Since Brexit, UK housing market prices have been fluctuating, leaving both homeowners and interested buyers perplexed as uncertainties in the banking sector pile up. Right now, it’s not clear how many financial institutions will close shop in the UK as the separation process gets underway.

Early this year, there was a clear indication of investor doubt over the UK housing market with reports suggesting that a good number had moved to withdraw their investments. This was due to their anticipation that value could greatly be affected by Brexit – and surprisingly, it’s hard to point a finger given the developments in the property market over the last few months.

Later in May, big players in the market such as M&G Investments, Henderson Global Investments and Standard Life, all lowered the usual ‘offer’ price for property owners interested in selling out. The same was also reflected across smaller players and as depicted on ready steady sell, which is one of the platforms that offer quick and attractive sale offers to property owners in the UK, little has changed since then.

According to Halifax’s latest index, it was clear that prices dropped significantly over a period of three months and continued to plummet since the announcement of the referendum results.

The data also showcased that  prices were expected to go down 3% by the start of next year as uncertainties in the process of separating Britain from the EU continue to affect the economy.

Property owners are more frequently becoming victims of the post-Brexit UK as prices housing prices continue to decline. Under these circumstances, some of them remain patient and wait for the market to jump back, whereas others are busy hunting for better selling prices across various agencies.

And as things continue to toughen, other methods of property disposal could end up being suspended owing to the fact that a rapid completion of the separation process could lead to a potential credit crisis. For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis, investors who advertised with estate agents to sell their houses were forced to wait until the agents executed sales, regardless of how long it took, in order to get their money.

According to a report appearing in the Daily Telegraph, the effects of a fluctuating economy are still felt. In September, house rental prices dropped significantly thus recording their lowest growth within the 3^rd quarter of the year. At this time, the average tenancy was recorded at £910. This was a record low, down by 0.8% from the preceding month.

HomeLet, a housing insurance for landlords in the UK, noted that the drop could be attributed to an influx of properties that were purchased before the stamp duty increase back April.

The housing market, however, remains in crisis with asking prices retaining a strong hold at 0.6% throughout the third quarter of the year.

Some of the factors contributing to the stagnating figures have been linked to supply, demand and demographics. Older people reluctant to sell their homes have forced house market prices to rise and would be buyers have not only had to wait a bit longer to buy, but also save more to balance asking value.

Nonetheless, there is some light at the far end of the tunnel. From a long-term perspective, UK property prices continue to rise according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As of June this year, the average price for a house in the UK was at £214,000, which was a significant increase from a decade ago.

Conclusion

According to ONS data, younger people prefer to rent houses as they save to buy their own in the future. The figures showed that one fifth of people aged between 36-40 years lived in privately rented houses in 2014. This was record high compared to 2008 data showing 12.6 percent.

The effects of Brexit caused a tremendous reset of housing market prices in the UK, but it wasn’t the only underlying cause as the prices have maintained a steady increase every year as demand for ownership from young people continues to rise and older people remain reluctant to sell their homes.