• At least 136,000 aspiring homeowners ready to buy are holding off because of Brexit uncertainty
• Majority (55%) of first-time buyers believe property prices will drop and they will be able to get more for their money after 29 March this year
• One in five (19%) of those who are currently saving to buy their first property say that they would be able to buy if house prices dropped by 5 per cent
New research from financial services provider OneFamily reveals that the political climate is acting as the main deterrent for those in a financial position ready to get on the property ladder. More than half (55%) of aspiring first-time buyers with a deposit at the ready are holding off on buying as a result of Brexit – the equivalent of at least 136,000 people across the UK.
Most (75%) of those holding off on account of Brexit say that the economic future is simply too uncertain to buy a property at the moment.
This uncertainty is a likely cause for the slowdown in the UK’s property market which is at its weakest in six years , leaving two out of three first-time buyers (65%) ready to buy believing that doing so before Brexit would be a bad financial decision. The majority of (55%) of them are therefore delaying their purchase as they think they will be able to get more for their money after 29 March this year.
One in (22%) five first-time buyers will purchase a property before Brexit, with common reasons including they have already found their ideal property and they don’t mind losing money on it (29%) and they have waited long enough (22%). Just 15% say they don’t think Brexit will affect property prices.
While many in a financial position to buy are waiting until the uncertainty settles, those who aren’t quite there yet are hoping that Brexit will bring down property prices. At the moment, nearly three in five (57%) say that high property prices are preventing them from buying a home, but if the market were to dip post-Brexit the situation could be quite different.
One in five (19%) of those who are currently saving to buy their first property say that they would be able to buy if house prices dropped by 5 per cent, with a further 30 per cent able to buy if they dropped by 10 per cent.
Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, Managing Director of Lifetime ISAs at OneFamily, said:
“At times of uncertainty it’s always hard to know what to do – do you wait and see, or carry on regardless? For many, market fluctuations as a result of Brexit could give them a golden opportunity to get on the housing ladder. Those who are planning to put off their purchase can use the additional time to make the most of the top up funding available from the government schemes, such as the Lifetime ISA. With a Lifetime ISA the government will boost savings of up to £4,000 by 25 per cent each tax year, meaning if you opened an account and paid in £4,000 before 5 April and £4,000 after the 6 April, you would receive an additional £2,000 to use towards your first home.”