The year 2018 is clearly drawing to a close and Christmas adverts are already in full swing, so it seems appropriate to start looking ahead to 2019 and thinking about what the New Year might bring us. Specifically, we might want to think about how the property market is going to look and hence where we should be putting our money. At this point, it appears that 2019 is going to look very similar to 2018 in terms of property investment hotspots.
London
It’s common knowledge that the London property market as a whole has been stagnating and while it might be tempting to blame this on Brexit, it also has to be acknowledged that even before the referendum, London property prices were really straining affordability and arguably the market was due for a cool down in any case.
Some investors may take the view that they would prefer to leave London (and indeed the broader Thames valley area) well alone for the time being and this is perfectly understandable, however, it may be worth remembering that just as “the UK property market” is really a collection of local housing markets with their own dynamics, so “the London property market” has its own internal variations, which means there may still be opportunities to find bargains, if you’re prepared to look hard enough, especially in the east London area.
Having said that, it does have to be acknowledged that the biggest bargains are more likely to be found further north.
Manchester
The unofficial capital of the north and the beating heart of the Northern Powerhouse initiative, Manchester has become something of an entrepreneurial hub especially for digital talent. This fact has been recognised by larger players, such as the mighty Amazon, which chose Manchester as the location for its first Amazon Academy, Google also has a Digital Garage in Manchester, with both tech giants are offering technical training to individuals, entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Manchester is also a popular destination for investors in general and property investors in particular due to being one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. The latter are attracted by its affordable house prices, high yields and strong demand for rental property from the city’s many students and young professionals.
Newcastle
While some people might have put Birmingham or Liverpool into third place (or even Salford if you count it separately from Manchester), we’re making the case for Newcastle as it has already regenerated enough to be a safe destination for investors while still having massive potential for growth meaning the prospect of even better returns in the future, especially if you get in early. Like Manchester, Newcastle has a significant population of young people, both students and new professionals, which creates plenty of demand for rental property, especially in the student property investment market.
This demand is set to grow in line with Newcastle’s economy, which is now much less dependent on traditional heavy industry and agriculture (although both are still active in the area). There are much higher proportions of modern industries represented in Newcastle and its robust digital infrastructure and affordable property prices means it is a very attractive location for entrepreneurs and small businesses.