London over the past couple of years has been building up their skyline like no other country. This is because London is one of the hottest places for companies to set up their European headquarters. Should your business invest in property in London? Whether it is residential or commercial property, there has been a booming amount of interest and money spent recently. The trend is expected to continue for years as well so getting into the market as quickly as possible look like the right move.
Thought The Boom Was Over?
There has been speculation over the housing and real estate boom in London and whether it is over. As in all booms that happen, there are going to be some lulls in the trend. The reason the real estate boom will not end especially for the commercial real estate investors is the laws that London has. The laws that London has that deal with foreign investors are quite friendly when it comes to taxing. The Chinese have been investing in London real estate for quite some time and are integrated into the city’s financial district. Besides all of this, the job market in London has seen a huge jump since the global economic crisis. If the residential boom slows as it seems to have been, this is because the commercial real estate and high-rise apartments that are being built are being filled at an alarming rate.
There was a slight slowdown over the summer in the housing market was normal. Ray Bougler who is an expert in the ins and outs of the statistics in the housing market was quoted saying ““This year’s downturn has been no more than usual – in fact it has probably been less,” and “We aren’t able to see if people are paying less for their homes than they would have a couple of months ago, but there has been a lot of activity.” Homes in London were averaging around double of that in other places in the UK. The UK has not gotten back to the home prices that it had before the global economic crisis but the homes in London are worth more than 20% than during the peak value of UK real estate.
The more companies that entered the London area the more jobs, it was this cycle that will and did get the real estate boom in London going. The housing boom in the UK boosted London jobs by over 50% thus far in 2014. With all of the skyscrapers and giant building being constructed, companies have been advertising their jobs more so than in the past. This has been a great thing for the London economy as a whole and residents of the city hope that it does continue.
If you are wondering whether you should invest in London real estate, my personal opinion is that the commercial real estate is the safest bet. With the high rise apartments going up, residential housing prices could fall although that won’t happen for quite some time. London is a global hub and many large companies have offices there so it would behoove your company if thinking of expanding to Europe, to get an office in London especially if you are in the financial sector.
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