Property expert attacks George Osborne's Brexit ‘shrill scaremongering’ over house prices

The boss of one of London’s oldest property agents has poured scorn on George Osborne’s warning that Brexit would hit house prices.

David Adams, managing director of John Taylor UK, said the claim was “shrill scaremongering” and that a Brexit would boost house prices.

Mr Adams, a Conservative supporter, said: “Forecasts suggest in the event of a Brexit the pound will fall 20 per cent.

The Government says property prices will also fall, but if the pound falls by 20 per cent after a Brexit, then property prices also become 20 per cent cheaper to buyers in France, Italy and everywhere else, and demand will subsequently increase, creating an upward pressure on sales volumes.”

He pointed to 2011, when a dip in the value of the pound against the euro led to a flood of EU money into the London property market. He also said European buyers, shaken by the prospect of the EU breaking up, would look to UK property as a safe haven.

Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, has warned that Brexit would be bad for British art.

He told The Times that it would have “a huge impact” on the Tate’s ability to attract staff. He said: “One of the strengths of Tate Modern has been our ability to hire curators who have grown up in Spain, Italy or Germany.” He also warned that fewer young artists would come to London to further their studies.