Enquiries soar as property development gets post-election boost
Confidence is returning to the UK’s beleaguered property market, with land values and new buyer enquiries both rising sharply since the General Election in early December.
According to new data from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), there was a 17 per cent increase in new buyer enquiries in December 2019, up from -5 per cent in November. Savills recently reported a gradual increase in land values, with the strongest growth taking place in the East Midlands and the East of England.
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Meanwhile, Essex-based Saffron Building Society has predicted an upturn in property development finance enquiries in the first quarter of 2020, as developers and lenders react to growing confidence in the market.
“Our partners have told us that developers are starting to feel more confidence, which over the coming weeks and months will hopefully lead to an increase in lending applications, as buyers take advantage of the improving conditions,” said Peter Owen, head of property development at Saffron Building Society.
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“Property developers will find it crucial to partner with a lender that is not only experienced in the field, but can educate, guide and provide support in all areas of the build as required. Having worked in this field for many years, at times guiding lenders through the process, I have first-hand experience in the peaks and troughs of the process. The lender doesn’t just lend you money, they lend you their invaluable years of experience too.”
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A number of peer-to-peer property lenders have told Peer2Peer Finance News that they are feeling bullish about 2020 after the election removed some of the political uncertainty blighting the property market.
“2019 was a somewhat uncertain year,” said CrowdProperty chief executive Mike Bristow last month. “Now that we are in a less uncertain year, developers will be more confident about delivering on that.”