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UK Expats Registering Interest From Australia.
According to the Expat Network, there are currently over 1 million Britons living in Australia. It is also one of the most consistently popular destinations for long-term British migrants (those leaving the UK for longer than a year) with more than 30,000 leaving the UK for Australia each year. Despite so many UK expats choosing to live in Australia, many are looking back to the UK for property to invest in as a pension, to have a bolthole to stay in when they return to the UK or even with an eye to maybe returning at some stage in the future.
‘Over the last few years, we’ve seen a considerable surge in enquiries from UK expats living in Australia’ says Stuart Marshall of Liquid Expat Mortgages. Buying a UK property as a UK expat living abroad can have several functions – it can serve as a potential residence if you decide to return to the UK, or it can work as an investment.’
‘Some parts of Australia are incredibly expensive when it comes to buying property, so for those living there and looking to invest, many are priced out of the buy-to-let marketplace or even owning their own property in cities such as Sydney. However, the UK offers excellent comparable affordability and great returns in both rental income and capital growth when you come to sell the property. This is why the UK is such a good choice when looking for a safe place to invest your money. This has proven to be a major driver of the increased UK mortgage enquiries.’
The Right Time for Expats to Invest.
The UK property market is currently incredibly busy – and for good reason as it is an excellent time to invest for UK expats and foreign nationals. In a survey conducted by DLA Piper, non-UK investors recently ranked the UK as the number one spot for investment in the world.
‘The time is right for expats to invest’ says Stuart Marshall. ‘Investment is currently being spurred by a strong demand for rental properties in the UK market as domestic consumers grow increasingly reluctant to buy properties amidst the growing uncertainty that is expected in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. This is creating a surge in demand for rental properties which is enabling canny investors to take advantage. Add to the mix recent tax changes that mean UK landlords are actually looking to sell their rental properties which is further reducing the supply of rental properties and keeping demand high.’
The demand for UK rentals is directly translating to the current strength of the UK rental market too with Oxford Economics predicting a 13.6% rise in UK rents by 2024 and according to Knight Frank, a UK leading independent real estate consultancy, the private rented sector accounted for 4.5 million households in 2017/18, with the market having doubled in size since 2002 for reasons that include affordability constraints in the sales market.
Buy-to-Let Mortgages Leading the Way.
Another factor influencing investment is that buy-to-let mortgages offer an incredibly attractive and accessible way to enter the market and start building your investment portfolio. The attractiveness of buy-to-let mortgages is clear in the way people are currently buying investment properties. The trends in the market are shifting from landlords buying with cash to landlords buying with buy-to-let mortgages. In 2020, only 52% of buy-to-let purchases were with cash – a fall of 10% since the high of cash buyers in 2017. Cash purchases are down in almost every region of the UK and buy-to-let mortgages are picking up the shortfall.
‘Buy-to-let mortgages are seeing a real surge at the moment. Investors are realising that they are a fantastic way to get into the buy-to-let property market. They allow you to invest without having the full sum needed to buy a property and so enable faster building of a property portfolio. They are also incredibly flexible and there’s a wide range of mortgage choice available for expats.’
Drawing the Threads Together.
‘Not only are the current conditions incredibly attractive but things have also grown easier for UK expats looking to invest too. Even just a few years ago, it was a much more difficult proposition to obtain a mortgage on a UK property. However, the monopoly on international buyers held by major lenders is now a thing of the past. Nowadays, expert brokers like Liquid Expat Mortgages have a much wider range of products available for UK expats buying from abroad.’
‘If I had to summarise, it’s the coalescence of several factors that are really making this a great time to buy an investment property in the UK. Consistently low interest rates are disincentivising saving money in a bank account, there are some great buy-to-let mortgages available for expats, and the market is incredibly lucrative for rental property owners.’
Disclaimer: Please note that Liquid Expat Mortgages has no direct control over the timescales relating to either the processing of mortgage applications or mortgage offers being issued by lenders. Liquid Expat Mortgages has no control of the legal process and CANNOT accept any responsibility nor liability should your application not be processed prior to current Stamp Duty Land Tax rules expiring on 30th September 2021 or any extension of that date.
Liquid Expat Mortgages
Unit F2, Waterfold Business Park,
Bury BL9 7BR
Phone: +44 (0) 161 871 1216
www.liquidexpatmortgages.com
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sergio@ulyssesmarketing.com
+44 (0) 161 633 5009
