Property
Words:Emma Mahony So you’re thinking of owning property in the following bmi destinations? We present a few facts and figures to assess the investment potential Belfast Northern Ireland Population: 280,000 Belfast has undergone an extraordinary property boom in the past three years, with values rising from a low in 2005 to being listed in a Halifax index in 2007 as having the fourth [...]
Words:Emma Mahony
So you’re thinking of owning property in the following bmi destinations?
We present a few facts and figures to assess the investment potential
Belfast
Northern Ireland
Population: 280,000
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Belfast has undergone an extraordinary property boom in the past three
years, with values rising from a low in 2005 to being listed in a Halifax index
in 2007 as having the fourth highest property prices in the UK (only London,
the South West and South East were higher).
Last year, a typical home rose in value by 46%, according to University
of Ulster figures, to reach over £200,000. Residents and investors can
now enjoy the waterside developments and urban regeneration schemes
of the trendy Cathedral and Titanic quarters [through Ulster Property
Sales, 409 Newtownards Road, Belfast, + 44 (028) 9045 6146; www.ulsterpropertysales.co.uk]. Prices start from £160,000 for a studio
apartment and £265,000 for a three-bedroom apartment or house.
Leeds
England
Population: 750,000
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Dubbed the “Knightsbridge of the North”, the
past decade has seen this industrial Northern
city transformed into one of the UK’s fastest
growing and most vibrant destinations, attracting
1.4 million visitors for overnight stays, no doubt
partly due to the 1,000 plus shops located there.
The city is now the second largest metropolitan
district in the UK, after London, and the beautiful
Yorkshire countryside is only a stone’s throw
from the urban landscape.
Property-wise, the last 10 years has seen
£2.5bn invested to regenerate the city, with
a further £1.5bn worth of property currently
under construction and £3.4bn in the pipeline.
Whereas the average British city is set to show a
GDP growth of 23% in the next decade, Leeds is
on course to achieve 34%, so there is plenty of
opportunity for investors.
For a waterside studio apartment you should
expect to pay around £150,000, and £340,000
for a three-bed apartment or house [through
Knight Frank, 9 Bond Court, Leeds +44 (0)113
246 1533; www.knightfrank.co.uk].
Brussels
Belgium
Population: 1 million
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The home of the EU and NATO offers plenty of art nouveau and art deco
houses and apartments with high ceilings and marble-clad elevators for sale.
Most overseas investors head for the Quartier Européen, where international
schools abound. Brussels isn’t the place to make money on property fast –
expect yields of 4% to 5% annually – and prices stay steady, mainly due to the
hefty stamp duty of 12.5%, as well as the extra few percent taken on top by
the notary, but 60% of the stamp duty is refunded if you sell within two years.
A studio in Etterbeek might set you back €160,000 (£119,262), whereas
a three-bedroom flat or house in the Tervuren district (home of the British
School) starts at around €300,000 [£223,617; through Macnash Central, 123
Boulevard Anspach, 1000 Brussels, +32 (0) 2 514 1147; www.macnash.com].
