Berkeley warns on UK luxury housing market

[Nicholas Wallwork]

UK housebuilder Berkeley has issued a veiled warning to the UK government amid concerns that the increasing tax on property is having an impact. The company has reported a reduction in sales over the three-month period to the end of February and also commented that higher end sales numbers are back to the same level

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[nmb]

The interesting fact here is that Berkeley seems to be looking outside of its traditional luxury property market niche towards more general markets. Is this a sign that the UK luxury property market could suffer a period of uncertainty?

 

[Ricky Bhurji]

I have friends who are property agents in Birmingham and Manchester. Whilst they agree that the market in general has less activity, investors in general are not put off by the changes in the market and still view property as a good investment. I do agree that the higher the prices go in the South East (and London),the more second tier cities look appealing - places like Birmingham & Manchester are cheaper entry level "luxery" markets and a lot of investors who would typically have bought in London are buying in Northern cities now. I think the market does have a few hurdles to cross over the next couple of years but will get through.

 

[nmb]

@Ricky Bhurji Which markets do believe offer both the best value for money and potential for capital gains for property investors? Are you starting to venture towards the Northern cities such as Manchester?