Housing minister Gavin Barwell has lost his Croydon Central seat to Labour Party candidate Sarah Jones.
Jones overturned Barwell’s 2015 election majority of 165, gaining a majority of 6,652.
Barwell became housing minster when Theresa May became prime minister last summer.
He previously wrote a book entitled ‘How to Win a Marginal Seat’.
Russell Quirk, CEO of eMoov.co.uk, said: “As we awake today to the opposite of a strong and stable administration but to a rather unexpected hung parliament, I fear that the property market’s post-election return to normality that I’d hoped for may be rather further away still.
“Political instability breeds procrastination on the part of homebuyers and sellers and for over a year now we have seen the effects of that on volumes, if not so much prices, as a consequence of the EU vote and then the snap general election.
“A hung parliament means that Theresa May does not have the mandate that she sought for herself and for a ‘hard Brexit’. Whilst the Conservatives may be able to form a minority government propped up by the DUP in Northern Ireland, we now face the serious prospect of the selection of a new prime minister and then, probably, a further general election in the autumn.
“So whilst the UK voter may understandably develop electoral fatigue, transactions in the property market may also stay somewhat anaesthetised until it’s re-awoken by something more politically and economically decisive than we have seen over the past 24 hours.
“In addition to the prospect of Theresa May being forced out for grabbing humiliation from the jaws of victory, we will also see yet another housing minister in post by next week given that Gavin Barwell has just lost his Croydon Central seat. That’ll be our 6th housing minister in almost as many years.
“Regardless, I suspect that the housing brief will take a back seat now, despite politicians’ promises in recent weeks, given the combined weight of negotiating Brexit, stabilising our economy, button-holing political support across the aisle on every vote and, inevitably, campaigning again for the next poll.”
