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So now we know that, er, no one knows.
No one knows who or what will govern Britain, until the horse trading produces some old nags in a coalition or a minority government. You can read what the politicians and pundits say elsewhere, but this is the view of the residential property establishment:
• “The much dreaded hung-parliament scenario could lead to a beneficial impact for foreign buyers. A currency crisis might shave yet another 10% or 20% off effective prime London prices for dollar and euro buyers” (Liam Bailey, head of research, Knight Frank);
• “If there is no resolution to tackle the debt issue the UK housing market will be seriously under threat. If our credit rating goes down and our debt is not managed more aggressively we can expect to see interest rates rise and more and more people's homes fall into negative equity” (Matthew Benson, Rettie & Co., Scotland);
• “More uncertainty, less confidence, less activity and a much scratchier market. There will be increased activity as buyers and sellers can’t wait any longer to act, but things will be much slower than they would be under a Conservative majority” (James Greenwood, Stacks Property Search);
• “This would be a distinct distraction to buyers and sellers alike and could cause the market to grind to a halt” (Sam Trounson, Strutt & Parker);
• "This could destabilize and devalue the pound, bringing more droves of foreign buyers into London whilst at the same time raising bond yields and therefore consequentially raising payable mortgage rates – even if base rates stay at 0.5%" (Stuart Law, Assetz property investment specialists)
• “Financial markets dictate investors’ attitude and if the Pound remains steady, we believe that deals will still continue. Our advice to vendors is to carry on regardless” (Laurence Glynne, partner, LDG, central London).
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