https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/brexit-vote-roils-london-real-153750128.html
LONDON (AP) — Henry Pryor, who has helped people buy homes in London for more than 30 years, says only war would be a bigger threat to the housing market than the conditions it faces now after Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
In addition to the vote, the prime minister has resigned, the main opposition is in disarray, and there may be early Parliamentary elections. And Donald Trump may become U.S. president, something Pryor argues would add further uncertainty to the global economy.
"Any one of those five would have been enough to frighten the housing market," he says. "The only thing more dramatic than where we are now is if we were at war."
Things are also unsettled in the housing market, where prospects have deteriorated after the Brexit vote, according to Howard Archer, chief European economist at research firm HIS Global Insight.
Even before the referendum, in June, the average London house price fell 0.2 percent amid uncertainty about the outcome, according to the latest survey by Rightmove, the U.K.'s largest property website. Some suggest the housing market is ripe for a substantial drop — asking prices have risen 55 percent to an average of 643,117 pounds ($832,785) since June 2010.
"Housing market activity and prices now look to be at very serious risk of an extended, marked downturn following the U.K.'s vote to leave the EU," Archer wrote. "This is likely to weigh down markedly on economic activity and consumer confidence, which is not good news for the housing market."
Newlywed Jon Dean, 29, knows that all too well. He's trying to sell a property in North London so he and his new bride can buy a home of their own. But potential buyers want a discount in the aftermath of the vote, and the offers he was getting were lower than the lowest he was prepared to accept.
"I'm taking mine off the market for a little while to see how things go," he said. "I think people are going to be more cautious now."