Twice a year (Spring & Autumn) we head down to London’s Excel exhibition centre to meet up with many subscribers and trade contacts and to network with them to discover what they are experiencing in the current market.
Given the backdrop of the new Labour government with its newly renamed Renters Rights Bill now proceeding through Parliament, and with an autumn Budget ahead later this month, I was pleasantly surprised at the air of let’s ‘keep calm and carry on’ - which was quite evident at Excel. On page 32, Patricia Ogunfeibo offers some insightful analysis on some aspects of the Renters Reform Bill, as also does Maxine Fothergill on page 52.
With one more cut in bank rate expected (currently) in November from the Bank of England and with data on housing completions and price increases edging upwards, we may at long last be seeing a gradual recovery in sentiment.
That will of course be very welcome to property developers and house builders as well as their trade suppliers and workforces who have experienced a roller coaster ride in the last five years. In this month’s main investor interview on page 18 we met up with Kevin Edge who over thirty five or so years in the sector has seen many a bumpy ride but is still positive and expanding his development business.
Our lead article on page 14 looks closely at the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) sector, which has also experienced a turbulent period but is seeing a strong growth phase with a 61% increase in the number of REITs in the UK.
As we explain in some detail in the article this might now be an opportune period for some ‘bottom fishing’ as the average share price of REITs is some 42% down from the peak.
And yet, there are some who will be wary, given the debacle with Home REIT and which we have reported on here previously. Does one bad apple make the barrel with REITs one not to touch? Read our analysis and make your own mind up.
On page 22 we gave our latest quarterly update on the PIN Fund, which is showing a healthy performance trend of late and yes this ‘fictional fund’ that we started over ten years ago contains four REITs. Had you invested in 2014 your total return would have been 126%, in comparison the FTSE shows a 20% return over the same period.
Of course many of you will already or want to invest directly by owning, renting out or developing property. For those at a relatively early stage, take note on page 47 of two very experienced investors in Vicki Wusche and Susannah Cole where they outline what people need to consider in today’s market with buy-to-let.
