Overseas Property Investment Consultancy & UK Property Investment Consultancy

Invest with your head

Earlier this week I was talking to someone about the advantages of investing in our Caribbean opportunity, however, this person was adamantly opposed to investing overseas, he really wanted to put his money into a UK property.

Now don’t get me wrong, UK property offers superb investment potential, especially in today’s market with so many incredible bargains. The problem is that this particular chap didn’t have much money to invest which would have resulted in difficulty getting a large enough mortgage to buy a decent property in a good rental location. Our Caribbean opportunity clearly offers a better route for him and he could quite easily afford to invest in a nice unit with a greater potential return on his investment.

Anyway, after listening to me run through the deal in detail he was still opposed to the idea. It was clear that something else was bothering him and so I asked what the real reason was for not considering such a great investment opportunity. His answer is one that I have heard many times over the years – “It’s too far away”.

In many respects he is falling into the trap of investing with his heart and not his head. He feels that he needs to see his investment, be close to it. Even though he would rarely visit it, it needs to be physically accessible and he just isn’t comfortable with the idea of investing in a property that is not just down the road.

Many people feel like this and really what is required is a change in mindset. Really, it makes no difference where the property is, you’ll probably rarely visit it, if at all. When investing in property there are 2 primary questions that need to be considered:

1. How much will I need to invest?
2. What will be my return on this investment?

It makes no difference what the investment is, a stock market investor for instance will ask exactly the same questions. They will not need to visit the company in which they are investing. They do not feel the need to meet with the company’s CEO, and it really makes little difference where the company is based. Their decision will primarily be based on these 2 simple questions, because that’s really all that matters.

Now in the case mentioned, by looking at the investment this way it became obvious to him that actually this opportunity makes a lot of sense. The initial investment is small and quite affordable, yet the return is enough to excite the most adamantly apposed investor. Needless to say he is now seriously considering investing in our Caribbean offering.

It is essential when looking at property investment to be sure to view the opportunity from an investor’s point of view. By changing your mindset you will open up a whole new area of opportunity.

Confidence in property reaches a new high

Figures from our latest confidence tracker survey have yet again shown that confidence is improving. The expectation that house prices will increase over the next 12 months has reached a new high with a huge 69% of respondents expecting prices to increase over the coming 12 months. This is the highest level since the survey was introduced in August 2009 and is significantly higher than the November low of 57%.

Confidence in the UK housing market is clearly riding high, with just 13% expecting further price falls over the course of the year. The new year has certainly brought a new level of confidence and generally the doom and gloom of last year seems to be declining rapidly.

On the subject of interest rates 38% of those questioned are of the opinion that we will not see an increase of any sort this year. When asked whether they were benefiting from the current low level of interest rates 69% said yes. This is undoubtedly having a positive effect on the market.

Adding to the positive views a massive 87% of respondents believe that now is currently a good time to invest in UK property, and two thirds are of the opinion that this is also a good time to invest in property overseas. As further evidence that confidence is returning to the market 85% said that in their opinion property offers the best investment potential of any investment option.

Once again this survey shows evidence of increasing confidence in the housing market. The devastating price falls predicted early last year proved to be far more limited than at first thought, in fact the market has since grown further limiting the effects of any fall in prices. Property offers great investment potential and many people are still choosing to put their cash into bricks and mortar.

UK economy emerges from recession

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that the UK economy grew during the last 3 months of 2009 and has therefore officially emerged from recession. The figures show growth of 0.1% during this period which although small, certainly marks a turning point and a return to positive territory.

This is truly excellent news and now sets the scene for strengthening economic recovery throughout 2010. Prior to this the economy had contracted for six consecutive quarters.

This joins positive news announced last week that UK unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months lending further support to a turnaround in the economy. The coming weeks and months will undoubtedly bring further good news as recovery gathers speed and other sectors of the economy gain strength.

Although officially out of recession a boost in consumer spending will be essential in aiding economic recovery, and for this reason it is expected that interest rates will remain low in the short to medium term.

Big jump in house price confidence

Results from our latest survey show a big jump in house price confidence with more people now expecting prices to rise than at any time since the survey was introduced in July 2009.

The survey (conducted in December) shows a huge 68% of those questioned expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months compared to just 57% in November. Interestingly, 1 in 5 of these expects the rise to potentially be as high as 10%.

When asked if they are benefitting from the current record low level of interest rates a massive 69% said yes; again the highest number since the survey began. But the positive news doesn’t end there because 85% of respondents said that right now is a good time to buy UK property and 66% said that they are considering purchasing a property overseas; also the highest since the survey began and an increase of 21% on last month.

This just goes to show that people are getting on with their lives and putting economic fears behind them. We have seen a dramatic increase in enquiries over the last 6 weeks, and with the optimism that a new year brings we have no reason to believe that this will not continue.

This survey clearly demonstrates the underestimated resilience of the property market with 82% saying that property still offers the best investment potential of any investment.

2010 starts on a positive footing

Stock markets around the world have confidently entered the New Year with sharp increases. Here in the UK the FTSE has broken through the 5500 points mark as it continues its meteoric rise from a low of 3500 at the beginning of March last year. 2010 certainly seems to have brought an air of increased positivity to the market and economy as a whole, with many market and economic commentators expecting this to be a year of economic recovery.

House prices have already shown their resilience with substantial gains last year and upcoming statistics will hopefully show strong high street sales throughout the Christmas period ahead of the January 1st increase in VAT. In fact, the John Lewis partnership has already reported its best ever Christmas season with both the department store and supermarket businesses enjoying strong sales. The firm says that a number of records have been broken during this period.

So as we enter a new year and indeed a new decade, it seems that the time has come to put the recession firmly behind us and to consign the credit crunch to history, as we aim for growth and prosperity.
Happy New Year!