Property investment trends

RECENT TRENDS IN INVESTMENT PROPERTY

As recently as a few years ago, the world was very different. The market for financial products in so much as investment was concerned was a much simpler place, consisting mainly of ISAs, stock market investment, pension schemes and a variety of deposit-related accounts.

Property investment and land investment were still mainly the domain of land owners, estate agents and house builders, and so was really a virtual mystery to the average person looking at land investment. Likewise, buy to let and the buy to let mortgage products associated with this market were only just getting off the ground.

Whilst IFAs were equipped to advise on a wide range of conventional financial products, property investment and land investment were seen as "alternative investments" and few advisors could offer a service to enable investors to purchase and manage property. In addition, both property investment and land investment have had additional barriers to entry that had previously made them unsuitable for the average investor. Locating and purchasing suitable property and land was daunting because you needed a large outlay of capital to even consider getting involved with either market. Properties are always expensive in terms of an initial outlay, and land tended to be only sold in large acreages which put the price beyond what most investors would be able to afford. They were also considerably more difficult to find, with relatively few pieces of land being offered for sale in the public domain, and the web was of little help being in it's infancy as a communications medium.

Now, property investment and land investment are changing the way we think about our financial future. With such a strong interest in property investment and land investment being reflected in the newspapers, on television, by the government's housing targets and of course in the huge amount of information made available on the web, investors can finally get access to the range and depth of information they need to make the right investment decisions.

These are exciting times for investors, with the landscape of property investment and land investment going through tremendous changes. With these changes come a wide variety of new opportunities, but also a great many challenges. With a wide range of high-risk investments available, choosing the investment tailored to your requirements and financial capabilities has never been more important!