Partner Article

Small businesses still favour property investment

According to the latest Owner Managed Business (OMB) Barometer from Bank of Cyprus UK, more than half (53%) of OMBs consider residential property to be the most attractive investment option. This figure has in fact risen by 1% since the last iteration of the research conducted in early November 2015, before the Autumn Statement and the Budget, both of which penalised buy-to-let landlords.

As of April 2016, landlords in England and Wales have to pay a 3% surcharge on each stamp duty band. This measure comes in addition to the personal rate of tax relief for landlords being cut from 40% to 20% to be introduced from April 2017.

The barometer findings reveal that while residential property is the overwhelming investment choice for OMBs, just 8% of OMBs see commercial property as an attractive investment. Cash investments (16%) and stocks and shares (13%) also fall far behind residential property in terms of attractive investment options.

Commenting on the research findings, Lakis Kasapis of Bank of Cyprus UK said: “Despite the new measures making life harder for buy-to-let landlords, demand for residential property as an investment is still strong, and surprisingly people are even slightly more bullish about buy-to-let investments than six months ago.”

“We saw a rush to buy in the first quarter of this year as investors capitalised on buy-to-let property purchases before the stamp duty increase took effect in April. It remains to be seen, however, if this appetite for investing in the residential market will now come to a hard stop following the stamp duty increase, or whether it will continue given the scheduled personal tax relief changes and the continued uncertainty surrounding a potential Brexit”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by . .