The deadline to Brexit is less than three months away. It is less time to the deadline of Brexit than is often measured to give reflection on the state of the housing market, as most data will reveal a month to month comparison, year to year, and at times the three months leading to the close of the collection of data. To those that study and work in the housing market, the fact that there is less than three months is like knowing that time is drawing near to pulling a tarp off of a piece of artwork and finally revealing what no one has yet seen.

The UK housing market was expected when the Brexit vote was first announced to be one of the hardest hit victims of all markets. Consumers were to slip into an overly cautious state and avoid any and all decisions that would involve someone to make perhaps the largest investment purchase of their lives. After all, in such uncertainty, who would consider borrowing a large sum and purchasing a home when there was so much doom and gloom being predicted from news reports and some experts? Yet, hopeful home buyers did not run away from the market, and instead they showed up and took advantage of opportunities that existed such as competitive lenders, low interest rates, assertive sellers, and more.

A large number of homeowners are due to have their mortgage deal come to an end in October. Those homeowners at the end of their deal will without a remortgage be moved to their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR). According to experts that move could come as a big surprise to their household budget. Many SVRs could be double or more the level of the interest rate the homeowners are used to paying, so a remortgage could offer a substantial savings for many.

The housing market has shown that it is not to be taken lightly and can, when needed, show strong resilience in the face of uncertainty. The doom and gloom for the housing market that was forecasted when Brexit was announced never materialized. Instead, not only did some area housing markets remain steady, many saw full out growth.

Experts in the housing market believe that the warnings of Brexit are taking hold with home buyers as the deadline nears. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the expectation of the performance of UK house prices fell by more than what was expected during the month of July. The RICS measurement takes into consideration the expectation of estate agents and property surveyors and the number dropped to -9% in July from -1% recorded in June.

House prices rose by a modest amount in the last twelve months according to Nationwide. The subdued market is likely due to the uncertainty of Brexit. However, the economic environment has been attractive to first time buyers as they are capable of securing low interest rate mortgages, lower deposits, lower house prices, and assertive home sellers.