Investment trends in 2015 have made for compelling analysis.
Uncertainty in global equities markets and political instability are just some of the reasons that have prompted many of the world’s investor community to reconsider their investment strategies this year.
Yet amid all of this change and upheaval has remained one asset that continues to generate global investment interest – UK property.
A weakening rand, for example, has triggered high numbers of investors in South Africa to get their money out of the country and diversify their portfolio with a British real estate acquisition.
And another region in which the UK market has seen significant levels of sentiment is Singapore. This year many investors have decided to hold off entering one of Asia’s most popular property markets, and instead invested in one of the highest performing in Europe. Such significant activity has prompted Select Property Group, the UK’s leading property investment company, to open an office in downtown Singapore, where they will be holding an exclusive grand opening on 25th November.
But why are investors in the region rushing to secure assets in a market 7,000 miles away?
Singapore – a 13-year slump with no end in sight
For many investors, patience has finally worn thin. Singapore’s property market has now been sliding for eight consecutive quarters, overwhelmed by the government cooling measures put in place in recent years to control what has become the continent’s second most expensive real estate market. With yields being swallowed and an outlook that predicts little market improvement, an alternative investment strategy is urgently sought.
What about the Singapore equities market?
Although it offers an alternative investment option, Singapore shares are also on the wane. The Straits Times Index has plummeted 18.6% since its peak in the middle of April this year.
Besides, it’s real estate that investors in Singapore have familiarised themselves with, thanks to historic capital growth of 83.7% in the last 10 years. But now house prices are experiencing slow residual declines and they cannot be offset by yields.
Property is still the answer, just not in Singapore.
So why has the UK now become the place investors want to own real estate?
High returns and a long track record of growth for international investors make British property an attractive proposition. In three decades UK residential real estate has driven better returns than gilts, equities and commercial property.
Instead of weathering the storm of the Singapore market, investors can take advantage of the security the UK offers, with its political and economic stability and returns in a strong currency.
Which UK markets are currently offering the highest growth?
Traditionally a nation of homeowners, Britain is currently undergoing a rental revolution. A preference for flexibility, as well as changing generational attitudes, means that by 2025, it’s estimated that over 50% of 20 to 39-year-olds in the UK will be renting their property.
As such, private rented sector (PRS) property is one of the must-have property assets in the UK right now. Cities such as Manchester have seen yield growth 13 times faster than London, as the demand for property in key regional markets is being met with low levels of supply.
Additionally, student property has been established as the UK’s number one asset in recent years. A product that experienced growth throughout each year of the global economic downturn, huge undersupplies of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) across the UK has created huge investment opportunities in a country with an international appeal for higher education.
Select Property Group will hold the exclusive grand opening of its new Singapore office on Thursday November 25th – and it wants you be part of it. Hear about the latest UK investment opportunities and find out why Select Property Group are the trusted UK property investment experts of investors in over 117 countries. To register and secure your place, follow this link.
