It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead. It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
While none of us possess a crystal ball, it is uncanny how accurate some of these forecasts have been over the years.
Here we talk with Andrew McFarlane Holt MRICS FAAV, Director at Wells McFarlane.
Like many, I will look back at 2019 as a year dogged by prolonged political uncertainty and with that an inevitable cautiousness within the UK property sector, both commercial and residential. As we look forward to 2020 I predict a very different picture will be painted over the next 12 months’, with this fuelled in the main by the December General Election producing a large majority government that promises to simply get things done.
In the days that followed the General Election, Rightmove released its latest House Price Index and with that predicted an average 2% rise in residential property coming to market in 2020 as consumer confidence increases and stability is restored. With this I predict we will see an increase in residential properties coming to market and an increase of much needed housing stock for UK agents, as consumers go ahead with plans to move house and invest in property.
The commercial property sector will paint a similar picture in 2020, I forecast a strong year as companies make bolder moves and plans that have perhaps been stalled during uncertain times will come into fruition. With this an increase in investment and activity within the commercial property sector.
Similarly I envisage a strong year for housing development as councils and developers strive to meet government housing targets, with The Home Builders Federation stating almost 380,000 more homes are in the pipeline over the coming year, up on the 240,000 new homes built between 2018 and 2019 according to official government figures.
And we cannot summarise without a mention on Brexit, I believe Britain leaving the European Union will not have the impact that so many within the media have predicted, I think as business leaders we will manage the inevitable change that will follow, rather than allowing the change to manage our business. And with a clearer political landscape, I feel very optimistic about 2020.
See the published article here:
