{"id":11961,"date":"2025-05-19T10:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T09:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/?p=11961"},"modified":"2025-05-19T10:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T09:27:15","slug":"amid-tariff-turmoil-investing-in-eastbourne-or-hailsham-property-remains-a-wise-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/amid-tariff-turmoil-investing-in-eastbourne-or-hailsham-property-remains-a-wise-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid Tariff Turmoil, Investing in Eastbourne or Hailsham Property Remains a Wise Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a bumpy ride on the stock market this year. In contrast, property has proved to be a stable, resilient investment option.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Two issues have dominated the economic news this year: Trump\u2019s tariffs and stock market volatility.<\/p>\n

But amid all the chaos, one story has gone somewhat under the radar: the solid performance of the property market.<\/p>\n

As we near the mid-point of 2025 (yes, it\u2019s hard to believe we\u2019re nearly there already), let\u2019s review the year so far and analyse what lies ahead for the housing sector.<\/p>\n

Resilience<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Property has, for many years, delivered a steady return on investment. And judging by the forecasts, this looks set to continue.<\/p>\n

While the stock market has gone down (the Dow Jones by 5% and the FTSE 100 by 1.9%*), property prices have gone up.<\/p>\n

Savills predicts house prices will increase by 4% this year and by 23.4% over a five-year period up to 2029.<\/p>\n

This follows on from a stronger than expected performance last year, where values grew by 4.7% according to Nationwide.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons underpinning the ongoing growth in the housing market, one of the most potent being the mismatch between demand and supply.<\/p>\n

While the Government has pledged to fast-track housebuilding, as of yet, we\u2019ve not seen a material change to housing numbers.<\/p>\n

Safety<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Knight Frank released a report last month stating that the UK property market has become a safe haven for investors, albeit not by design but by default.<\/p>\n

It said that economic instability and uncertainty elsewhere in the world, partly caused by Trump\u2019s see-sawing position on tariffs and the jitters caused on the markets, have prompted overseas investors to look to the UK to park their money.<\/p>\n

As a result, many have decided that the UK property market is a good place to invest. There\u2019s a lot to be said for stability and security.<\/p>\n

Interest rates and mortgages<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

So far this year, the Bank of England\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee has cut base rates twice: first in February and then earlier this month.<\/p>\n

And the mood music suggests that further cuts could be on the way, with forecasters predicting the base rate will hit 3.75% by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

Obviously, these are only projections and cuts are not set in stone, but it\u2019s fair to say the outlook is positive.<\/p>\n

Drops in interest rates typically boost activity and confidence, so we could be in for a busy summer in the property market.<\/p>\n

There has also been good news from the mortgage sector, where product choice hit an eight-year high in April.<\/p>\n

Increased competition has seen many borrowers drop their rates to below 4%. However, you\u2019ll need a pretty solid deposit to take advantage of such deals.<\/p>\n

Some high street banks have also loosened their affordability criteria. (The move was prompted by the Financial Conduct Authority, which called on lenders to rethink their affordability stress-testing in the face of declining interest rates.)<\/p>\n

These changes are expected to be especially beneficial for first-time buyers looking to get on the housing ladder, and second-steppers seeking more space.<\/p>\n

Zoopla said in its April House Price Index Report that these changes could boost buying power by 15 to 20%, and support demand and sales agreed.<\/p>\n

Long-term rental growth<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Those looking to enjoy the dual returns associated with owning a buy-to-let \u2013 rental income and capital appreciation \u2013 will be pleased to know that demand for rental properties remains strong.<\/p>\n

There are, on average, 12 people chasing every rental property, according to Zoopla.<\/p>\n

The property platform predicts UK rents will rise by 3 or 4% this year.<\/p>\n

Why property is still a good investment<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

All the current talk of \u2018bear markets\u2019 and buying when share prices are low may appeal to those with a strong stomach for risk.<\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re looking to make quick returns and are willing to push the envelope, then more speculative investment opportunities may be right for you.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re after a safe, long-term investment \u2013 especially as uncertainty still hovers over the tariff issue \u2013 then property can certainly deliver (providing you buy wisely, of course).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a landlord looking to expand your portfolio or a homeowner looking to size up or down, contact us.<\/p>\n

We can give you more insight into current values in the local market, and, if you\u2019re selling, advice about marketing your existing property.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

If you know someone who would find this article useful, then please share it with them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

* Covers the period between April 2 and 29.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a bumpy ride on the stock market this year. In contrast, property has proved to be a stable, resilient investment option. Two issues have dominated the economic news this year: Trump\u2019s tariffs and stock market volatility. But amid all the chaos, one story has gone somewhat under the radar: the solid performance of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8,25,32],"class_list":["post-11961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-advice","tag-jerry","tag-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11963,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11961\/revisions\/11963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craneandco.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}