Residential Investor
Our experts on residential property investment and development share their thoughts on what’s happening in the sector
Latest Article
13th September 2021
How to avoid the pitfalls of building down.
In early November last year, the residents of Durham Place, London, which looks over Burton Court and the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, had a rude awakening when a house there collapsed, luckily injuring no one.
Social media (not to mention the printed media) was on fire the following day with ‘told you so’ comments directed at basements, the only real shared hatred in the smarter areas of London. Hated, that is, by everyone except those... Read More >
Recent Articles:
2nd September 2021
Sales of existing homes rose 2.0% in July, to a 5.99 million seasonally adjusted annual (see top of first chart). Sales are up 1.5% from a year ago. Sales in the market for existing single-family homes, which account for about 88% of total Read More >
23rd August 2021
How technology is opening up single-family rentals as an emerging asset class for investors.
Today, technology plays an integral role in society, heightened ever more by the global pandemic. Traditionally rooted, the real estate sector is one Read More >
26th July 2021
Sales of existing homes rose 1.4% in June, to a 5.86m seasonally adjusted annual (see top of first chart). Sales are up 22.9%t from a year ago. Sales in the market for existing single-family homes, which account for about 88% of total Read More >
1st July 2021
There were two recent events of importance to the private rental sector. These were, first, the announcement on how the Government will take forward the various limitations on termination of tenancies and evictions which were introduced as a Read More >
29th June 2021
The efficiency of the UK’s vaccination roll-out and the subsequent easing of lockdown restrictions have brought a renewed sense of confidence into London’s Prime Central London (PCL) market. This is most welcome, given how challenging, Read More >
13th May 2021
Institutional investors in Europe face a housing supply problem – but America has already found the solutions
Despite the trauma of the 2008 global financial crisis, real estate has experienced astonishing growth as an asset class. More Read More >
6th May 2021
It is no coincidence that the right to adequate housing is included in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The place you call home has a fundamental impact on your life. It is at once your roadside inn, your granary and your Read More >
30th April 2021
Sales of new single-family homes rose sharply in March, increasing 20.7% to 1.021 million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from a 846,000 pace in February. Sales are an astonishing 66.8% above the year ago level (see top of first chart). Read More >
19th April 2021
This article was originally published in November 2017.
The old paradigm of an 18 hole golf course providing sufficient content to sustain an interesting and vigorous club can now be seen as out of time, out of tune and out of favour. Life has Read More >
5th April 2021
The campaign in Berlin to drive a stake through the heart of large German residential landlords moved into its second phase last week, when the Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co. movement began collecting signatures in its petition to cut Read More >
26th March 2021
You might be surprised to hear that when it comes to applying for debt, high net worth individuals (HNWIs) find themselves at an immediate disadvantage. This stems from the inherent complexity of their income structures and finances.
There is Read More >
26th March 2021
Total housing starts fell to a 1.421 million annual rate from a 1.584 million pace in January, a 10.3% decrease. Month-to-month volatility in housing construction can be influenced by weather conditions and conditions in significant portions of Read More >
26th February 2021
Housing permits, considered a leading indicator for future construction activity and the broader economy, surged to a 15-year high in January. The jump was supported by increases in the dominant single-family category and the multifamily Read More >
16th February 2021
Don’t fall into the trap of designing a building people like – design one they’ll either love or hate and you will reap the rewards. As a brand, it’s not good to be vanilla. Like marmite, you want people to either love you or hate you. Read More >
8th February 2021
The resilience of prime residential markets was highlighted over the second half of 2020. Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index recorded an average capital value increase of 0.8% for the cities in the index at a time when global GDP was Read More >
27th January 2021
With the government under pressure to tackle the UK homes shortage, social housing offers yield opportunities to high-net-worth investors.
As a developer in the North of England dealing in high-volume but relatively inexpensive units, at the Read More >
14th December 2020
Investment into Swedish and German care homes between January and September 2020 has increased by 80% and 21% year-on-year respectively, according to our latest research. These two countries accounted for 42% (Germany) and 23% (Sweden) of the Read More >
4th December 2020
The property market was allowed to continue operating during the second lockdown, which was good news for the 500,000 or so current transactions that are proceeding (albeit slowly). However, strict protocols on viewings and valuation Read More >
27th November 2020
Sales of existing homes rose 4.3% in October to a 6.85 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. Sales are now up 26.6% from a year ago and are at their highest level since November 2005 (see top of first chart).
Sales were up in all four Read More >
19th November 2020
This article was originally published in March 2019.
Over almost 30 years UK house price gains have outperformed the best of British businesses. What next?
Index performance rebased to 100 in January 1990 %
What’s your biggest Read More >
5th November 2020
I don’t like repeating a story that brings any disrespect to the Beatles, especially one so clearly unlikely as the exchange attributed to John Lennon when asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world: “He isn’t even the best drummer Read More >
2nd November 2020
A future with less need to commute is making country life more feasible, and rural estate agents’ phones are ringing off the hook.
“At the beginning of the plague, when there was now no more hope but that the whole city would be visited; Read More >
26th October 2020
There’s one question above all that, in the real estate industry, we are constantly asked: ‘Is now a good time to put money into property?’
The consensus is, despite the uncertain environment, residential property in particular is still Read More >
12th October 2020
Considering that the present crisis is likely to burst inflated bubbles, it’s especially relevant to look at overvalued assets now. The first chart below compares the current housing market in various countries around the world. Using data Read More >
23rd September 2020
What will be the lasting impact of the stamp duty holiday announced in July by the UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak? The holiday has been great for the vast numbers of purchasers who are acquiring UK properties up to £500,000 in value. The maximum Read More >
10th September 2020
With yields averaging 3.35%, the asset category ‘multi-family housing’ is moving out of the ‘alternative’ sector and becoming ‘core’, according to property adviser Savills. Germany, with its disproportionately large rental market, Read More >
27th August 2020
German financial analysts are forecasting an increase in property foreclosures of at least 20%, and loan defaults of up to €100bn as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, once the laws introduced on 23rd March to protect borrowers lose Read More >
13th August 2020
The last 12 years have seen a myriad of crises in various areas - international relations, climate, economies and, most recently, a global pandemic. Though the economic repercussions of COVID19 haven’t been because of inadequate Read More >
6th August 2020
What’s the solution to the great pandemic debt pile-up? Tax Britain’s housing wealth. According to James Kirkup, head of the Social Market Foundation think tank, writing in the Times, higher property taxes are both sensible and inevitable Read More >
29th June 2020
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on German real estate began to be quantifiable in April, according to new figures released by property advisor Savills, and based on research provided by Bulwiengesa.
While investors transacted Read More >
25th June 2020
Brand matters in agency. A potent brand drives consideration and thus leads; it helps substantiate higher prices or fees as we call them; it acts as a halo during and after the valuation; it helps attract and retain better staff. As the saying Read More >
25th June 2020
ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 21ST AUGUST 2017
As I touched upon in my last article, long term out-performance is the principal aim for a residential investor in our era of lower returns.
Residential investment is a completely different mindset Read More >
29th May 2020
The pandemic affected international real estate markets in strikingly different ways. Markets with stringent lockdowns saw new listings plummet by 90 percent, while other markets saw no change. And as the world begins to recover, the data Read More >
15th May 2020
The price level for German residential housing has remained so far unchanged since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to German consulting group F+B, whose CEO Bernd Leutner warned it would be wrong to make premature and knee-jerk Read More >
5th May 2020
We are starting to appreciate some of the damage that the Covid-19 crisis is doing to the economy but in the western world the first warning lights came when stock markets lurched downwards in late February. In the past 6 weeks There has been Read More >
7th April 2020
Germany’s residential market remains buoyant, despite deals taking longer to go through due to an operational slowdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘The market hasn’t stopped yet but deals are getting slower because of the Read More >
11th February 2020
We move to cities and we live in small groups when we get there. These two trends, urbanisation and smaller households, are contributing to housing shortages in cities across the world.
The challenge can be met by having the right sort Read More >
22nd January 2020
The housing sector has potential to unlock a vast amount of political capital for the new Government. With new-found support for the Prime Minister across the country, the housing sector can support Government by delivering a new generation of Read More >
9th January 2020
Human psychology can have a big impact on decision-making. We make cognitive errors on a routine basis by using rules of thumb and over-simplifications. We follow stories rather than facts. We are prone to social biases, such as groupthink and Read More >
30th October 2019
What do high-net-worth individuals look for in a financial services provider?
It’s fair to say that now is an exciting, if challenging, time for the UK financial services sector. The market is moving at a rapid pace as new technologies and Read More >
18th October 2019
Political risk factors have put the UK property market on pause, especially in London – but there are rewards to be had
Political risk factors have put the UK property market on pause, especially in London – but there are rewards to be Read More >
27th September 2019
Against a backdrop of Westminster turmoil, the British economy has proven itself to be more robust than many predicted. But with many expecting a global economic downturn, it’s difficult to quantify the impact the current uncertainty is having Read More >
17th September 2019
Tech-driven real estate brokerage Purplebricks released its 2019 results last week. After a failed U.S. expansion, the core U.K. business is still growing and remains profitable, but is facing headwinds in a soft property market. The results Read More >
16th September 2019
Proper regulation is needed, while far-reaching leasehold reform must accompany changes to the building safety regime
Residential property management is broken and the regulation of managing agents long overdue. Not just from a financial Read More >
6th September 2019
With the support of the Atlas Network, CapX is publishing a new series of essays on the theme of Illiberalism in Europe, looking at the different threats to liberal economies and societies across the continent, from populism to Read More >
30th August 2019
Earlier this year CapX launched a major new project with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation focusing on how the Government should tackle the longstanding imbalances in the British economy. ‘Rebalancing Britain’ focuses not only on the Read More >
30th August 2019
Whilst many of us were baking in in the sunshine on bank holiday Monday, the Berlin Senate cooked up its freeze for residential rents in Germany’s capital. That rocked the sector on Monday, neutered by a dead cat bounce yesterday, and steady Read More >
29th August 2019
“So many of the parishes in our district are merrily approving more houses around their village,” an official from Oxfordshire fumed to me last month, “and that’s against Council policy!” I had to pinch myself: living in London, it’s Read More >
22nd August 2019
Last week saw the long- trailed publication of the Regulation of Property Agents Working Group report, introducing a raft of proposals to regulate sales, letting and leasehold managing agents in what has until now been essentially a collection Read More >
26th July 2019
Robert Jenrick, the new Secretary of State for Housing, wrote a striking call in 2017 to boost home ownership by building homes on government land and selling them at cost to the under-40s of that area. In the South East, that could mean a 75% Read More >
23rd July 2019
Britain’s housing crisis is uniquely severe. We build houses more slowly than anyone else, we have seen a fastest house price rise than any developed country, and our homes are the most expensive houses compared to the average salary.
Quite Read More >
8th July 2019
A ray of hope for the central London property market
The prime central London market has been a tough place over the last year, with a continuing decline in both flats and houses. Against the trend of the past four years, flats in 2018 Read More >
27th June 2019
Rumours of the agency’s demise are premature. And even if such disruptors fail, the fortunes they are spending on marketing could change customers’ expectations forever.
If you believe everything you read in the media, you could be Read More >
24th June 2019
Plus, is the AirBnB boom coming to an end?
I write this camping beneath the canvas cover of a tent – a novel experience for me. I should add, though, the healthy caveat that I am glamping. Essentially, a luxurious form of camping. Camping Read More >
19th June 2019
Emoov and Countrywide: what a pair, observers might say.
They present a tale of two failures - although, in the case of Countrywide, it’s still theoretically possible that victory could be snatched from the actively-snapping jaws of Read More >
17th June 2019
An analyst on shares website Motley Fool says Purplebricks is not only in surprisingly strong financial health, but is actually outperforming some longer established bricks-and-mortar agencies.
The Motley Fool analyst in question, Karl Read More >
12th April 2019
In Berlin, support is growing for a referendum on mass property expropriation. In a move reminiscent of East Germany’s communist past, the referendum’s supporters aim to seize property from all private landlords who own more than 3,000 Read More >
12th April 2019
Labour is said to be considering whether the Bank of England should be mandated to limit house price growth. According to The Guardian, this would be done not via interest rates but via mortgage regulation as overseen by the financial policy Read More >
11th April 2019
While homeowners will pay a premium for their new build properties, a lower percentage of tenants will not. But does the data agree? In this month’s Market Mover, Gav delves deeper into the inconsistencies we’ve found in the ‘new build’ Read More >
8th April 2019
Campaigning groups like Generation Rent and Shelter like to think they are simultaneously edgy and radical; likewise some think tanks believe themselves to be lofty, worldly and above the fray of day-to-day politics.
So why, when it comes to Read More >
4th April 2019
Source: LonRes
What does the chart show?
It’s easy to fixate on what’s happening now and block out the – even most recent - past. And this is never truer than when it comes to the housing market.
In prime central London Read More >
2nd April 2019
Summary:
With the number of BTR developments expected to increase by 180% in the next 6 years, is this a golden opportunity for developers? The REalyst takes a closer look, using the REalyse platform to find potential BTR Read More >
12th March 2019
The housing minister describes being stopped in the street by people wanting to thank him for Help to Buy. ‘Several people have stopped me and thanked me for it, because it gives young people access to homes that otherwise they would not Read More >
12th March 2019
Last quarter’s reports showed Leeds lagging behind the upward house price curve, while Birmingham and Manchester prices steamed ahead. In this month’s Market Mover, REalyse’s CEO and Statistical Mastermind, Gavriel Merkado, takes a closer Read More >
8th March 2019
I keep hearing it said that we should not re-regulate private renting, or if we do then we need to be very careful about it, lest landlords disinvest. This would exacerbate supply issues in places like London, it is claimed. One policy type told Read More >
7th March 2019
Daniel Bentley and Alex McCallum, February 2019
Over the past two decades, UK household formation rates have undergone a striking change. After many decades during which the number of households per head of population was rising, since around Read More >
4th March 2019
Purplebricks, the online estate agent, was in the headlines last week for all the wrong reasons: shares nose-dived by 40%, revenue forecasts came in short of £35m and management resigned. But could this all have been avoided with the help of Read More >
26th February 2019
Tenants have been made to feel somewhat of an afterthought in the rental process ever since the lettings boom of the early 1980s. The business of the UK residential lettings market starts with landlords, who own the “stock” (i.e. the bricks Read More >
16th January 2019
It’s popular to group millennials together as one cohesive group and compare like-for-like. But they are a diverse bunch that share as many differences as they do similarities. Where comparisons are useful is in determining how this generation Read More >
11th January 2019
Empowered by its economic strength, Germany is one of the most interesting markets for foreign investors, even though its legal system is not based on common law. Having performed a continuous growth within the past ten years, the German Read More >
9th January 2019
After many years in the property industry I thought it time to reflect on my experiences and the people I have met.
The young estate agent: a raging mess of hormones and conflicting interests. They talk the market up like a puppy but weep at Read More >
11th December 2018
INVESTMENT CONCLUSION
The UK housing bubble is a myth. Current price declines are principally function of Brexit-related uncertainty. While you’d have to be mad to buy until this fog lifts, this means there is pent-up demand to stabilise the Read More >
17th October 2018
With stamp duty rates crippling the London residential market, many investors have naturally been looking to areas further afield. A lot of articles in the press have focused on regional opportunities as investors seek cheaper areas to expand Read More >
19th September 2018
Who will be the winners in the “broken estate agency” market?
We know that the current and foreseeable UK macro property market position lacks stability with Brexit, affordability, supply and demand imbalance, knee jerk and short term Read More >
11th September 2018
UK real estate transactions being undertaken by GCC investors which we commonly hear about include the acquisition of high end residential property (Chelsea and Knightsbridge) and trophy assets (such as Harrods and the Shard).
There is another Read More >
11th September 2018
What the journals are saying
Knowledge is power, or so the cliché goes. But knowledge is much more than that, it is influence, it is authority, it is credibility. Property journals are a great source of information, by having the latest Read More >
7th September 2018
In August, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) published its latest in a line of reports documenting the continued rise in threat to our Green Belts.
Our research shows that the threat to England’s Green Belt land has never been Read More >
4th September 2018
In my last article, I suggested it was difficult for Housing policy to be considered in any coherent fashion when there had been 16 Housing Ministers in the last 20 years, an average tenure of a little over a year. Within 48 hours of submitting Read More >
3rd September 2018
When asked by a journalist why she had a mirror above her bed, Mae West answered, ‘to see how I’m doing.’ The same applies to property indices: owners, buyers, lenders and commentators need indices to make sense of what is going on in a Read More >
6th August 2018
When asked by a journalist why she had a mirror above her bed, Mae West answered, ‘to see how I’m doing.’ The same applies to property indices: owners, buyers, lenders and commentators need indices to make sense of what is going on in a Read More >
1st August 2018
1. What does the draft Finance Bill 2018/19 say about the treatment of UK property held by non-UK residents?
From April 2019, gains subsequently arising on any UK property, including commercial and residential property, will be chargeable to Read More >
15th May 2018
Affordable housing is one of the key policy challenges of our time. But as with so many other major policy problems, we face a continued lack of imagination that leads many to think that the housing crisis can be solved with more of what worked Read More >
8th May 2018
We are now in the longest downturn in the prime London market since the 1988 - 1992 recession. The Savills index showed a decline then of 28% for flats and 16% for houses compared with a fall of 15% for flats and 13% for houses from 2014 until Read More >
7th May 2018
Using the long arm of the law to force-fill empty homes is getting very vogueish. From the far left to the Tory back benches everyone seems to be getting on board with the idea.
The Government is legislating to permit greater tax surcharges on Read More >
1st May 2018
Along with knotted hankies, buttered crumpets and queueing, the concept of leasehold is a quaintly English phenomenon. If in any other circumstance I offered you the opportunity to pay £1 million for something which would decline in value until Read More >
27th April 2018
A Commons Committee has – quite seriously – argued that an Englishman’s home should no longer be his castle. You could also describe their proposal as a return of the Star Chamber – where doing something the powers that be didn’t like Read More >
28th March 2018
How can we end the housing crisis? Would a better planning system ensure more well-designed homes with local support where they are most wanted, over time making homes more affordable than they would otherwise be?
Of course it would. When it Read More >
13th February 2018
Looking at the current market there are two key challenges - the first is high Stamp Duty and the second is Brexit.
This is important to make clear because I believe that these movements have caused the mentality of the buyer to shift. Read More >
19th January 2018
Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) differs from the student accommodation many of us remember. Today’s students are shunning the traditional house shares and out-of-date halls of residence as they’re perceived to be below par, with Read More >
18th January 2018
Last year was interesting in London’s property market, to say the least. It was challenging, with flat or falling prices in many market segments, limited stock, and high transaction costs, dampening activity and making it a true buyer’s Read More >
17th January 2018
Someone far more erudite than me once described service charges as being like batteries – no-one likes paying for them, but when you don’t, things cease to function quite quickly. A common source of angst between landlord and leaseholder, Read More >
3rd January 2018
Though Donald Rumsfeld was much mocked for his ‘known unknowns’ speech, he was right. It’s the ‘unknown unknowns’ that get you when you try to predict the future because, of course, they are unknown. The only thing you can do is look at Read More >
2nd January 2018
The approach of a new year is always the time when people start to gaze into their crystal balls, highlighting future trends for the year ahead. I have decided to cast the net a considerable bit further and see what trends we should look out for Read More >
11th December 2017
Prime central London property has long been seen as an asset class in its own right, rather than simply a costlier version of UK real estate in general. It responds to a separate set of economic and financial developments, services a distinct Read More >
24th October 2017
When it comes to selling a property, everyone wants to make the most of what they own, whether it is by giving it a fresh lick of paint or sprucing up the garden. However, for residential tenants of long leases, there may be one further step they Read More >
19th October 2017
Just over ten and a half years ago I was working as a land agent specialising complex tax valuations, when I received a call from one of Savills’ head honchos asking me if I would like to go to his house on a Sunday morning for a cup of coffee Read More >
5th October 2017
Further to last month’s article I am following this with specific local factors to look out for when investing in residential property.
Once you’ve done your homework on the precise area you are targeting and the amount you can invest, Read More >
12th September 2017
I, like most people, detest seeing people get ripped off, especially so in the residential property industry. While I am proud to be part of an industry who, through organisations such as the BPF and ULI, genuinely wants to raise standards, Read More >
4th September 2017
Should you buy new or used? A mattress – always new. Appliances – new if you can afford it. Furniture – new unless it is a nice antique piece. A home?
Who wouldn’t want the brand new, well-proportioned, well-insulated two-bedroom Read More >
13th July 2017
In my next few articles, my aim is to guide readers through typical investment decisions and options, hopefully shedding some light on interesting angles and ways to increase your returns.
The buy-to-let market is currently a difficult place. Read More >
7th June 2017
Ben is a highly regarded residential property investment and development expert. He has a reputation for creating superior investment returns with a considered approach, borne out by the success of his own property portfolio.
In this column he Read More >
Featuring
Face to Face
In-depth interviews with leading figures in the real estate/investment world.
Read more >
