UK professionals see 'significant improvement' in sentiment

More than half of the panel of property experts taking part in Reita's quarterly Property Investment Perspective have seen a 'significant improvement' in investor sentiment towards UK property investment conditions in the past quarter.

Reita, the education and awareness campaign for property investment and REITs in the UK, said that rather than talking about 'green shoots', 54% of the Reita panel now agrees that the UK property sector is seeing 'substantial growth'. But there is an overwhelming need for caution, Reita noted, given the complexity of the ongoing economic and liquidity issues.

Peter Cosmetatos, operating director at Reita, said: 'Whilst it is encouraging to see over 30 new property funds having come to market in the past few months and continuing, significant improvement in sentiment, caution is required. The newer the portfolios are, the less legacy risk that these should carry, but the market is very polarised at the moment between prime assets, which a lot of money is chasing, and secondary or tertiary assets, where few sellers seem prepared to accept the distressed prices offered by bargain hunters.

'With very little stock to meet rapidly rising demand, investors must take very careful advice before jumping into anything. The need for professional advice and detailed research has never been greater, with stock and fund selection absolutely key.'

The Reita Expert Panel includes representatives from 24 of the leading property and investment organisations, including some of the largest UK REITs, EPRA, NAREIT and the London Stock Exchange. The panel is surveyed on a quarterly basis about the key issues facing the property investment industry.