What's special about property...
Property is such an attractive investment because you leverage other people’s money, usually in the form of a mortgage, to maximise your return. In other words you don’t have to lay out all of the capital, but still enjoy the profit on the whole value of the property – both your original investment and the borrowed money. You make the money you have work harder for you.
On average UK property prices have increased by 100%+ every decade in the last 100 years. Chronic housing under-supply means that there is still room for significant growth.
- Government figures show that by 2010 up to 40% of UK households will be occupied by single people.
- According to the Office of National Statistics there will be an annual shortfall of housing in the UK of over 100,000 properties each year for the next decade. This could mean a 1 million housing shortfall by 2020 if current trends continue.
- The Barker report concluded that strict UK planning constraints, increasing numbers of smaller households due to social change and chronic under-supply of new houses will remain for the foreseeable future.
So what are you waiting for!