Prime Central London prices forecasted to rise by almost 20% by 2028

The Prime Central London market is more immune to high interest rates as most of these buyers are cash rich Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) buyers.  According to Savills, only 23% of these buyers rely on mortgages to buy a property.

Frances McDonald, Savills’ director of residential research said that “Cash and equity rich buyers – synonymous with prime markets – have remained the most resilient buyer group over the past year, with transactions remaining 3.5 per cent higher than the 2017-19 average.”

Prices in Prime Central London are still 19% below their 2014 so we may be on the way to getting back to those highs if the Savills’ forecast of an increase of 18.7% turns out to be correct.

Posted by: Behrang Jalali, Sun, Nov 12th 2023

Manchester Property Market Going Strong

A new research by JLL on the property markets of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow showed that Manchester was number one amongst the 6 cities in rental growth of 19.6% and the second highest in sales growth at 4.9%

The study cited the demand coming from both domestic and international students as well as young professionals. Manchester has been very successful in retaining new graduates to stay and work in the city. Louise Emmott, managing director at Kingsdene, which worked with JLL on the research, said: “Over the past few years we have seen enquiries for properties in the city centre across both sales and lettings rise dramatically. As our research shows, this has been primarily driven by students and young professionals, but we’re also seeing more families choosing to stay in the city centre for longer, which is creating even greater competition.”

Another reason for the increase in prices is the inability of developers to keep up with the high demand. “What has become clear through our analysis is that neither the sales nor rental market is currently able to keep up with demand. With fewer landlords entering the market, and the rate of new builds slowing, government intervention is needed to restimulate the market and ensure that there are enough homes for the people that need them.” said JLL director of UK residential research, Marcus Dixon.

Posted by: Behrang Jalali, Mon, Oct 9th 2023

Why Diversify Your Real Estate Portfolio?

We have all heard the saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Sage advice! The same applies to your investments including real estate.

When you diversify your portfolio, you reduce the risk of losses by spreading your wealth across different regions, cities, and countries and even different property types. This way you hedge against a major downturn in one particular market.

Even though the global real estate market is closely linked, there will always be times when one market does not experience a massive downturn as much as another. This is when you avoid experiencing huge losses and will benefit from diversification.

There are several ways to diversify your real estate portfolio to protect your investment two of which we have listed below:

1. Geographical location – This is where your invest in different cities, regions, and countries. Obviously, markets within a country are more closely correlated and diversifying by investing in different countries is a better hedging strategy.

2. Asset classes – You can invest in residential or commercial real estate. Within these categories, there are subcategories such as apartment buildings, single units, student housing, small shops, large commercial complexes and more.

Where and how to diversify will depend on your budget and investment strategy. Our team at Downtown International has over several decades of experience in the international property market and we can advise you on where to invest next. We are always happy to help.

Posted by: Behrang Jalali, Mon, Sep 4th 2023

GCC Investors Looking to UK Cities to Diversify their Portfolio

 According to the Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME), GCC investments into the UK property market is expected to reach GBP 2.5bn.

The UK housing market is experiencing a difficult time at the moment with high interest rates dampening demand and leading to a fall in prices. This has made UK real estate more attractive to those investors looking for a bargain. London has always been on the list of GCC investors but according to BLME, these investors want to diversify their portfolios and are looking for opportunities outside of the capital.

One asset class which is high on the list for GCC investors is purpose-built properties such as student housing in such cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

If you are looking to purchase a property in London or other major cities in the UK, our team of experienced advisers can help you find the investment that is right for you. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. We are happy to help.

Posted by: Behrang Jalali, Mon, Aug 28th 2023

Luxury home prices more resilient during times of high interest rates.

Luxury home sales in London outperformed the rest of the UK property market according to a report by Knight Frank.

Prices in some areas of London only fell by 0.2% in July compared to last year with prices in PCL dropping by 0.9% whereas nationwide prices fell by a lot more.

According to a report by Savills, 70% of PCL properties sold this year have been to cash buyers. These buyers have not been affected by the rise in mortgage rates which may be the reason for the resilience and rise in the number of transactions in luxury properties. According to Knight Frank, sales of these properties were up 13% in July over a 5 year average compared to a fall of 5% over the same period nationwide.

Posted by: Behrang Jalali, Mon, Aug 21st 2023