Foreign Investors Interest in Post BREXIT Property

More than a month on since the EU Referendum vote, the financial markets are still reeling from the majority vote to leave the European Union. And with newly sworn in Prime Minister Theresa May at the helm, promising “Brexit means Brexit”, home owners across the country have been left wondering what effect this could and will have on the housing market. We have tried to make light on the issue of the post BREXIT property market in Scotland recently here.

It is still unclear what the long lasting effects of this historical decision will be, however the Sterling fell sharply in value shortly after the Brexit result was announced. And that had an immediate knock on effect on how interesting the property market became for foreign investors.

As the Sterling has remained at its lowest rate in decades, the UK housing market is even more appealing to investors outside the UK, particularly the Chinese market. Juwai, China’s biggest international property portal, reportedly said that it has experienced a 40% rise in their average enquiries into UK property in the month after Britain voted to leave the EU. (source)

[ctt template=”8″ link=”dK9Od” via=”no” ]The low Sterling makes UK market more appealing to foreign investors – especially Chinese. [/ctt]

The firm went on to say that, with the government under new leadership, the UK is viewed from other countries much the same as it was before, only now it’s a cheaper investment; some reports have claimed that there are areas where there are price reductions that translate into 30-40% price reductions due to the weakness of Sterling compared to the dollar. And it could be said that this is being felt across the globe, as reports claim that some Estate Agents have seen as much as a 50% rise in interest from overseas investors.

Scotland in particular is said to be attracting a lot of interest from investors from across the globe. For example, a report found that the way in which tax relief is structured in Scotland is attracting investors who are searching for high-value properties here.

[ctt template=”8″ link=”vwesX” via=”no” ]Tax relief in Scotland makes local property market appealing to foreign investors. [/ctt]Due to the Land and Buildings Transactions tax, which differs from the rest of the UK’s taxing system (you can read more about this here from our post about the LBBT), investors can benefit from a LBBT relief on the additional 3% for the purchase of six or more units.

And investments aside, house prices in the North are now generally outpacing their counterparts in the South of the country. Glasgow in particular has been noted as an area that is seeing stronger levels of house price growth when compared to the same time last year – as reported by The Telegraph.

In practice, Scotland continues to be an appealing place to buy property – with the value for money it offers compared to the rest of the UK, the high quality of life and the lure of beautiful scenery (with serviced apartments being a fast growing segment at the moment). This general attitude is reflected in both continued interest in investment and continually growing house prices.

[ctt template=”8″ link=”s4G5k” via=”no” ]Scotland is an appealing location for property investors due to the value for money and quality of life it offers. [/ctt]