2022 Outlook For Expats And Foreign Investors Buying UK Property
There have been a lot of new factors that have impacted the UK property market in recent years, from Brexit and tax changes to the ongoing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Expats and Foreign Property Investors, the UK still presents some profitable investment opportunities, as long as you are able to find the right types of investment.
Written exclusively for Expat Network by Expat Mortgages UK
From April 2021, overseas buyers have been required to pay a 2% stamp duty surcharge, which affected many property investment strategies. However, there are still many benefits of investing in the UK compared to other parts of the world, such as relatively low house prices, attractive interest rates and a very healthy property capital growth.
The impact of COVID-19 on UK Property Market
The UK property market has remained strong, largely due to the stamp duty tax holiday that the UK government introduced. House prices have increased significantly, with the average house price having now increased by approximately £34,000 from the beginning of the pandemic. House price increases are expected to slow down in 2022, with the average UK House Price standing at £276,091 as of December 2021 (source: Halifax).
People want more space
Another major factor impacting property investment is the change in demand for housing stock that has more space. After spending so much time indoors during lockdown, many homeowners and renters decided that they wanted to find property that is in rural areas and has more space both indoors and outdoors.
Influence of Homeworking
London, which was always a highly popular place to live, saw record numbers of homeowners leaving to buy property outside of the capital in 2021. With more people working from home and less need to travel into the city for work, the trend for buying property with gardens and home offices emerged and is expected to only continue in 2022.
North of England continues as a Hotspot
Many other cities across the UK saw similar patterns and the North of England saw higher interest in properties, with areas such as Manchester and Liverpool becoming ever more popular for Property Investors & Landlords. The high rental prospects in the North, combined with the excellent capital growth have ensured that the North of England has become a hotspot for Property Investors.
The average rental yield in the Northwest was 7.8% in 2021 and the area saw a 12% regional increase in value, so going into 2022, we expect Property investors will increasingly be looking at buying in this part of the UK.
Student Accommodation in high demand
The large student populations in northern cities are keeping rental demand high and with large numbers of foreign students requiring student accommodation that is of a higher specification, this gives investors the opportunity to charge higher rental yields.
Many expats and foreign Property investors are seeing the great investment potential of buying student accommodation to rent in areas where there are numerous universities and where the average property value has grown significantly in recent years.
Green efficiency requirements
As well as the additional 2% stamp duty surcharge, foreign Property Investors looking to buy property in the UK will also need to be aware of the new green efficiency requirements. From 2025, rental properties must have an EPC rating of C or above, or they will not be able to accept new tenants.
This has resulted in many existing landlords spending money in home improvements such as installing new windows and replacing older boilers with new, more energy efficient ones. For foreign investors with existing properties in the UK, improving the EPC rating of properties will impact profits and investors looking to buy new property may have to pay more for properties that have a higher energy efficiency rating.
Around 13 million UK homes have an EPC of D or below, so this will be a significant factor to consider for foreign investors and expats buying in the UK property market.
Expats heading back to the UK
Since Brexit and the red tape involved in obtaining EU Settled Status became a problem, there has been a huge uplift in the number of expats returning to the UK, with people giving up on their lifelong dreams of retiring to live in a warmer part of the EU.
Some expats have been exploring the idea of buying property in the UK to rent out for periods of the year that they are not in the UK and living there themselves. With the new ruling that British citizens cannot stay in the EU for more than 90 days in any 180-day period, this has changed the needs for having somewhere to live in the UK, that can also be rented out if necessary.
Conclusion
In 2022, there will still be very attractive mortgage deals available for foreign Property Investors and expats buying property in the UK. Although house price growth is predicted to be much slower in 2022 compared to 2021, the many other benefits of buying UK property will ensure that foreign investors are still able to get a good return on investments in the UK by identifying the most profitable investments.
Get in Touch
If as either an Expat or Foreign Property Investor you are considering buying a new UK home, or even remortgaging your existing property in 2022, contact us today for free and independent mortgage advice. Call us now on +44 1494 622 555. Alternatively, you can complete this short online form now to request a call back from one of our Team of highly experienced Expat Mortgage Advisors who will gladly assist you with all your Expat and Foreign Property Investor mortgage needs.
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