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With so many opinions and views on the UK property market, it is difficult to know for sure what changes can be made to improve the market. This hasn’t stopped the Government from intervening in the property market on several occasions in recent years, but there is no consensus on the true impact of these interventions. The fact that there are still serious issues in the market means the Government looks set to intervene once again to increase house sales, and this means that there will be renewed interest to evaluate the impact.

In recent years, the Government has been proactive in the property market in the following ways:

Introducing the Help To Buy schemes
Introducing a stamp duty charge of 3% for people buying an additional property
Removing stamp duty for first-time buyers when the property is less than £300,000

The last intervention occurred in November of 2017 and while it may be too soon to evaluate whether this measure has worked or not, there is nothing to suggest that the measure has helped a considerable number of first-time buyers get on to the property ladder.

The Government wants to improve the estate agent market

The latest measures proposed by the Government focus on estate agents and improving this market. There are around 20,000 estate agent firms in England and right now, there is no barrier to serving as an estate agent. This means clients and customers have no guarantee of the standard of service they will receive. It is vital that people undertake research on estate agencies, but online reviews tend to focus on firms as opposed to individual estate agents, so there is no guarantee that a firm with a formidable reputation will provide an agent who provides an expected standard of service.

The Government hopes to change this by introducing a nationalised qualification for estate agents. This would ensure that professionals in this field must reach a certain standard, which is an excellent starting point when it comes to being confident about the standard of service on offer.

Will gazumping be removed from the property market?

Another change that is set to be introduced is agents being forced to declare any payments they receive for connecting clients with professionals like surveyors or mortgage advisers. There is also set to be a clampdown on gazumping, with agents advised to not act in this manner. Anyone who has ever lost out on buying a home due to being gazumped knows how frustrating this and if it can be removed from the market, many people will feel more confident about buying a home.

It is positive news that the Government is looking to positively impact on the property market but there are some observers who believe that other action would be more effective. One of the biggest issues in the current property market is the lack of homes. There is an argument that the Government would be more effective if they acted in a manner that would see more homes added to the market. This is one of the points that the Office for Budget Responsibility made at the announcement of the stamp duty-cut for first time buyers, and it is just as relevant today as it was then.

If you want to stay in touch with the latest developments in the property market, please get in touch. As a specialist in the Brixton property market, I am on hand to ensure you make an informed decision, no matter what you are looking to do.