Thursday June 23rd 2016 will go down as one of Britain’s most defining political moments for a generation.
A 51.9% majority of the UK’s population voted for the country to leave the European Union.
The immediate aftermath of the result triggered a series of significant events, most notable of which was the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, who will stand down in October. Naturally, uncertainty also led to knee-jerk reactions in the financial markets, as the FTSE 100 also tumbled 530 points, or 8.4%, within the first few minutes of trading on Friday June 24th. The pound also fell 10% against the dollar.
But amid the short-term economic volatility that is now likely to follow, has the vote to leave the EU just created an immediate global investment opportunity in the UK?
It’s important to remember that the UK is still part of Europe and still will be for the next two years. Both the Chancellor and the Bank of England are also fully prepared for the immediate economic uncertainty this outcome may create in the short term.
What’s more, the fundamentals that underpin that strength of the UK’s property market have not changed following the outcome of the referendum. But the immediate uncertainty, and subsequent fall in the value of the pound, means that UK property is now 12% cheaper than it was last week.
Once Brexit negotiations with the EU conclude, uncertainty is lifted and Britain’s economy begins to prosper once again, it will be those that invest now that will make strong capital gains in the coming years.
Our guide, The UK has voted to leave the European Union – what does this mean for property investment?, contains lots of expert quotes and aims to provide some insight into the short, medium and long-term outcomes property investors can now expect:
- How the UK’s chief economists have prepared for Brexit
- Why focusing on yields is now more important than ever
- The immediate investment opportunity that can lead to strong future capital growth