Paresh Raja, CEO of Market Financial Solutions, writing on the website Global Banking and Finance Review, recently expressed the opinion that Brexit will not have a negative effect on the UK property market. Immediately following the EU referendum, there was concern that the UK economy would decline and the housing market decrease. This did not happen. House prices have risen, with the average house price of £230,280 in July 2018 being a record high. There is strong investor demand for commercial and residential property. Paresh Raja believes that this means that it is likely that the property market will remain buoyant after Britain leaves the European Union in 2019. There is no shortage of lenders that provide loans for property purchases, though Raja notes that large high street lenders have been more cautious in their lending criteria. This has meant more opportunities for smaller specialist financial lenders. The demand for bridging loans has increased. They are particularly useful to save property deals where there has been a delay in securing long term mortgage funds. Bridging loans are flexible and can be arranged quickly. They can be the key to securing property deals, particularly time-sensitive ones. In areas where there is a high demand for property securing bridging funding reduces the risk for deals failing. Raja noted that higher interest rates and more stringent lending conditions may put some people off purchasing property, but there are still plenty of opportunities.