General Election 2015: "Excellent" result for the housing market

Property market expected to pick up after Conservatives head back to power.

The housing market heaved a sigh of relief today after David Cameron walked back into Number 10.

Fears of a prospective Mansion Tax and higher rates of income tax if Labour won the General Election left the property market on tenter hooks in the weeks running up to polling day.

Many buyers had put their purchase on hold, particularly those buying properties above the £2m threshold that would have been hit by the mansion tax if Ed Miliband had come to power.

Prices are expected to rise by 5 per cent before the end of this year as a result of the Conservative win, with forecasts from both Halifax and the Centre for Economics and Business Research in this region.

Promises made by the Conservatives in their election manifesto focused on “everyone who works hard having the chance to own their own home”. David Cameron now has another five years to keep good on his word.

The key elements of the manifesto regarding the property market included keeping mortgage rates lower and building more affordable homes - including 200,000 new Starter Homes exclusively for under first-time buyers under 40.

The Conservatives also said they would extend the Help to Buy Loan scheme to 2020 and introduce a new Help to Buy Isa to support people saving for a deposit.

It will also extend the Right to Buy to tenants of Housing Associations and create a brownfield fund to unlock homes on brownfield land. At the same time, local people will have more control over planning, while the Green Belt will be protected.