When to Invest in Property
There is a lot of talk in the news about when to invest in property. Brexit, Article 50, Donald Trump, FTSE 100… it’s all quite confusing. In a turbulent environment, property consultant Alex Goldstein shares a simple solution that makes perfect sense
When to Invest In Property?
Full transcript below:
Alex: This month we’re discussing property investment and when to invest. Now, believe you me the time is now believe it or not. The market overall especially say in London has actually come back, with London coming down between 8/9% as a general rule. Interest rates have never been so low and let’s face it they can’t get much lower. As a result, borrowing money has never been so cheap. The Brexit decision has been made, the economy is looking fairly stable and demand for rentals remains incredibly strong. Now many people are asking well Alex, what happens if the market falls in the next couple of years? Well remember you need to look at the medium to long term now as an investment. Gone are the days of short term flipping. If the market falters over one or two years look it’s not going to have a significant impact because you’re looking at a longer timeframe. Now the all-important question is where are you going to invest? Now, as I think of it the key points to consider are look towards the key northern cities, look towards Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield, plus of course look at student accommodation. These have got relatively low capital outlays but really can provide excellent yields. If you happen to be looking in London compare where the cross-rail station are, look at the zones three to six plus if you want to take a bit more risk on look at the East and the South East Boroughs. They’re higher risk looking at say Peckham, Dagenham and Forest Hill, these are predicted to see very strong capital uplift in the next three to five years’ time but buying now whilst slightly on the cheaper side. Also bare in mind the key university cities, Durham, Bristol, Reading, York, Cambridge and Warwick, these are all highly popular with investors too at the moment. As I see it, look what doesn’t change is the UK is still seen as one of the safest places in the world to invest. Property is still proven to historically outperform any other investment over the medium to long term. Overall always know the type of tenant who you are aiming at. As a generalisation consideration should be given to buy property with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This gives you flexibility when renting, especially through say Air B&B and if you decide to sell it’s going to appeal to wider audience. And finally, ideally secure some parking on the property and look if you don’t use it or the tenant doesn’t use it you can rent it out separately and it provides another passive income stream.