SAFE AS HOUSES

A comment from Arlington & Hall gauging the effect that the election result will have on the market.

For a number of weeks leading up to the 2015 General election, houses didn't seem as secure as they might be. Across the country, house buying and selling activity slowed down as people awaited the outcome. So the announcement that there would be a winner with a clear if perhaps slender majority was met by those in the housing industry with a collective sigh of relief.

It wasn't necessarily the political stripe of the party that won but the fact there was at least a clear result and the property market would not be left in a an indeterminate state during weeks and possibly months of political horse trading and in- fighting.

Also, there will be a acknowledgment that the threat of mansion tax has gone. This was a significant dear towards the upper end of the market. Another worry was the threat of rent control. This would potentially have affected the but to let market noticeably.

So there is a mandate from the electorate. The capital has responded positively. The pound is up; shares in major house building firms are up and at least 37% of the population feel a little more confident about the immediate future - buoyed by a trend of improving trade, employment and cost of living figures. But let us all hope - no matter which party we supported - that the next government, besides dealing with a small majority, a large deficit, Europe, devolution, world hot spots and many other incredibly important issues, will at least get to grips with an efficient and sustainable housing policy in the UK.