Here is the latest Experience Invest blog. There are some that will have you believe that when Brexit occurs, the UK is going to hell in a handbasket and UK business is going to suffer, along with the average house price.Whilst this isn’t beyond the realms of possibility, leaving the EU is not likely to be the shot to the heart of the UK economy that the average ‘Pro Remain’ voter will have you believe. The good news is that despite there being a ‘glass is half empty’ section of UK society who are fearing the worst come exit day, there are encouraging signs to the contrary. In today's blog, Experience Invest shares an important factor to consider for post-Brexit property investment

Investors should avoid viewing property investment as a black and white decision between residential and commercial real estate. While these two umbrella categories incorporate the overwhelming majority of properties available on the market, there is also a growing demand for non-traditional property investments.

In recent years specialist properties – such as hotels, student accommodation and care homes – have all experienced considerable increases in private investment. According to Knight Frank, activity in the specialist property sectors grew by 40% in 2017. It reflects the findings of Experience Invest’s aforementioned research from February 2019. It found that while houses (67%) and flats (54%) are the most common assets that investors are considering buying over the coming year, commercial (34%) and semicommercial (21%) real estate is also popular.

Furthermore, it uncovered that a quarter (24%) are looking to purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). A study from Knight Frank states that 29,000 purpose-built student bedrooms will be delivered across the UK by the start of the coming 2019/20 academic year; a 25% increase on the previous year’s figures.

The PBSA market is clearly worth investors considering post-Brexit. For one, the UK has some of the world’s leading universities, which results in large student communities and sizeable demand for PBSA. In fact, as of 2018 the UK had 98 institutions in the Times Higher Education rankings of the best 1,250 universities globally – only the United States and Japan have more.

Moreover, Brexit ought not to lessen demand for student properties. Of the 460,000 international students studying at UK universities, less than a third (140,000) come from the EU, says Experience Invest and as overseas students represent the largest demographic for PBSA, this market is likely to remain buoyant after Britain leaves the EU, Experience Invest added.

More generally, for investors with large portfolios, diversifying across different types of assets – from new-build flats and traditional homes through to hotel rooms and student accommodation – could place them in a position of strength following Brexit.

Importantly, keeping an open mind to different categories of real estate will ensure an investor is well positioned to source the best and most appropriate asset for their particular goals, whether that is a regular source of rental income or long-term capital gains.

Off-plan investments, for example, can deliver regular monthly returns to the investors over a number of years while also giving them ownership of an asset that can then deliver capital growth thereafter – offplan purchases span residential, commercial and specialist properties, and could provide the structured returns investors are looking for in the less assured post-Brexit climate.

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