It would be fair to say that most of us, regardless of if or how we voted in the European Referendum, are still attempting to come to terms with the Leave result. This is partly because there have been no concrete plans or announcements about the future of the country and also because of the monumental nature of the decision. While the arguments from both sides, led by a compliant and at times forceful media, fell down to just one or two topics, every aspect of daily life for people in the UK could be changed or impacted by the decision to leave the European Union.
A lot of the changes will be minimal, having no real impact or effect on people’s lives but there will be big changes for many people. You only have to look at the Referendums impact on the property market in the lead-up to the vote to realise that the housing, property and lettings markets are all likely to be changed in the wake of this vote.
The property market suffered a double-blow in the run up to the vote with uncertainty and the additional stamp duty charges coming into effect. This has led to a fall in demand for property but it remains to be seen whether the market can bounce back, or if there will be much change.
Could Greater Manchester benefit from Brexit?
With many property experts suggesting that income is the biggest influence on the property market, it could be argued that Brexit may not impact on the property market too much, but areas like Greater Manchester could be affected. The Northern Powerhouse welcomes many foreign businesses and a lot of the local population are employed by companies who hail from outside of the United Kingdom. No one really knows the eventual impact of Brexit, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a fall in the number of EU businesses operating in the area, while hoping for a rise in the number of new business coming from outside of the EU.
The strength of Manchester Airport suggests that the Greater Manchester area is perfectly suitable to welcome foreign investors and businesses, so it may be that any fall in EU companies will be negated by companies coming from further afield. If the £ doesn’t rally to pre Brexit levels, there is likely to be an economic incentive for foreign investors and firms to head to the United Kingdom, so there may not be too many changes.
Of course, at the moment we are all uncertain about what the future holds and while experts say income has a big impact on property markets, uncertainty is also a factor that strongly influences the property market. At Spencer Harvey, we are committed to minimising your uncertainty in the Greater Manchester property market, regardless of what happens.
Image Credit:Tom Jeffs