Buyers embarked on a pre-Brexit house buying spree in August, new data from Rightmove revealed on Monday.
Agreed sales during the August period, which spans the four weeks to 10 August, were up 6.1% year on year according to Rightmove.
Rightmove said that this is the highest number of sales agreed at this time of year since the same period in 2015.
Buyers were driven by improved affordability and opportunity of securing a deal prior to the Brexit deadline.
“Surprisingly there seems to be a bit of a summer buying spree, despite it normally being a quieter time of year,” Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, commented on the data.
“For some reason more buyers have cottoned on to the fact that it can be a good time of year to buy, with less competition from other buyers, and sellers typically more willing to accept a lower price.”
“Whilst another approaching Brexit deadline is now nothing new for prospective buyers, this one may seem more definite, and therefore one to beat, with the Government regarding this one as ‘do or die’.”
“While the end of October Brexit outcome remains uncertain, more buyers are now going for the certainty of doing a deal, with some having perhaps hesitated earlier in the year.”
“I think the impending Brexit deadline that is looming over us could well be having an impact on activity in the market,” Ian Marriott, director at FHP Living in the East Midlands, added.
“People were more cautious at this stage last year than this year, so we’re seeing that people are getting on with their lives and pushing through with moves ahead of the October deadline.”
Earlier in April, the European Union agreed to postpone Brexit for an additional six months until Halloween – a rather poetic ending to the nation’s time in union.
