It would be an understatement to say that the conditions our economy has been operating in were simply abnormal. Never has there been a Brexit and especially such an occurrence right after a recovery from a recession. Yes, the economic crisis recovery was just back around the corner when the Brexit vote happened. Things have certainly been different and that is why any expectations or forecasts by experts have felt more like guesses or politically charged.

The current status of the housing market has kept home buyers interested despite the expected impact from Brexit. Lower asking prices and for some lenders historically low interest rate mortgages have combined to make getting on the property ladder or moving home cheaper. The housing market has surprised experts with home buyers staying busy purchasing properties, including first time buyers.

Brexit may have been forecasted to take its toll on the UK housing market, but hopeful home buyers have found opportunities worth staying interested. Asking prices of properties have fallen to the point that home buyers are able to shop homes that would have been out of reach before and low interest rate mortgages are making borrowing cheaper. Lenders have also been offering creative deals that assist first time buyers and also high loan to value deals with attractive interest rates.

The general election to be held next month is being blamed for the lack of new properties coming onto the housing market. According to the online property lister, Rightmove, the volume of properties for sale has dropped by 15% in November, which is the fastest decline since August 2009. The average asking price fell by £3,900, and is now at £302,808.

The housing market has kept resilient during the past few years despite the uncertainty of Brexit expecting to cause an overwhelming sense of caution that would keep home buyers away. Now that the year is close to ending, it appears that the demographic that kept the market busy was that of the first time buyers. The ability to borrow cheaply and discover a property at a lower asking price than what it would have been only months ago were too much of an opportunity to ignore.

In September, as the then Brexit deadline of 31 October drew closer, homeowners showed strong demand for remortgages. This was the month prior to the large influx of remortgaging homeowners that were expected due to a high of two year mortgage deals ending in October 2019. Borrowers took advantage of the competitive market in lending that existed in September to secure fixed rate remortgages and gain peace of mind from the Brexit uncertainty.