Has sense prevailed for the property and construction industry?

Finally, sanity seems to have returned to Westminster with the impending appointment of Theresa May as our new Prime Minister.

Whilst I know many people won’t be happy with Theresa Mays appointment, it will be a very positive move for the property and construction industry, alongside the wider economy. No matter what your political persuasion is this is a hard fact to argue!

Markets love certainty and predictability, and the clear direction of the political situation means that we should see more sensible activity on the FTSE 100 & 250. This was reflected within minutes of Andrea Leadsom pulling out of the race, the pound rose against the dollar and a number of share prices moved up.

There were ludicrous drops in value of 20% – 25% for the major developers and house builders, all built on nothing but scare mongering and opportunistic trading by stock brokers. In the midst of this drop surely people questioned; Has Tony Pidgley suddenly become a bad property developer? Is Barratt Homes strategy suddenly flawed and toxic? The answer is no! These developers are as strong and powerful as they were before the referendum. It really makes no sense what has happened over the past 3 weeks, it is purely down to fear and worry in the markets, because of lack of clarity, that caused this domino effect of panic and inability to see beyond the initial alarm across the industry.

Hopefully, now we now know who our prime minster is, and the likely direction she will take, sense will begin to prevail.  The next steps needed are to gain some clarity on what the future political and economic landscape will look like, and if that means leaving Europe then the quicker decisions are made the better. With a new Prime Minster, we should get this clarity sooner rather than later.

Whilst I was a firm remain voter, we all have to just get on with the hand we have been dealt. There is no point in pining for a market and industry that no longer exists. The property industry remains buoyant and a number of our clients are extremely positive about the future. I for one look forward to more sanity returning to the market.