We have all heard of the American Dream but here we have the British Dream.
Make money in the city, halfway house into the suburbs when we start a family, into the big house in our economic prime before retiring by the sea. That's it - that's the great British Dream. As with our American cousins, not everyone will get to live the dream but many will still aspire to do so.
And for us as property investors, what can we learn from all of this? Two things spring to mind:
The first is that the rental market can mirror the home ownership market in some respects, especially aspiration-ally; so we can target tenant groups that probably concentrate on the first two steps of this particular dream ladder - young professionals or students in the cities and young families in the outer suburbs for example. These will offer the best rental yield possibilities most likely.
The second is in the type of property that will be attractive and therefore command a premium in the future. Tasteful apartment conversions in urban areas to maximise rental income or scenic harbour-side pads for capital growth prospects perhaps?
One trend of late - the growth in demand for rental is coming mainly from the bottom up, so city apartments, terraced houses and shared accommodation should feature in most portfolios. As for that grand country house or the cliff top escape with the sea view...maybe keep that for our own retirement planning and live out the British Dream ourselves...?
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk 23rd September 2014