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Bank of Mum & Dad are failing to seek advice

The number of parents failing to seek financial advice before lending money to their children to buy a property is dramatically high, a report by the London School of Economics (LSE) has revealed.

The report showed only 8 per cent of parents who gave money to a child for a deposit sought advice from a financial adviser, while only 14 per cent took legal advice.

Of those that helped children with mortgage payments, only 14 per cent took financial advice, while only 12 per cent got legal advice.

LSE, which surveyed 1,066 respondents representing a wide cross-section of depositor and mortgage members, including customers of Family Building Society, stated parents and children must be more business-like when money is given to get on the property ladder.

The LSE stated despite the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ now being the sixth largest lender, there are usually no written record of transactions or arrangements for repayment.

LSE’s report also warned that families are failing to make clear whether the money is a loan or a gift.

Mark Bogard, chief executive of Family Building Society, said failing to carry out basic planning and documentation can store up a host of problems if things go wrong.

Mr Bogard said: “Things such as the break-up of relationships, the death of one or both parents, or the need for parents to contribute to care costs in future, all need to be considered. So do the requirements of the taxman.”

The survey showed the median parental contribution was £30,000, while the mean was much higher at £59,200 in the higher-cost areas of London and the south east.

Mean contributions have more than doubled in the last two decades, from £31,300 reported by respondents who provided help in the 1990s to £68,700 for contributions since 2010, according to LSE.

Most of the transactions involved parents giving or lending money to their adult children; about half of the transactions were for deposits on house purchases, with the remainder used for mortgage payments, stamp duty and legal costs.

Two thirds (68 per cent) of assisted transactions were first-time buys, while 27 per cent were second or subsequent purchases.

Relatively few who offer financial help will channel it through a specialist financial product such as a family or guarantor mortgage, or a joint mortgage, even though such products can be advantageous for both parties, LSE reported.

Of the 11 per cent that said they had supported a family member’s mortgage, 3 per cent acted as a mortgage guarantor, while 2 per cent had taken out some kind of family-assistance mortgage (where a proportion of the mortgage loan is secured on the parents’ house, or where the parents deposit a sum of money with the lender).

Just 1 per cent mentioned a joint mortgage.

Some interviewees, including both customers and professional stakeholders, were concerned family parental help could be fuelling house price inflation – although financial intermediaries saw the effect on property prices as small.

A number of respondents saw the need for parental help as a symptom of broader-based problems in the housing market.

They identified shortage of housing supply as a fundamental problem, LSE stated.

Nicholas Morrey, product technical manager at John Charcol, said parents should ensure any money they give is legally classified as a gift if not being repaid back.

“This way, they can legally declare no interest is being charged and that they have no interest in the property,” he said.

He added there was a shortage of lenders offering guarantor mortgages, although there had been an increase in joint borrower sole proprietor mortgages, where the parents are put on the mortgage, but not on the title deeds.

Greg Cunnington, director of lender relationships and new homes at Alexander Hall, said his firm had seen the importance of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ in helping first-time buyers in particular get onto the property ladder.

He said: “Lenders have shown some real innovation in this space in recent years, with various lenders now in the later life lending space, as an example, helping parents who want to remortgage to release equity to pass to their children to get on the ladder.

“We have also seen joint borrower sole proprietor options becoming very popular. These solutions come from a mortgage broker knowing the options available that best suit the needs of the overall scenario, and independent legal advice is then also encouraged as part of the process.”

Source: FT Adviser

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Political uncertainty ‘takes toll’ on Scottish commercial and industrial property market

The “protracted uncertainty” caused by the ongoing Brexit standoff is taking its toll on commercial and industrial activity in Scotland, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The results of the Q4 2018 RICS Construction and Infrastructure Market Survey show that growth in workloads within Scotland’s commercial and industrial segments declined with a net balance of -14% and -7% of respondents reporting a drop in activity, respectively, during Q4 2018.

However, the activity across construction sectors varied, with a net balance of +17% of contributors to the RICS survey reporting growth in private housing workloads across Scotland. Public sector workloads were mixed, but surveyors reported growth in housing with a net balance of 8% seeing an acceleration to growth in public sector housing. Infrastructure workloads also remained steady with a net balance of 8% seeing a rise in workloads over the quarter.

Anecdotal evidence from respondents suggests that the housing market slowdown, coupled with ongoing policy ambiguity related to Brexit, is weighing on business investment decisions. When asked how business enquiries for new projects or contracts have fared in the past three months, 10% more respondents across the UK reported an increase rather than a decrease compared to 24% in Q3. Growth in repair and maintenance work remains modestly positive.

Looking at factors across the UK constraining activity, financial constraints are reported by 78% of surveyors to be by far the most significant impediment to building. Difficulties with access to bank finance and credit, along with cash flow and liquidity challenges, are often cited reasons alongside generally less favourable cyclical market conditions. When asked how credit conditions have changed over the past three months, 20% more respondents report a deterioration rather than improvement.

Shortage of skilled labour continues to pose a significant challenge almost half of respondents in Scotland, particularly with regard to professional services such as quantity surveying. The challenges for the procurement of labour differ by role. Looking at the UK as a whole, 64% of surveyors expressed the view that workers from the EU were not important to their hiring requirements of surveying professionals, and the solution to this issue remains firmly domestic within the training and education areas with 68% of contributors to this survey citing education as the most effective policy tool in addressing the current skills dilemma, compared to 15% for immigration.

However, as the Brexit deadline draws near it should be noted that EU nationals are an important part of the mix particularly with regards to addressing the skills issue in increasing capacity to build on construction sites. With EU nationals accounting for eight percent of the UK’s construction workforce, this accounts for well over 175 thousand people, according to recent RICS figures.

In terms of geographical breakdown across the UK, workload growth is now reported to be decelerating across all regions. London and the Southeast were particularly affected with a lack of growth across the private housing, commercial and industrial subsectors buoyed by positive momentum in infrastructure and public spending. Over the past three months, new business enquiries were strongest in the North (+24%) and weakest in Northern Ireland (-21%). Meanwhile, year-ahead expectations for workloads and hiring are the most resilient in Scotland with net balances of +38% and 31%, respectively.

Tender price expectations over the next twelve months throughout the UK are expected to be squeezed with 51% and 40% more respondents envisaging greater price pressures in the building and civil engineering areas, respectively. The expected increase in tender prices reflects higher input costs and ongoing competitive bidding pressures for businesses. Expectations on industry profit margins have been flat for the second consecutive quarter in Q4 2018.

Jeffrey Matsu, RICS senior economist, said: “The protracted uncertainty engendered by the Brexit impasse is becoming ever more apparent with workloads in the commercial and industrial sectors grinding to a standstill. While the challenges are particularly acute in London, the additional £1 billion in additional HRA borrowing to fund council housing has begun to stimulate activity. The subsequent scrapping of the cap in last year’s Budget has the potential to accelerate this positive trend in the public sector over the coming years.

“Capacity remains an ongoing constraint for activity more broadly, however, with surveyors reporting a ramping up of new hiring even despite a moderation in business enquiries. Continued access to a qualified pool of non-UK workers to support this growth will be as important as ever, particularly for work on construction sites.”

Source: Scottish Construction now

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Housing Complaints Resolution Service will cover entire housing market

A new housing complaints service for both homeowners and tenants is to be set up, and private landlords will be legally required to join a housing redress scheme.

The Communities Secretary James Brokenshire MP has announced that a new Housing Complaints Resolution Service will help people with unresolved disputes about problems with their home – such as repairs and maintenance.

Unlike other sectors, such as financial services, the housing market has several different complaints bodies, with homeowners and tenants having to navigate their way through a complicated and bureaucratic system just to work out where to register a grievance.

Establishing a single housing complaints service for all residents – no matter whether they rent or own their home – should prevent people from battling with their landlord or builder to resolve issues on their own and make it easier to claim compensation where it’s owed.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, said: “Creating a housing market that works for everyone isn’t just about building homes – it’s about ensuring people can get the help they need when something goes wrong.

“The proposals I have announced today will help ensure all residents are able to access help when they need it, so disputes can be resolved faster, and people can get compensation where it’s owed.”

Compulsory scheme for landlords

At the moment in the private rented sector, landlords do not have to register with a complaints system – leaving thousands of renters without any course for redress.

To combat this, the Communities Secretary has announced that private landlords will be legally required to become members of a redress scheme – with a fine of up to £5,000 if they fail to do so.

Government still working on New Homes Ombudsman

And to protect the interests of homeowners who buy new build homes, government has also reiterated its commitment to establishing a New Homes Ombudsman to protect home buyers Legislation will be needed but it will mean that all house builders must sign up to the Ombudsman scheme. Developers will also have to belong to the new body by 2021 if they wish to participate in the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

The Housing Complaints Resolution Service will be developed with a new Redress Reform Working Group made up of representatives from across the sector, working with industry and consumers.

Announcement welcomed 

Mark Hayward, chief executive, NAEA Propertymark and David Cox, chief executive, ARLA Propertymark, welcomed the announcement.

They said: “Propertymark welcomes this approach and is pleased to see the government taking a holistic approach to redress right across the property industry; creating the beginnings of a more integrated housing strategy rather than the piecemeal, sectoral and issue-specific approach that we have all had to deal with for too long.”

Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette

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London buy-to-let sales down 5.8%

The south east of England has overtaken London as the region with the most buy-to-let purchases in a calendar year for the first time, with the north west almost edging the capital into third place.

Specialist buy-to-let mortgage broker Commercial Trust said the south east accounted for 16.5 per cent of purchases in 2018, up 1.7 per cent on the previous year.

London, which has traditionally held the top spot, saw purchases falling 5.8 per cent year-on-year to 12.9 per cent of the total in 2018, and took second place.

Andrew Turner, chief executive at Commercial Trust, said the figures backed up the consensus that investors were currently looking outside London and noted the continued growth in the south east, which is prime commuter-belt for the capital.

Mr Turner said: “With a multitude of transport and infrastructure projects underway in and around London, it will be interesting to see if this trend continues.”

The capital only narrowly held on to second place, as purchases picked up in the north west, too.

This region accounted for the biggest growth at 4.7 per cent, meaning it was home to 12.5 per cent of buy-to-let purchases.

Year-on-year, the north east also made big regional gains, with proportional growth of 3.22 per cent, the second highest increase.

Mr Turner said: “North west and north east are proving to be increasingly popular, typically offering cheaper house prices and better rental yields.”

Overall, Commercial Trust saw a 24 per cent year-on-year increase in the volume of buy-to-let purchases to the end of 2018, despite changes to the application process by many lenders following Prudential Regulation Authority rules introduced in 2017.

Mr Turner said: “These figures are encouraging for two reasons: they demonstrate that many investors still have confidence in buy-to-let and are continuing to invest in rental property.”

At 55 per cent, remortgages represented the biggest portion of applications, according to the broker.

“Remortgaging continues to be a leading trend and undoubtedly investors have been keen to take advantage of low interest rates,” said Mr Tuner.

“2018 also saw the anniversary of two-year deals, taken out in the surge that came ahead of the additional stamp duty surcharge, introduced in April 2016.

“As those two-year anniversaries approached, many landlords were looking to remortgage, before their mortgage payments reverted to the lender’s standard variable rate.”

Landlords have been subject to a number of regulatory changes in recent years, with the introduction of an additional 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge on second homes in April 2016, which was closely followed by cuts to mortgage interest tax relief.

Buy-to-let borrowers are also now subject to more stringent affordability testing under the Prudential Regulation Authority’s tightened underwriting rules.

The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (Imla) said this week it believes this year’s tax return will be the first time many landlords will see the effects of these policies on their earnings.

Source: FT Adviser

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Refurbishment loans: the three key factors for clients to consider

The reduction in demand and values in the London residential property market have been well documented over 2018. With changes in taxation, stamp duty and Brexit uncertainty putting off buyers, some areas in the City of London fell by 13.4% in the 12 months to October 2018.

In response to these pressures, property investors are using refurbishment more and more, as a way of adding value and increasing rental yields. There are huge opportunities here, but investors must also keep in mind the wider market dynamics.

Keep an eye on GDV and purchase price

With Brexit looming there is likely to be further falls in property prices over the coming months, therefore investors should be aware that their perceived gross development value (GDV) on purchase today, may not be as high once a refurbishment is finished.

This also means properties need to be bought at the right price up front. Negotiation will come into play here, with investors ensuring they have enough headroom in the deal to make a healthy profit.

It’s fair to say buyers markets have been rare in London for almost two decades and investors should now look at this period as a good opportunity to secure a competitive purchase.

Following Brexit, a likely revival in overseas interest and economic stability should help the market recover slightly, with us seeing a modest return to growth Q4 2019 and onwards.

Planning gain and enhancement

With some investors finding the planning process cumbersome and confusing, planning gain and enhancement is where our borrowers are seeing the biggest opportunity. That said, there is an overarching feeling that some local councils could be doing more to make the planning process simpler and faster.

Converting commercial to residential

Octopus Property has also seen an increase in borrowers seeking planning for converting commercial property to residential and subsequently renting them as a house of multiple occupation (HMOs) or a holiday let.

The expected increase in rental yield for HMOs and holiday lets following a refurbishment, is particularly attractive to developers looking re-gear and retain their property as part of a portfolio.

In November, Octopus overhauled its refurbishment loans to support the increase in demand. To help borrowers increase their leverage and reduce the need for third party investment or high interest debt, it increased its max loan-to-cost to 90%.

It also updated its pricing, loan size and works limit and support underserved areas of the market such as foreign nationals, complex company structures and expats.

These changes have resulted in a strong year end with our highest level of enquiries and applications coming in November and December, an increase of 130% in comparison to the prior two months.

Despite the pressures on house prices and wider market uncertainty, refurbishment provides plenty of opportunities for investors.

Source: Mortgage Introducer

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Bank must make right call on interest rates if no-deal Brexit, Mark Carney says

The Bank of England governor says ‘it’s not automatic which way policy would go’ if Britain crashes out of EU.

Interest rates will not automatically go up or down if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal, the governor of the Bank of England has said.

Speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mark Carney said: “It’s not automatic which way policy would go in the event of a hard Brexit.

“And we’re remembering that we’re not predicting that, but we’ve got to be prepared for that”.

MPs are set for another crunch vote on the Prime Minister’s so-called “Plan B” Brexit deal on January 29, exactly two months away from Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU.

Theresa May’s first deal was rejected by Parliament by a majority of 230.

He said if the UK goes “through a period of de-integration, de-globalisation and reduction in trade openness” it would be “akin to a supply shock to the economy” with both demand and supply declining and currency and tariff pressures on inflation.

In those circumstances, he said the Bank “has to make the right judgment about the right path of bringing inflation back to target while doing what it can to support. But it is not an automatic approach.

“Particularly at times when there are big changes, you have to have some constants and for a central bank there are two constants: have a financial system that functions, which we would have if that were to happen, and keep your focus on your democratically given mandate, which is to achieve the inflation target.”

Inflation last month fell to 2.1%, within touching distance of the Bank’s 2% target.

Mr Carney also said that British businesses cannot completely prepare for a no-deal Brexit due to a lack of infrastructure at UK ports.

“There are a series of logistical issues that need to be solved, and it’s quite transparent that in many cases they’re not.

“So, port infrastructure is not there, border infrastructure is not there to the extent that it would need to be from jumping from an absolutely seamless trading environment to one with frictions that aren’t just tariffs, but are rules of origin of products, safety standards and other inspections that would need to be done.

“There is a limited amount businesses can do to prepare if there are going to be substantial delays on the logistical side”.

He used the example of logistics and supply issues that could arise for UK carmakers from a no-deal Brexit.

“If you are a car plant that relies on 40 18-wheelers [trucks] coming through Dover a day, and they have to show up within minutes of each other in order to meet the just-in time-requirements of the plant, you can’t stack things up all over Wales in order to ensure that you can continue to run it for months. That’s just reality.”

At the panel, the audience was asked for a show of hands to indicate if they were in favour of a second Brexit referendum. Mr Carney abstained, but UBS boss Sergio Ermotti raised his hand.

Source: Shropshire Star

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House price growth at lowest level since 2012

Annual house price growth has hit its lowest level since 2012, figures from Your Move found.

At the same time, Rightmove’s January House Price Index revealed only a 0.4% increase in asking prices – the slowest monthly rise since January 2012.

Asking prices fell to £298,734 from £297,527 in December 2018.

The national average has been dragged down by new to the market sellers who realise they have less pricing power than usual given the current market backdrop, especially in the South, according to Rightmove.

The number of properties coming to market in the first two weeks in 2019 is broadly the same as a year ago, with owners in more northerly regions showing greatest propensity to move.

However, visits to Rightmove rose by five per cent in the first two weeks of 2019, compared to a year ago, with an average of over 4.5m visits each day.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: “Agents report that activity is now picking up, though when you dig underneath the national averages, the first snapshot of 2019 shows a somewhat patchy and variable picture depending on where you are in the country.

“Given the current market backdrop and ongoing political turmoil, it’s not surprising that the more challenging conditions in London and its nearby regions mean that they appear to have had a slower start to the year.

“Traditionally this is the time of year when more movers look at a wider choice of fresh property supply and kick-start the market, and this year’s buyers have the added spur of the slowest rate of new year price increases for five years.”

House price growth falls

Separate research from Your Move showed annual price growth continued to slow standing at its lowest level since April 2012 at 0.6%.

Average house prices are up by £1,690 over the last 12 months, meaning the average property price in England and Wales at the end of the year stood at £306,647.

Overall the market continues to flatline, but regional and local variations are becoming increasingly marked.

Annual growth in the North West and East and West Midlands is outpacing inflation, while the South East, East and Greater London are all struggling to maintain growth at all.

While the market is still seeing nominal price growth, the number of transactions has fallen – down 2.4% in 2018 on the previous year.

The slowdown in house price growth has, however, made house prices more affordable in real terms over the last year, and the mortgage market remains highly favourable for buyers.

Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, said that due to current political and economic unrest it is understandable why buyers and sellers may be taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to the property market.

He added: “In turn, as demand waivers, it means that property may become more affordable to more people. This should help buyers, and first-time buyers in particular, when they are ready to act.”

Source: Your Money

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Surging labour market boosts UK economy ahead of Brexit

British workers’ pay grew at the fastest pace in over 10 years and employment jumped much more than expected in the three months to the end of November, contrasting with other signs of an economic slowdown ahead of Brexit.

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 3.4 percent on the year, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday, the biggest rise since mid-2008 and beating the average forecast of 3.3 percent in a Reuters poll of economists.

After adjusting for inflation, total pay rose at the fastest pace in two years, but Britons are still earning less in real terms than they were before the financial crisis.

The ONS said the number of people in work increased in the three months to November by the largest amount in seven months, although it is unclear if businesses will maintain hiring at this pace as uncertainty around Brexit mounts.

With little time left until Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, there is no agreement in London on how it should exit the world’s biggest trading bloc, and a growing chance of a ‘no-deal’ exit with no provision to soften the economic shock.

“The UK’s robust labour market continues to provide much-needed buoyancy for the economy in a period of stress,” said Tej Parikh, senior economist at the Institute of Directors.

Sterling rose against the euro and the U.S. dollar on the figures. Although the labour market is regarded as a lagging indicator of the economy, Tuesday’s figures are likely to hearten Britain’s economic policymakers.

The International Monetary Fund predicted modest growth for Britain’s economy this year and – broadly in line with France and Germany – if a no-deal Brexit can be avoided.

Assuming a relatively smooth transition, the Bank of England has said it will need to raise interest rates gradually to offset inflation pressures from the labour market.

With unemployment at close to its lowest level since the 1970s at 4.0 percent in the three months to November, employers have begun raising pay for staff more quickly.

Excluding bonuses, earnings rose by an annual 3.3 percent in the three months to November, matching October’s pace, the ONS said.

The number of people in work rose by 141,000 in the three months to November, above all forecasts in a Reuters poll that had pointed to a rise of 85,000 and taking the proportion of working-age Britons with a job to a record 75.8 percent.

Separate figures from the ONS showed British government borrowing came in higher than expected in December at 2.976 billion pounds ($3.8 billion), compared with forecasts for borrowing of 1.9 billion pounds, largely reflecting higher European Union budget contributions.

Source: UK Reuters

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Property transactions remain stagnant

The number of residential property transactions in the UK in December decreased on a monthly basis but it experienced a mild increase year-on-year, official data has shown.

The provisional UK property transaction count for December 2018, for properties above £40,000, was 102,330, according to the latest report from HM Revenue and Customs.

This meant transactions were down 0.1 per cent on November but they were up 3.6 per cent when compared with December 2017, when it was 98,760 transactions.

Kevin Roberts, director at Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “The mortgage market is offering more choice and flexibility than ever before; however, transaction levels continue to tell the same story of stagnation.

“Political uncertainty, the cost of moving and barriers such as stamp duty are leading some homeowners to ‘improve, not move.’

“The government’s extension of the Help to Buy scheme and a stamp duty exemption to shared ownership properties will help those further down the ladder, yet there is more work to be done.

“Extending this break to last-time buyers would free up larger properties for growing families, enabling the next generation of homebuyers to step onto or even up the property ladder.”

Data released last week showed first-time buyers and remortgages continued to drive the UK housing market towards the end of 2018, as homeowners benefitted from competitive deals and housing schemes.

More than 35,000 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in November 2018, up 5.8 per cent when compared with the same month in 2017 and at a value of £6bn, according to UK Finance’s November Trends update.

But UK Finance also found the buy-to-let market had seen 9 per cent fewer new home purchase mortgages in November 2018 than it did a year earlier, while remortgages in this sector increased by 9.5 per cent.

The Help to Buy scheme was launched in 2013 and is available for new build properties, offering a government loan of up to 20 per cent of the home’s value.

In the October budget Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme would be extended until 2023 from its previous 2021 deadline.

The HMRC data meanwhile showed the number of non-residential property transactions increased by 5.5 per cent between November 2018 and December 2018.

This figure was 5.4 per cent higher than in the same month last year.

Source: FT Adviser

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London remains top gateway city in the world for commercial property investors

London maintained its position as the top city for global real estate investment in 2018, according to research published today by JLL. The report claims that investors continue to favour cities they are familiar with and that have well-established investment markets and high levels of transparency. Well-known, large gateway cities with the world’s deepest concentrations of capital, companies and talent continue to dominate the top ranks. Twelve cities–London, New York, Paris, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Washington DC, Sydney, Singapore, Toronto and Munich–have appeared in the top 30 ranking every year for the past decade and account for 30 percent of all real estate investment.

The data shows that total volumes in 2018 were $733 billion, up 4 percent from 2017, the best annual performance in a decade. Cross-border purchases accounted for 31 percent of activity in 2018, close to the 10-year average, suggesting investors still have appetite to buy outside their own markets.

Expectations for 2019

JLL projects that investment activity momentum will be maintained into 2019, as real estate continues to look attractive in comparison to other asset classes. Fundamentals in real estate remain compelling, despite historic low yields, as robust corporate occupier fundamentals across most markets are leading to positive returns. As such, investment activity may slow, but only marginally from its current high, as investors look to hold their real estate exposure and become more selective in the search for assets with strong income growth.

  • The institutional real estate universe will continue to expand, driven by factors such as low volatility, diversification benefits, long-term income and an attractive pricing premium to core sectors. Asset classes such as student housing, senior living and multi-family have continued to attract more institutional money in 2018 and this is likely to continue in 2019.
  • Industrial now accounts for 17 percent of all investment, up from 10 percent in 2009. In contrast, the retail sector has seen less activity as investors adjust their investment approach to reflect changing consumer behavior. In gateway cities, the office sector tends to account for a higher proportion of investment volumes—68 percent in 2018, compared to 51 percent in global volumes.
  • The top 30 will continue to be dominated by the gateway cities in 2019. However, at the edges, investors will consider a widening range of cities in their strategies. Reflecting real estate investors’ risk appetite, secondary cities in established transparent markets, such as Osaka and Atlanta, are likely to attract more attention, as opposed to moving into entirely new countries.

Yields are now at historic lows in most markets across the globe. A sharp correction is unlikely, as there is still a significant weight of capital looking to invest in real estate, and corporate occupier market fundamentals across many markets are positive. This creates the potential for continued income growth. However, in 2019, overall investment volumes are expected to fall approximately 5 to 10 percent below the 2018 total, driven by a slightly reduced appetite from investors to sell, as well as continued selectivity in acquisitions.

Source: Workplace Insight