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A survey of UK investors commissioned by peer to peer real estate investment platform, easyMoney, has found that 80% have confidence that their portfolio will bring a return over the new financial year, however, the economic landscape, cost of living crisis and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continue to cause concern.

Confidence amongst UK investors remains high, with just 20% stating that they weren’t confident that their portfolio will bring a return in the new financial year.

However, concerns do remain for the majority, with the general economic landscape being the largest concern, while the current cost of living crisis and the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine also ranked high.

With these concerns in mind, 63% stated that they plan to keep their portfolio as is for the year ahead, although 29% have plans to make further investments, while just 8% are going to reduce their portfolio size.

When it comes to the most popular channels, stocks and shares were the most prominent path of investment, followed by ISAs, bonds and Index or Mutual Funds.

Perhaps surprising then, that just 35% of investors stated that they had maximised the tax-free ISA allowance open to them for the current tax year ahead of this week’s deadline.

When it comes to ISA investment specifically, stocks and shares ISAs have proved the most popular, followed by cash ISAs

Despite the far stronger rates of return on offer, amongst other benefits, the Innovative Finance ISA was the least widely utilised by investors.

Jason Ferrando, CEO of easyMoney says:

“In what has become an increasingly difficult landscape, it’s great to see that investor confidence remains robust for the year ahead and this is no doubt the result of a varied approach to investing and the benefits that a diverse portfolio can bring.

What is perhaps surprising is the fact that so few are utilising the tax-free allowance open to them via ISA investment.

At the same time, the majority are also sticking with the more established routes of a stocks and shares or cash ISA, despite other products, such as the Innovative Finance ISA, presenting a far stronger return.

However, the latter is gaining ground as investors look to bolster their returns in darker economic times, with the flexibility that an IFISA provides also proving a popular draw.

Our advice, whichever path you decide on, make sure you maximise your tax free ISA allowance this financial year.”

Source: Property Notify

Zoopla’s latest House Price Index has revealed that the recent hangover of uncertainty surrounding the UK’s housing market may be coming to a close.

The Index has reported that house prices increased by 4% in the last twelve months.

The increase in property prices has been triggered by a combination of factors, most notably that fixed-rate mortgages have slowly begun to fall.

In October 2022, average fixed mortgage rates peaked at 6.65% for a five-year fix and 6.52% for a two-year fix.

According to Moneyfacts, five-year fixed-rate deals are now at an average of 5.04%.

The average two-year fixed rate is now 5.35% – meaning those who agree to a current mortgage will pay less than those who accepted a mortgage in October.

Further positive news from Zoopla is that there is also a greater supply of houses on the market, 65% more than a year ago, as the average estate agent has 25 homes for sale compared to 14 in 2022.

The chronic undersupply of housing in Britain has been one of the major factors for pushing up prices last year.

However, the increase in housing supply has been a great relief for many looking to get on the property ladder.

Zoopla reported that the number of new sales agreed had risen 11% compared to 2019.

David Hannah, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, gives his thoughts on why he remains confident in the UK housing market:

“The UK property market has tended to be more stable than any other global market in the world, and the recent findings from Zoopla’s House Price Index are testament to that.

Despite all the political and economic turmoil in the last 12 months, the market has shown signs of fluidity and buoyancy.

It is also crucial to remember that we must look at the bigger picture when assessing the state of the property market, not just the most recent developments – look how quickly the narrative has changed compared to the start of Q1.

There will be NO crash and NO 7-10% fall in property prices that we saw in the noughties.

Over 2023, I expect to see low to mid to single-digit growth in the UK property market.

Despite the negative narrative currently, there is an underlying pressure on the market, leading to upward pressure on prices.”

Source: Property Notify