Owning our home is generally considered to be a good idea.
It provides us with creature comforts along with a sense of security, particularly in our retirement years.
We all need somewhere to live
By Dennis Radford
This article is published on: 6th May 2024
Is investing in ‘bricks and mortar’ a good idea?
Perhaps not, if you are selling a UK property whilst resident in Spain, as I am currently.
Apart from capital gains tax considerations and selling costs, a recent BBC News report says:
House prices fall as lenders raise mortgage rates in the UK
House prices fell in April as potential buyers continued to face pressure on affordability, according to Nationwide. The UK’s largest building society said that UK house prices were down by 0.4% compared with the previous month, with the average home costing £261,962 (some 4% below the peak of summer of 2022). The rising cost of borrowing is a key factor behind the recent drop in property values.
Rock-bottom rates long gone
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said, “There are likely to be ups and downs in mortgage pricing in the weeks and months ahead, but ultimately borrowers will have to get used to paying more for their mortgages as the days of rock-bottom rates have long gone.”
This is the second consecutive monthly fall in UK house prices, according to Nationwide’s data. Factors influencing regional property prices vary widely across the country, but the national headline figures have been downward. This data is based on the building society’s own mortgage lending, which does not include buyers who purchase homes with cash, or buy-to-let deals. Cash buyers account for about a third of housing sales.
On an annual basis, the pace of house price growth slowed from 1.6% in March to 0.6% in April
You can read the BBC News article in full via this link https://bbc.in/4a0GXfO .
The article highlights the risk of being overexposed to property in your investment portfolio.
Just when you want to cash in, market conditions may not be favourable.
And you cannot usually sell part of a property – it is an all or nothing transaction.
A well-diversified global investment portfolio is a different proposition altogether. It provides access to a range of valuable growth opportunities, it is constructed to ensure your personal risk profile is at the centre of your investment strategy and it can be highly tax efficient for UK expatriates living in Spain.
Please feel free to contact me for more information about this subject or to book a call for an informal chat.