Keep looking North! Opportunities in UK residential property
Has the appetite for UK residential property returned after the extremely bumpy ride of the last few years? Well, from speaking to a number of our UK and overseas clients, the answer is “absolutely”.
Back after a two year hiatus…
In fact, according to figures recently released by the Investment Management Association (IMA) sales of property to funds soared in October 2009, making property the most popular asset class for the first time in more than two years. Investors are being tempted back into the UK residential property by the recent economic recovery and the recent increases in value of UK property.
What´s up north then?
That’s all well and good but is it the right time to go back in and invest in UK residential property and where am I going to see real returns on my investment? London and the South, the Midlands, the North? Where is the real ‘value’ to be secured in residential property? Well, after careful study of recent buyer transactions, house price movements and various economic trends, we have targeted sourcing quality, high yielding, off market property in areas that have proven to return solid long term growth prospects in the city centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
Booming Birmingham
So, why these city centres and not others? Let’s take a look at Birmingham for example. Situated in the heart of England, it is the UK’s second city; it is a centre for leisure, wide ranging culture, internationally renowned shopping, major events and exhibitions, world class sport, vibrant nightlife and a thriving financial sector. It is at the centre of the country’s road and motorway network, has three mainline rail stations and its own airport. With a strong business and student community, coupled with our quality investment product it all stacks up! We have formed strong long term relationships with some leading developers in these cities and look forward to releasing details of new projects to you very soon.
Is the UK fairly valued? We think so.
But does the UK residential property market offer fairly valued residential property? We think so. Two main reasons why. There is a clear lack of supply of residential stock in relation to the demand and the recent super low interest rates are propping up prices. So certainly in the short term there is good value here. In the long term supply will inevitably increase and as the economy normalises, rates will rise making now the best time ever to invest in UK residential property…… at least in the three city centre areas we’ve just highlighted.
Latest from London
As for London, it has seen continuous inward investment at the top of the market, where there has been a flurry of transactions in ‘super prime’ central London property from foreign buyers looking to take advantage of the weak pound. There are opportunities in London but only for those that have large deposits, so able to secure favorable borrowing. We feel prices are clearly inflated still and will continue to only go one way offering very little value to most investors.
I will continue to monitor and gage the movements in the UK residential market and off course provide you with details of our latest discounted, off market investment opportunities.
Until then, all the very best,
Regards,
Andy
Torcana UK Director
Tags: Andy Kiwanuka, Birmingham Property, House price statistics, Investment Management Association, Liverpool Property, Manchester Property, Torcana, UK Property
