Is Property Still A Good Investment?

Around 10 years ago you couldn’t help but make money in the property market, it was simply a matter of having the seed money to begin your property portfolio. In 2013 however it is a different story, there are many people who were stung by the downturn in house prices around 5 years ago and this is making investors much more conscious about their decisions.

Since the government introduced the 5% mortgage deposits a few months ago there is now much more confidence in the future of property so people are beginning to invest again. Sceptics are saying it will lead to another property bubble but the fact that the 5% deposit is only available to first time buyers should stop this from happening, hopefully it will just give younger people the chance to get a foot on the ladder. This does go a long way towards raising house prices still and means that investing in property definitely has a future again.

The key to making investments now is to know an area well and making the correct decision on the types of house you buy. The problem now is that house prices are so closely linked to your postcode that it is almost irrelevant how well fitted and decorated a home is. For example, in the Manchester are where Goodwin Fish & Co. sell, rent and manage various lettings there are potentially great investments and some poor ones also, it is all about knowing an area well. In the Castlefield area of Manchester there are hundreds of flats available going for very attractive prices, this could be a good investment if you are just looking to rent out but if you are looking to sell on and be able to do it reasonably quickly then this would be a poor area. Young professionals almost exclusively live here and wouldn’t be looking to do anything more than rent.

If however you go towards the Ashton-Under-Lyne/Eastlands area of Manchester where Manchester City Football Club are you will find some very cheap homes in a bad way whose prices are only going to go one way and that’s up. Old terraced houses can be transformed with minimal investment and with the new Etihad Campus opening in the next year or so, the new Metrolink extension running past taking passengers in to Manchester and new shops opening all the time it is looking like a potential gold mine.

So, in conclusion yes property is still a great investment, you just now have to work much harder to pick the right property of you could end up losing a fortune.