Since the end of the Second World War, the UK seems to have carved a niche for itself as a place of peace stability, and continuous economic growth. Little wonder people all over the world are coming in droves to find jobs, go to school, or just start over. I can go on and on about the reasons why there so many foreigners in the UK.

Recently however, I have begun to notice a slight change in the order of things. These supposedly “migrating hoard” do not just come to “kiss the Queen’s hands”, snap a few photos, and take the next British Airways flight back to their base, they come with loads of cash to spend.

The UK real estate market has proven to be very attractive to people of all colours and nationalities. I can confidently say that these set of people are gradually taking over and purchasing choice UK properties. Last time I checked, there is barely any country leader that does not have one or two of such properties in the UK.

From Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand to the Saudi King; most African heads of state can be counted here too. The recent surge in the economic fortunes of Asia has also helped the UK properties market with more business men and women coming in with their cash.
A recent Super Prime London Survey I came across shows that the 10 nationalities most likely to grow their share of purchases in the central London market over the next 12 months were Russian, Chinese, Indian, United Arab Emirates, Middle East, Egyptian, Italian, Lebanese, Turkish and Brazilian.

In the top 15 of the list are also Uzbekistan, Australia, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan. This is a really good indicator showing political stability and a very strong real estate market in the UK. How long this would continue to be; only time can tell.

The UK real estate market is very vibrant no doubt, and with near accurate data being churned out by different bodies monthly, I can hardly put down my pen – or get my hands off the keyboard before something big occurs. News just reaching me says “tenant demand for privately rented property hit a two-year high during the fourth quarter of 2010.” Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

OK. So what does this have to do with anything? As an expert in the UK real estate market, my immediate interpretation is very simple: there is something stopping the potential home buyer from buying, instead he rents. The former news may seem great for landlords, but juxtaposing that with my simple analysis shows that the development is not good for the economy at large.

Consumer concerns over the economy, job security and possible interest rate rises are several of many factors that have ensured that the market remains broadly flat, despite historically low stock levels. New home prices continue to fluctuate monthly around the £215,000 mark indicating large scale uncertainty as to the direction of the market – and economy.

This is certainly not good enough because consumer confidence is central to the forward movement – or otherwise of any economy; and now that it has also hit the real estate market, no one can tell what would happen next. The prospect of an increased mortgage debt and the imminent rise in interest rates are critical factors making new home buyers play the “watch and see” game.

Although there seem to be some steps being taken by developers and mortgage institutions, how fast this is addressed will greatly influence consumer confidence.

Being risk-averse is one of the most important qualities of a good manager; whether at the office or home level. This is a popular opinion and is recurrent in most of the social sciences textbooks in schools.

Unfortunately, I still get to see people (mostly well educated) who go as far as saving for a long time to buy a house, go ahead to pay, then go on to refurbish. Hey, you are cheating yourself.  The cause as I see – and I have been rightly justified, is that people are generally not thorough, not aware of the long term consequence of that singular act, or just damned uninterested (at the moment of purchase).

Here in the UK, it cost just as little as £200 or thereabout to get a professional opinion from a Surveyor who would go round every single detail before giving you a go. I find it difficult to understand why people in this part of the world get naive on issues like this.
Without a proper survey before buying, you might end up spending hundreds or thousands of pounds to fix damaged roofs, weak timber, condensation, dampness and inadequate ventilation, among many other defects.

A recent study released by e.surv show that 4 out of 5 homebuyers don’t have a survey carried out before they buy a house. In my day-to-day activities, I have come across many home agents and brokers that don’t help matters either; many just neglect that aspect and, technically, “lead the buyer to the hangman’s noose.”

Several awareness and educative programs like ‘Sold Subject to Survey’ campaign being carried out by e.surv gives me hope that a day would still come when UK home buyers would buy only after a thorough survey from a professional.