During these difficult times and in the midst of a pandemic that has resulted in some stuttering and dips for business and industry, some entrepreneurs and investors with specific investment prospects are beginning to move their capital into more secure investment strategies, and ones that aren’t perhaps as volatile.

As share prices take an expected dip in this unexpected period, those with the majority of their investments in fast-paced, volatile assets might struggle to maintain a positive increase in their portfolio’s value. Those with a diversified, stable and long-term portfolio, however, are much better equipped to ride out the storm, and maintain their finances positively, out of the pandemic and into the future.

Property investment is a great example of a secure, long-term investment strategy, providing you know where to look and which areas to invest in. In fact, many investors with stock and share investments are beginning to shift their money over into property, and those looking to secure themselves a prime piece of real estate for the future – perhaps for buy to let purposes or even just as a potential new home - Have an equally prime opportunity to do so. 

The UK property investment market – the best places to invest 

Even for international investors that are nowhere near the UK, it’s a property market that is worth paying attention to at the moment, with exciting prospects not just in its capital city, but even more so up north, in burgeoning and developing areas such as Liverpool and Manchester.

Investing in a city is a clever move to make as an investor, as population numbers are consistently growing, meaning you’ll find it easier to locate a tenant that can pay consistent rent, and you will also be able to benefit from the surrounding regeneration as the years go by,, increasing your house price value as a knock-on benefit. If you look at Liverpool specifically in the UK, for example, the waterfront regeneration is a massive project that will no-doubt increase the value and demand for surrounding properties/businesses tenfold, and so capital appreciation projections are high.

Investing remotely during a pandemic

With an investment in property being a tangible, physical asset, that you would typically go and look at and check over before putting your capital into, you might think that market activity would be down at the moment, as people can’t leave their homes.Well, while self-isolation may have halted the traditional viewing, many investors are still getting an authentic viewing experience thanks to the innovative use of technology by companies like RWinvest.

By using Virtual Reality technology (or even simply opening the immersive files on a regular smartphone or tablet if a VR attachment is not available), investors can get an immersive view of their property, looking both inside and also outside at the surrounding area. This sort of immersion might not be as uncanny as the real thing, but it’s pretty close, and it’s much better than the typical blueprint or CG image.

For the international investor looking to put their capital into a hands-off investment in the UK, it is often difficult to get over to view the property in person, and so VR is also a huge help to them generally too. In conjunction with accompanying detailed construction updates and high-quality, overarching drone footage of the surrounding city, this overall package is perfect for those wanting to get to know their investment portfolio from afar, and rest assured knowing that it is in capable hands.

Diversifying a portfolio

If you’re an international investor, putting your money in a foreign market is a great way of having an additional income stream in an economy separate from your own, and also separate from some of your other investments, too. This means that in the event of a downturn or dip, your finances are protected. With regards to property, this means investing in properties in different cities, rather than cluster investments. Any expert property investor (or investment specialist in general) will tell you that in order to keep a stable financial profile you need to diversify, so if you’ve never invested in property before then perhaps consider it as an alternative asset class, and if you have, make sure you’re not investing in areas/property types that will fall under the same category or umbrella when it comes to market shifts.