The Property Market
There are a number of factors which have combined to make property investment so
popular in recent years:
1. Buy to Let mortgages - an initiative devised by the Association of Residential
Letting Agents (ARLA) and supported by most of the leading mortgage lenders. Introduced
in the late 1990's it has enabled many ordinary people to finance property investments.
2. The 1988 and 1996 Housing acts which have rebalanced the rights between Landlord
and Tenant; in particular, the assured shorthold tenancy introduced in 1989 which
encouraged many potential Landlords to enter the market, knowing that they could
reclaim their property from the tenant if and when they wished to do so.
3. Low interest rates and an aggressive Buy to Let lending sector with a variety
of products designed for different investor strategies and risk profiles.
4. High demand for rental properties due to increased job mobility, attitudes to
co-habiting, increased divorce rate and reluctance or inability of young people
to purchase property.
5. Flexible low-cost development finance to enable refurbishment and re-sale of
residential property.
The above factors caused a short-term boom in speculative property investment between
2000 and 2005, assisted by a number of opportunistic companies offering portfolio
building and off-plan investment schemes. Professional investors, many involved
prior to the boom, are continuing to succeed as prices and volumes remain static
in the short term.
It is our view that knowledgeable property investors, buying properties with genuine
rental yields and/or built-in equity, will be successful whatever the market conditions,
and this is the cornerstone of the AQS business and franchise.
You can read more about The
Franchise Opportunity.