1
Dec
Wall-to-Wall Opportunities
Nick Churton of Mayfair Office compares the
current property market to that of twenty years ago when the Berlin
Wall fell.
Twenty years ago surprised but elated East and
West Berliners rose up as one and broke down the Berlin Wall.
Their action altered the political architecture of Europe.
Sadly it didn’t break down the boom and bust financial
landscape of the UK. As we watched the historic events unfold
we were just beginning to feel the effects of a deep and damaging
recession. So no change there then. The Berlin Wall may
now be the stuff of history but two decades later we don’t
seem to have moved on very far in economic terms.
1989 was at the start of a period of harsh economic adjustment.
But despite increasing unemployment and great difficulties in
the financial and industrial sectors the property market was one of
the first areas to show improvement. As we move towards 2010
there are distinct parallels to the market behaviour all those
years ago.
We do not know any more now than we did then about how long the
market will take to get back to good health – one spokesman
from a national estate agency chain has recently gone on record to
say that over the next couple of years prices could go down or they
could stay the same or they could rise. It is this sort of
vacuous comment from someone who should really know better that
serves to underline the fact that no one can predict the future in
property. But we do have history to help guide us.
It was during the period that we spent climbing out of the economic
mire in the early ‘90s that many people laid the foundations
for their financial well being over the next twenty years –
apart from a blip at the end of that decade! Then, as now,
there were great opportunities in the market for asset growth.
But today we have the added advantage of low
mortgage interest rates. The banks may not be falling over
themselves to make so many home loans but mortgage availability is
slowly getting better and this may be the last time for many years
that there are real chances to find a wonderful home without the
serious buyer competition that goes with a market in
fast-forward.
This is a market when astute buyers will make some good money as
well as find a good home. Equally there will be those who
don’t take this chance and come to regret that
choice. So be like Germany twenty years ago. Grab
the chance while it’s there. For some, like those
Berliners, it will be a once in a lifetime
opportunity.
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