Press Release Summary = Established property markets are unlikely to experience too much competition from emerging hotspots across the globe, according to some experts.
While up-and-coming destinations such as those in eastern Europe and even further afield such as in Brazil and South Africa have enjoyed increasing interest from potential investors, traditional favourites remain highly appealing.
Indeed, recent research by currency specialist HiFX found that Spain remains the top investment destination for Britons buying property abroad. Savvy buyers should head inland, the firm advised, suggesting less traditional destinations - away from coastal developments - could yield better investment returns.
Mark Bodega at the firm advised investors to take a \"more realistic\" approach to the prospects offered by the Spanish property market. He said they should look for existing value in properties rather than attempt to create it artificially.
\"Cut through the current hype and think carefully about the property you are buying in order to make the most of the current market conditions,\" he advised. \"Only certain areas are suffering a slump due to over supply, whilst others still have much to offer.\"
Hetal Shah, director of Investors Provident, agrees that the Spanish property investment market continues to appeal to buyers. Despite recent reports about a crash in the property sector of Spain, Mr Shah believes there is enough momentum in the market to keep it going.
\"I think with the established markets, it\'s never going to really die down,\" he commented. \"Even with the recent scare in the Spanish property market, I don\'t think it\'s really died down to that degree.\"
According to Mr Shah, there are \"pockets\" in the country that remain \"up-and-coming\" as well as relatively cheap. Highlighting Murcia as an example of such an emerging area, Mr Shah suggested investors can snap up properties in the €70,000 to €80,000 region (around the £50,000 mark). \"And these are golf course developments,\" he added.
The fact that a property market is seen as \"tried and tested\" should not deter investors from the likes of Spain, said Mr Shah. Security and guaranteed capital growth will continue to attract buyers, he said, although the process will be slower than in emerging markets that are enjoying high returns in a short space of time. However, he added: \"I don\'t think you can go wrong.\"
This view is shared by Gerry Bell of GE Money Home Lending. He said: \"Although new emerging eastern European markets are looked upon as good short-term investment opportunities, we can see that most Brits are looking towards their dream holiday home as a location they can retire to in future years and for ease of living whilst abroad.\"
Famous owners of Spanish property include the likes of supermodel Claudia Schiffer, Andrew Lloyd Webber and tycoon Richard Branson, so Britons considering investing in the country seem to be in good company.
Press Release Body = University towns have long been regarded as good places for the buy-to-let industry, given that they provide a regular and reliable supply of potential tenants looking for accommodation and numbers are historically higher than in the past. Now, according to research by Landlord Mortgages, Durham has emerged as the best prospect of them all.
The figures provided by Landlord Mortgages show well enough the overall advantage of investing in a university town, with the average yield in such places standing at 6.59 per cent compared with 5.42 per cent for other towns. In Durham the figure soars to 9.12 per cent.
Cities and towns in the north and midlands provide most of the best returns, with Nottingham coming second in the table at 9.05 per cent, followed by Stoke, Sheffield and Blackpool.
However, the regional variation is not universal, with Crewe, Stoke\'s near-neighbour, coming bottom with a 3.4 per cent yield, although the other lowest-yield towns, Cheltenham, Guildford and Pontypridd, are in the southern half of the country. The county of Devon is also in the bottom five. The difference in average weekly rent is £30 on average, Crewe students paying £37 to Durham\'s £67, the Times reported
As Lee Grandin, at Landlord Mortgages put it: \"Students can be a profitable bunch to rent to, providing you choose a good location.\"
Durham may be a good investment for a few reasons. One of them is the relatively low cost of housing, which, Crewe apart, shows a correlation between lower returns and higher prices. Secondly, Durham is a popular and high-ranking university, coming 10th in the Good University Guide table this year.
Nottingham can at least compare with Durham in this last respect, with the University of Nottingham coming 14th in the table, but it is in many ways different from Durham, being a larger city with not one but two universities. But this lack of rhyme and reason is true across the board. For instance, while rental costs are similar in both Oxford and Cambridge - £79 and £84 respectively - the returns in Cambridge are 6.82 per cent compared with Oxford\'s 5.08 per cent, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The most important things for any investor remain the same in any university location. As Mr Grandin put it: \"Local knowledge is of utmost importance and landlords must also consider all of the differences that renting to students has to the average rental property.\"
2022
