uncertainty resulting in buyers and sellers holding off until the outcome is known.
“Those keen to buy or sell this year may therefore want to get on with it sooner rather than later, particularly as the first quarter is already behind us and transactions can take longer than expected.
“While the prospect of lower interest rates is tempting, no-one knows when this will happen and hesitating now could mean missing out on the best time of year to buy and sell property."
Director of Samuel Wood, Russell Griff agrees with his sentiments and suggests there is sense to paying a a little more on the rate while things are 'known' rather than worrying about a quarter-point reduction which may or may not come at some point and waiting to transact in quarters three or four when the General Election with cause other unknown distractions and changes.
The latest OnTheMarket Property Sentiment Index showed that confidence among buyers and sellers about moving in the next three months remained level at 65% and 60% respectively.
The research found that 45% of properties were Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) within 30 days of first being advertised for sale in March, the same level as last year.