UK Property Hope
Need a ray of sunlight amid UK Property doom and gloom? Any expat still holding property in the UK has experienced more than just a sense of loss in the last 18 months.
While there are regional variations between markets in the UK, overall there has been very real degradation of value throughout the whole property market. Anyone with a large mortgage will feel the pain even more as their hard-earned assets fall, while their debt to the bank feels increasingly like a millstone around their neck.
And while some welcome the reduction in mortgage interest rates through the Bank of England easing its base rates to historical lows, a significant increase in mortgage lending from banks has failed to materialise, leaving the property market languishing.
From a distance, it’s hard to know what to do. Sell now and crystallise any losses, exit the market and hope you don’t miss any bounce back? But sell to whom?
Or grit your teeth and wait the slump out - as long as your bank manager will let you.
Sadly for those who have chosen to hold their ‘bolt hole’ back in the UK in the hope it recovers in value, 2008 was a very tough year.
