In The Press

What a year it’s been! Back in 2016 we had Brexit, a new prime minister, Donald Trump’s election, and so when it came to expecting the unexpected, 2017 had a lot to live up to. But then there was an unanticipated snap general election, the unexpected result, and consequently what we have now – a weakened government with a resilient Theresa May at the helm. Surely 2018 is going to be a lot less eventful!

Political and economic uncertainty has contributed to what has also been a rather difficult year for the housing market, underpinned by a lack of stock, leaving many agents struggling to find homes to sell, while property prices have stayed broadly static – although there has been a divergence between house prices in different parts of the UK.

Higher stamp duty costs continue to have an adverse impact at the upper end of the market, most notably in London, the phasing out of mortgage interest relief has made buy-to-let a less attractive proposition for landlords, while the publication of the draft Tenant Fees Bill setting out the government’s approach to banning letting fees paid by tenant will hit some agents hard – 2018 promises to be another challenging year.

Read the original article on the Estate Agent Today website.