Brexit Voters More Confident About Selling, Buying Homes, Says Estate Agent

By Olga Cotaga

LONDON--People from regions in the U.K. which voted in favor of Britain leaving the European Union have been selling and buying more homes since the June 23 referendum than those from areas that opposed Brexit, estate agent haart said on Thursday.

From a sample of 20 branches, haart found that in the 'Leave' regions there was a 1% rise in the number of property listings, while in the 'Remain' areas there was a 6% fall in the number of listed properties.

"The reality is that we have a property market heavily driven by sentiment, and it's the confident Leavers who are currently keeping the market afloat," said haart Chief Executive Paul Smith.

Haart owns over 100 branches across England. By comparison, peer Countrywide PLC (CWD.LN) has more than 800 branches, while Foxtons PLC (FOXT.LN) has a little more than 60 branches.

In Doncaster, where 69% voted to leave the EU, there was a 25% rise in the number of listed homes since the referendum result, the agency said. In Barnsley, where 68% voted for Brexit, fewer sales fell through.

By contrast, in Bristol, where 62% of people opted for the U.K. to stay in the bloc, there was a decline in activity across all three haart branches, the agency said. In the pro-Remain London, the number of new people interested in buying a home had fallen by 30%.

Almost all LSE-listed estate agencies and brokers, except Savills PLC (SVS.LN), have warned on their full-year profit, blaming the fall in property transactions in the aftermath of the U.K. vote to leave the EU.

Savills, with 700 branches worldwide, makes half of its money from non-transaction revenue. And only 41% of its income comes from the U.K.

Jefferies said Monday that the number of homes for sale in the U.K. rose 3.6% after the country voted to leave the EU, but that the asking price shed 0.2%.

Listings are a good indicator for future housing transactions, the brokerage house said.

More people have asked for a lower price on their home in the wake of the referendum, but if selling prices slide too much, sellers are going to start withdrawing their homes from the market, said Jefferies.

Write to Olga Cotaga at [e-mail], Twitter @OlgaCotaga

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2016 01:44 ET (05:44 GMT)

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