Overseas Property Investment Consultancy & UK Property Investment Consultancy

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The price of crude oil has also risen steeply and is once again creating inflationary pressure as prices at the pumps and shops increase as a result. However, February saw a substantial rise in retail sales (see next article), bringing good news to the High Street.

The UK house price figures for February are a pretty mixed bag with some of the reports indicating rising prices and others showing falling prices. Both the Halifax and Nationwide house price surveys reported a negative February price change most probably as a result of the end of the stamp duty holiday. However, the Rightmove house price index revealed a huge increase in asking prices of 3.2% for the month.

The Hometrack house price index also recorded rising prices for February with an overall increase of 0.3%, one of the largest increases recorded by Hometrack in the last year. In fact, Hometrack say that the figures have revealed the first year on year rise since March 2008. Good news indeed.

UK retail sales rise sharply

Further evidence that the UK economy is strengthening has been released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In its March report the ONS shows a strong rise in retail sales between January and February. The figures reveal a 2.1% rise in volume for the period following disappointing figures for January. The January figures are widely believed to have been the result of extreme weather conditions across the UK and also the re-introduction of the 17.5% rate of VAT.

The reported rise was widely expected by analysts and is hoped to continue month on month throughout the year. Compared to February last year, the report showed sales volume to be 3.5% higher or 5% higher in terms of value. Increasing retail sales are a good indicator of economic recovery.

• Full name – Portuguese republic
• Location – Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe
• Capital city – Lisbon
• Government – Parliamentary republic
• Currency – Euro
  
• Economy – 33rd by GDP (Nominal) (IMF)
• Population – 10.7 million (UN 2009)
• Language – Portuguese

Portugal is a country with a rich history of seafaring and discovery. By the 16th century the Portuguese empire embraced huge areas of South America, Africa and Asia. It’s era as a colonial power was brought to an end in 1999 when it handed over its last overseas territory, Macau, to the Chinese. Evidence of the Portuguese empire exists to this day with over 200 million Portuguese speakers outside of Portugal.



A country of great diversity, the north is rugged and mountainous whilst the south features mostly rolling plains. The islands chains of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal. The south of the country, which includes the Algarve region, enjoys a somewhat warmer and drier climate than the north.

Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 and since then has changed its heavily public sector biased economic model to embrace private investment and diversify into areas such as Information Technology and business services. Manufacturing and fisheries still account for a significant proportion of the economy, including the production of textiles and clothing, wood products and beverages.

Why invest in Portugal?

Tourism plays a huge role in the Portuguese economy attracting visitors from every corner of the world. The Algarve is one Europe’s most favoured holiday destinations and a raft of new, world class, golf course resorts has succeeded in enticing golfers from the wealthy regions of Northern Europe and North America. This, along with Portugal’s beautiful climate has resulted in a year round tourist industry.

Portugal is also the third most favoured destination for second home ownership by the British, behind Spain and France. Easy and ever improving transportation links, good infrastructure, predictable climate, low cost of living and friendliness of the local population all account for this.

Property in Portugal can be considerably cheaper that other popular European regions and foreign ownership is actively encouraged by the government. Year round rental potential, excellent rental returns and good capital growth potential all lend to making Portugal an excellent country in which to invest in property.

We are currently offering some incredible opportunities in the Algarve region of Portugal with 20% instant equity, 2 year rental guarantees and 5 weeks personal use each year for an incredible £3,000!!!

Take a look at the property pages on our website for further information or call us on 01235 553569.


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And finally

The big story this week is the chancellors decision to abolish stamp duty for first time buyers for the next 2 years on property valued at up to £250,000. A welcome move that will save an estimated 73% of first time buyers from having to pay this tax. In fact, according to the Council of Mortgage lenders (CML) this decision could result in around 350,000 property purchases being exempt stamp duty in this calendar year. Good news indeed.

The stamp duty announcement got me thinking. Would there be any benefit to property investors? The answer is a big yes.

The entire property market is underpinned by the first time buyer sector, this is basically the foundation of the market and without a strong foundation anything built on it is unstable. A healthy first time buyer market makes for a healthier market overall, and this is what the chancellor has addressed with this announcement.

With a significant easing of entry costs, many more fist time buyers will be in a position to buy a home, thereby creating additional transactional activity at the bottom of the market which will steadily filter up into the rest of the market. This increase in activity will generate additional demand and as we all know from simple economics, demand is the driver of price increases especially when mixed with current low supply.

As the market strengthens, price increases are inevitable and this is great news for property investors. Many parts of the country have been experiencing strong sales and increasing prices for a while now. My advice is to buy now and take advantage of anticipated capital growth. Although we are no longer at the bottom of the market, right now is still the best time to buy before prices increase further.

To your success

Kevin Wilkes

The Worldwide Property Group is a marketing agent for developers and whilst we endeavour to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this site, including figures and forecasts at the time of publication, the Worldwide Property Group does not guarantee or take responsibility for their accuracy. Images are representative of the types of property we offer and may not be of actual opportunities offered by us. Some images may be computer generated.