Estate Living Magazine Retirement Living - Issue 40 April 2019 | Page 62

G O O D
L I F E
NAVIGATING
THE WORLD OF PROPERTY (LITERALLY)
When chatting over the dinner table you often hear ‘yeah, property in Portugal is doing great’, or ‘you really
should be looking at the UK now’. But how do we as South Africans enter the offshore market? And are the
opportunities that we hear about really worth it?
It’s impossible to know how true most of these ‘facts’ are and you shouldn’t
stake too much on what you hear at dinner parties. There are, however,
some well-researched opportunities that should pique your interest – for
example, those presented on IP Global’s site.
Take the city of Manchester. With a population now standing at 2.8 million
(an increase of 6.8% since 2015), the property market is predicted to
increase by over 22% between 2018 and 2022. And, in Lisbon, there’s a
prediction of a 19.2% capital appreciation along with a whopping 27.3%
rental growth over the 2018 to 2022 period.
Holding property in London for any period of five years or more in the last
two decades would have put you into profit, even taking into account the
Global Financial Crisis.
That’s really impressive, but understandably not quite enough information
on which to base an investment decision. The international property
market can be complex and there are many factors to consider, including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
the financing options available for international buyers
tax and legal requirements (when buying or selling)
supply and demand in the chosen city
political situation
rental growth
capital growth
options for managing your property remotely.
Despite the complexities, many South Africans are taking
their investments offshore and using the international
property market to their advantage.
What’s driving South Africans to move
their investments offshore?
Surveys can give very different results, depending on the
questions asked and how the respondents are chosen, but
the recent IP Global Investor Sentiment Survey included
a diverse group of 5,000 participants. Of the respondents
who indicated that they are looking to invest in international
property, the three top motivators, which came out with
equal strength at 57%, are to:
• secure future accommodation – buying to let now with
the option of emigrating later