Property investors keep faith in London prices

Permalink: Property investors keep faith in London prices
by Gill Montia

Latest data from the Young Index, the quarterly gauge of market sentiment within the buy-to-let sector, shows continued optimism amongst property investors, with 91% apparently not influenced by gloomy media reports.

The survey, which questions 500 people who hold investment property, found that 82% of respondents expect property values in London to rise or remain static over the next 12 months.

Thirty-seven percent believe that property values outside London will also rise or remain static and 93% of investors intend to retain their portfolios for at least the next 12 months.

Neil Young, chief executive of Young Group, believes that investor sentiment remains extremely healthy, particularly in the capital, where confidence exceeds the rest of the UK by over five times.

The survey found that 54% of investors expect to buy additional properties within London over the coming 12 months.

This compares with just 10% of investors expecting to expand their portfolios with property situated outside the capital.

Mr Young believes that “buy-to-let property is still a solid medium to long-term investment class, provided that people do their research and look at the facts and fundamentals of investments, without being swayed by marketing spin or doom-mongering press reports.”

He also stresses the importance of taking a long-term view of property investment and having the capacity to accommodate short-term fluctuations in the market.