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Property
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under a rather heavy cloud of uncertainty and somewhat different methods of showing properties listed.
There is no question that the volume of interest has slowed down, to suggest otherwise would be foolhardy, but the fact that there is activity is a positive during these difficult times; importantly, from our own
perspective and akin to the sentiment taken by Gibraltar Inc, we all want to be in a solid position when we come out of this.
The market position prior to Covid-19 Prior to Covid-19, we had been warning of a slight over heating in the market in particular segments, these segments will no doubt be
suffering the brunt of the impact of Covid-19; speculative markets will undoubtedly be the worst hit during down turns, but our belief in the four tier market which we have seen grow over the past two decades will hold its own and will not be dragged down by one segment of the market.
Portfolio listings in both sales and rentals
in Gibraltar had seen substantial increases in volume, particularly in lettings and we had already seen a signal of adjustment in pricing, where there was already a clear oversupply in new build smaller buy to let, speculative units. Conversely, the owner / leasing occupier sector driven by larger units in all ranges, one to four bed units had held well given the lack of supply in this sector, and in
some cases it experienced increased prices in sales and rentals because of this further underpinning the maturity of the sector in general.
2018 /2019 were crucial years in many respects and of course were highlighted by Brexit negotiations as a real factor on how the market would develop. New off-plan developments should be primarily driven by that fundamental sector known as the “owner occupier market”, without it there is no market and the sector falls prey to speculation. This is only further amplified under our current status quo.
We had expressed concern with proposals primed solely at the investors market and offering only one product such as the studio / small one bed unit with overly high rates / sqm. We will continue to follow and review this sector.
Historically, and during uncertain times, the safer investments have tended to feature mixed distributions of 1 – 4 bed layouts. These owner occupier lead developments have consistently rewarded investors because they (by default) reduce exposure to just one market or applicant profile, and thereby increase percentages of owner occupiers
‘The Bank of England have reduced interest rates once again to the lowest levels ever, thereby providing cheaper access to borrowing.
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16 Gibraltar International
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