Investors Reclaim Desire for Properties

According to a survey by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit, properties have regained their worth, and investors plan to raise their exposure to the asset class.

The survey found that 35% of investors plan to raise the property distribution in their portfolios over the next two years, double of the 17% who planned to reduce it over the same time frame.

Enthusiasm for properties have dropped since their values fell, but demand may have been revived by the large injections of money into economies through central bank rate cuts and other measures taken by the government.

Investors in nine of the 10 largest markets are looking to increase their property distribution over the next two years, according to this survey. Internationally, nine in 10 investors planned to raise their portfolio allocation by 1-4 percentage points.

“The tumble in property values has shaken even the most seasoned investors’ confidence. Despite this, these findings suggest that investors believe we are approaching the beginning of the end of the downturn. It appears that those surveyed are prepared to not only exploit undervalued opportunities, but also to commit further to property over the next two years in the belief that they will benefit from favorable returns,” said Rory Gilbert, head of UK high net worth, UK & Ireland Private Bank at Barclays Wealth.

Via: Luxury Real Estate