Boris to be PM - Wigan Property Market Report

Love him or loathe him Boris has won the race to be our next ( unelected ) Prime Minister

 

But what does this mean for the Wigan Property Market ?

 

He takes charge at a time that there are several significant housing initiatives on the table..

Stamp Duty Reform

Section 21 Evictions 

Reforming Leasehold Ownership

Estate Agency and Letting Regulation

Building Affordable Homes

 

It is going to be an interesting start to his tenure as our Prime Minister

 

There should be an improvement in confidence in the markets

There nearly always is after a significant vote ends uncertainty but the dark cloud of Brexit has not dispersed yet

It will be interesting to see whether Boris can deliver on his promise of Brexit on 31 October

 

Then there is the inevitability of a cabinet reshuffle and the uncertain that brings

Who is going to be our Housing Minister and who is going to be in the team 

Housing is one of the regular policy footballs that is kicked one direction or another depending who and who isn’t in office

 

Is it time to remove politics from the long term investment and initiatives the property market requires

 

Boris has indicated that he is in favour of reducing Stamp Duty in the higher end but in markets like Wigan I would like to see the threshold raised to £250000 ( or abolished altogether, but I accept this is unlikely because it is such a big money maker whatever your political persuasion )

 

I would also like to see an end to the stamp duty 3% premium on Wigan Landlords and investors who provide much of our low cost housing

 

Estate Agency and Letting Agency Regulation is long overdue but many good agents are already active members of Property Mark, ARLA, The Property Ombudsman and The Property Redress Scheme and some of us are also regulated by The Royal Institution Of Chartered Surveyors

 

Between now and 31 October is going to be a very interesting time and it remains to be seen whether Boris will have the time ( or backing ) to deliver any initiatives in the Housing Sector