After the UK officially left the European Union (EU) on the 31st January 2020, we sat down with Josh Larn, our Area Sales Director to discuss the London property market in the aftermath of Brexit. Larn discusses the current state of the property market in 2020, including whether it is safe to buy, whether London is still a good bet for investment and if property will still remain profitable for foreign investors.

The state of the market  
Larn tells us that the property market, as a result of Brexit, is “coming out of a period of broad, political uncertainty,” catalysed also by the election results in December 2019, which brought about a considerable uplift in market. At LiFE Residential, we have certainly seen this uplift play out, with the number of sales enquiries both from those wanting to sell and buy in London siginificantly up in December and January. This is positive for 2020.

Buying in the post-Brexit environment
Whilst Larn does not buy into the phrase “Post-Brexit environment,” and rather sees this post-Brexit period as a transition which will continue to the end of this year as a minimum, he certainly sees it as a good time to be buying In London. As a result of the market uplift, it’s a good time to be looking around with a view to acting. We can trust the ebbs and flows of the property market in the past enough to know that the market has always been robust.

How profitable is investment for foreign investors?
There’s been a proposal of an additional 3% Stamp Duty by the Conservative Party even before their big win in December 2019. Larn suggests that although this political proposal shouldn’t influence decision-making too much, until it is included in the Budget, “if you have the means to make a decision and act before that is brought in, that would be a very sensible thing to do.” This does not mean, however, that property will not remain profitable for foreign investors, and having a medium-term mindset will help with investment.