Riyadh, KSA – 05 November 2024: Select Property, a leading UK-based property developer and investment partner, is guiding Saudi investors to navigate market opportunities and challenges; the company’s most recent effort to facilitate this is data from its investor base, which shows that 81% of KSA investors wish they had begun investing in property earlier. Adam Price, the CEO of Select Property, attributes this sentiment to the region’s growing desire for portfolio diversification and the growing investment in the UK’s real estate landscape in recent years.
Price commented: “Starting your investment journey early and with a long-term growth outlook is the key to stability and securing your future. Younger Saudi investors are becoming more aware of this, recognising the benefits of consistent real estate investments. Supporting this trend, recent data shows a 12% increase in mortgage contracts registered in Saudi Arabia in H1 2023, reaching 24,482 in H1 2024. This spike reflects the growing confidence among young Saudis in property as a viable investment path.”
Select Property has witnessed high demand from the GCC for UK real estate, both from first-time buyers and experienced investors. As it relates to their latest project, Edition Birmingham in Birmingham, nationals have accounted for the highest number of sales in the development. However, the company has found that the biggest roadblock preventing Saudi nationals from entering the UK’s real estate landscape is a lack of comprehensive bilingual support, with 60% of KSA investors emphasising this as a key factor to achieve their property investment goals.
Speaking with a consultant in their native language significantly simplifies the investment process for GCC investors. Price added: “At Select Property, we are dedicated to meeting the GCC’s needs and making sure that our clients from this market are provided with the knowledge necessary to make wise choices. We have assisted the Gulf for the past 20 years in expanding their portfolios, and we remain steadfast in providing specialised advice and bilingual support to ensure a seamless experience.”
Historically, GCC investors who have made consistent investments and entered the UK real estate market have seen strong, positive returns. Driven by the desire for stability and diversification, GCC investors first began to demonstrate a strong interest in UK real estate during the 2000s. By the end of the decade, they were contributing billions of dollars annually to the UK property market, with rental yields varying from 4% to 6%, depending on the location and type of property. Because of its prime location, London frequently had slightly lower yields than other cities because property prices there were higher, whereas those in Manchester and Birmingham provided higher yields. Furthermore, over the previous 10 years, GCC countries have invested an average of $3.4 billion annually in UK commercial real estate .
KSA investors can now easily navigate foreign markets thanks to Select Property’s bilingual support, which has been available since the company’s inception in 2004. The company has consistently demonstrated its commitment to fulfilling investor needs, most recently with its new launch of Edition Birmingham. In an exclusive pre-launch phase for VIP clients, 160 units valued at approximately AED 268 million were sold. Now officially available to the wider global market this month, the project has garnered significant interest from the UAE, offering world-class amenities that reflect the luxurious residential offerings of Dubai. This interest is driven by the strong and stable investment potential of Birmingham, a city that global real estate services companies credit for leading the five-year growth forecasts for capital growth and rental returns.
