Will falling interest rates boost the housing market?

Dominic Agace, Chief Executive of Winkworth, with over 100 offices nationwide, including more than 60 across the capital, told the latest episode of Winkworth’s Property Exchange podcast: “People are deciding to hand that money down earlier, using funds to buy a whole property, and not just the deposit, as a way of passing on wealth. Recent inheritance tax changes are bringing forward money that might have been passed down in years to come. There's a lot of activity in the market. As a result, we are seeing first time buyers playing a much bigger role.”

Leading mortgage advisors Trinity Financial are seeing a similar trend. Anthony Emmerson, of Trinity Financial, told the podcast: “We're expecting in the next 10 years the biggest generational shift of wealth that the world has ever seen. We've got all the baby boomers who invested in the stock market when it was at a low level and have seen 40 years ‘worth of considerable growth. Those same people bought houses 30 or 40 years ago. And now, because of the way that the government is looking at taxing people on their investments and their pensions and their inheritance, they are looking to try and dispose of that money in a way that puts them in a lesser tax bracket. They are handing that money down to children in significant amounts. We are seeing 30%, 40%, and 50% deposits coming from parents in some instances.”

There has been a noticeable pick up in prime central London, according to Dominic Agace. He said: “We are seeing greater numbers of Asian buyers, as well as American buyers. There's global uncertainty, and I think people feel that bricks and mortar in the UK is a safe haven once more.”