EU referendum: More than half of Londoners believe Brexit will boost house prices
On the fence about Britain’s EU membership? If you’re a London homeowner, this news may sway you.
More than half of Londoners believe that leaving the EU will strengthen the value of their home. (No mean feat when the capital’s housing market is already the most overvalued in the world.)
Across the nation, homeowners are less sure about the effect of a possible “Brexit”.
Although more than half still think that leaving the union would affect property prices, which direction they’ll go in is clearly up for debate: Some 34 per cent believe house prices would increase, but 21 per cent think they’d decrease, according to a survey from online estate agent eMoov.
Russell Quirk, the founder and chief executive of eMoov, said this was a blow against pro-EU campaigners:
We saw how pre-election uncertainty froze property demand in the prime central London market. The uncertainty of Britain’s future in the EU could result in a similar effect on a much larger scale, but 52 per cent of homeowners in London seem confident a Brexit will only strengthen the value of their home.
Although homeowners may want to leave to give their property value a boost, David Cameron has taken a different stance. The Prime Minister has made it clear that he would prefer the UK to stay in the EU.
A Brexit could have further implications on the UK’s trade relationship with the US. The US trade representative Michael Froman has warned that the US would not want to pursue a free trade agreement with an independent Britain, meaning that the country stands to lose out on key trade deals upon leaving the EU.