Expat investment in the UK – why property holds such a strong attraction
Some 4.2 million Britons live overseas, according to figures from the United Nations. The majority – 1.3 million of them – live in Australia, while a further 715,000 reside in the US and around 308,000 have settled in Spain. Of late, it is India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China that are attracting British expats according to Access Financial, with the combination of low tax rates and a low cost of living proving to be a winning one.
Some of those living overseas have cut all ties with the UK, but others continue to maintain financial links with the country of their birth, including through investing their overseas earnings back in Britain. And for many expats, it is property investment that particularly interests them.
Birmingham’s excellent investment opportunities
That’s certainly the case if you take a look at many European countries. OECD data from 2010 to 2017 shows that the average real house price increase in the UK stood at 12%. Over the same period real prices in Spain dropped by 26%, while in Italy they fell by 20%, in Portugal by 6% and in Spain by 3.8%. The UK, then, not only delivers a housing market which many expats have first-hand experience of, but also the potential to for solid capital growth in real terms.
Regional cities play a key role in this. Birmingham, for example, has led house price growth in the UK since the Brexit vote in June 2016, according to Hometrack, with an average increase of 16%. Vast swathes of inner city regeneration are creating some excellent investment opportunities. The B1 postcode area regeneration zone is an example of this in action. Billions is being spent on developments such as Arena Central and Paradise Birmingham, with a host of opportunities springing up in the vicinity.
