Estates Gazette´s early May event sought to address a number present-day questions relating to the current state of London´s residential property sector. Introduction Against a backdrop of Sterling´s post-Brexit devaluation, a marked decline in high-end property prices and the threat of skills shortages, many of the discussions were nonetheless refreshingly directed towards sustainable, non-speculative industry growth. With the government´s housing white paper now in play, the issue of whether “action will follow talk” was deliberated alongside frequent mention of the build to rent sector´s role in tackling the Capital´s housing shortage. Other conversations included panel discussions amongst Outer London Borough council on the future of housing delivery, advancing social housing delivery in the capital´s estate communities and a very interesting debate amongst leading Housing Associations. London´s Housing Plan Reflecting on the first anniversary of Sadiq Khan’s mayoralty, Deputy Mayor for... [Read More]

Acuitus Auctions on Transitioning from Residential to Commercial Property (Part 1)

May 9th, 2017 by Ruban Selvanayagam

In a “post-Section 24” operational environment, the changing face of residential buy-to-let has spurred investors to explore alternative strategies as means of not only overcoming the impending punitive tax burden but also diversify into other asset classes. For capitalised buyers, the case for commercial property as a potential direction of travel is a compelling one: finance costs that are fully tax-deductible, lower stamp duty at purchase, Full Repairing and Insuring (FRI) leases and simplified enforcement of contractual breaches are just some of the commonly-cited advantages. However, evidence does suggest that the risks may be greater as investors can end up more susceptible to market swings, legislation and sector-specific behavioural shifts. From the outset therefore, successfully investing in commercial property ultimately requires meticulous due diligence alongside an inherent ability to forecast changing trends well into the future. We were very grateful to have a conversation on this subject with Richard... [Read More]

Acuitus Auctions on Transitioning from Residential to Commercial Property (Part 2)

May 9th, 2017 by Ruban Selvanayagam

Following on from part 1 of our interview with Richard Auterac, chairman at commercial auction house Acuitus, we continued to explore the question of due diligence and how building relationships with commercial agents and attending auctions is fundamental to gain a greater understanding of the sector. No contemporary interview would be complete without asking about the EU referendum and Richard also gave us his thoughts on how business rate reforms may impact buying decisions in the coming years. Finally we approached the office building segment, the rapid growth of schemes with B1 to C3 Permitted Development Rights and gained some practical insights on buying commercial property at auction. — PIB: Ruban Selvanayagam from the Property Investor´s Blog RA: Richard Auterac from Acuitus Commercial Property Auctions — PIB: Do you have specific advice on how an investor can engage in more granular research? RA: My view is that if you are a first-time commercial buyer, it... [Read More]

Commentary on the May 2017 Property Investor´s Factfile

May 2nd, 2017 by Ruban Selvanayagam

May 2017 Property Investor´s Factfile The Property Investor Blog´s monthly factfile presents relevant data including national / London house prices, the latest buy to let Limited Company (SPV) loan rates, LIBOR / SWAP rates, rentals, mortgage debt figures and information on the first-time buyer sector. Some noteworthy observations from the last month are outlined below: According to Rightmove, asking prices were up 1.14% over the previous month (the equivalent to £3,547, raising the average price of new properties to the market to £313,655). The property portal also reported that the first-time buyer sector, typically of two bedrooms or fewer, gained strength (a 6.5% annual rate of increase). At the same time however, the same data showed that higher priced property saw an overall annual rise of 2.2% – the lowest recorded since April 2013. Also, whilst the market observed the highest number of sales agreed at this time of the year since prior to 2007 credit... [Read More]