Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, commented:
“The UK market has come out of the blocks slow but steady for 2017 and has continued to see upward price growth, shaking off January’s lowest rate of increase in 14 months.
This was almost certainly seasonal and as spring approaches UK buyers seem to be emerging from hibernation, albeit tentatively.
Despite the doom and gloom predictions we should start to see an increase in market activity over the coming months which should further strengthen this upward price trend.
It will be interesting to see where we stand after this month’s budget announcement. With an overall air of hesitation in the market, it is likely that many savvy buyers will be holding out to see what the Chancellor has in store, whereas the previous bulletproof nature of the market may have seen them proceed with a purchase regardless.
It is likely that the chancellor will loosen his stranglehold the top end market where stamp duty is concerned, which could breathe new life into the market to an extent, particularly in London. The severity of the property market storm in 2017 could well hinge on next week’s announcements so it will be interesting to see where we stand this time next month.”