Based on many hundreds of discussions I have had with our magazine subscribers, which have taken place at many property events over the years, a significant number are focussed on residential property, either to rent out or to create a product and sell onwards for profit (hopefully) as a developer. Not so many in the past have been attracted to commercial property, but with all the tax changes and regulations now impacting the buy-to-let sector, more people are looking at commercial property investment now as an alternative.

Our lead interview this month on page 16 is with Fiona Talbot, a very experienced investor with a mixed portfolio including commercial property assets, who makes some telling points as to why she believes commercial property is well worth considering. However on page 38 Manish Kataria points out there are cycles in commercial property which can catch people out.

Our two main lead feature articles however are all about residential property, with the first being an update on the emerging Build to Rent (BtR) sector which we have been reporting on now for about fifteen years. I’ve seen and heard comments that some might regard as ‘scaremongering’ about the negative threat of BtR towards private landlords’ business prospects. However our analysis on page 22 appears to indicate otherwise.