The countries worst kept secret is now officially out then – General Election to be held on the 6th May. There have been many references in the press about how the change of Government may affect the economy. The truth of it is nobody really knows, and, in some ways this is the problem. The financial markets like to be able to predict how things are going to pan out – good or bad, up or down, if they know what is going to happen they can manoeuvre themselves to ensure they make money.

So what does this mean for us all and how is this going to affect the housing market locally. In some ways it will have very little impact. I believe that in the main what will happen is very little. We have seen a recovery this year in the mortgage markets, with more products being released and banks starting to compete to lend you money. This has helped fuel a real recovery in the housing market and has actually seen house prices starting to climb and there is little reason to believe that the banks will stop wanting to lend just because there is a General Election. That said, it also means they are unlikely to increase there lending any time soon, which will certainly keep any house price rises contained.

The biggest fear for the recovery of the housing market has got to be the above expected growth we have seen in the economy which is starting to concern analysts and suggests that the Bank of England may have to look at raising the Base Rate earlier than was expected in order to keep inflation under control. It is predicted that the UK economy will grow faster than any other G7 country in the period up to June – except Canada. If this is the case then there is a real chance we will see increases in the Base Rate, which will instantly be reflected in mortgage rates making it more expensive to borrow money to buy houses. The only good to come out of that is that while the Base Rate is changing, as long as the banks can predict it then they now how to use those changes to make money and the more they make the more they are going to be willing to lend.

So as I said earlier this probably will mean very little difference to you and I in real terms but the one thing that I think is certain is that there will still be demand for property to buy or rent and as long as you instruct a good agent (I can suggest one if you’d like) and are realistic with your pricing then you should be able to find a buyer or tenant for your property without too much trouble regardless of what happens in the Elections.