The group said it has seen the number of multiple property investors increase by 188 per cent since 2003.
Commenting, Paul Coghlan, chairman of Prestige Group, said: “The international property investment landscape has been evolving for some time. The increase in multiple purchasers is a growing investment trend; it equates to about a third of our experienced investors now purchasing bespoke portfolios rather than single units.
“Investors should have a diverse mix of investments in all their asset classes and overseas property investment is no different. With signs of economic uncertainty this is a very sensible move that we would definitely encourage people to do. Diversification spreads risk, provides savings through economies of scale and ensures investors’ portfolios are more robust and therefore, protected against certain conditions.”
It is thought the growing number of people with multiple properties is a result of investors taking advantage of low deposits – less than 10 per cent – and exploiting the benefits of finance available on overseas residential property to build seven-figure portfolios. This enables investors to benefit from economies of scale, discounts on properties and rental guarantees while spreading their risk across a number of markets.
Simon Conn, senior partner at Conti Financial services, said the number of people buying abroad was continuing to grow, but said he had not witnessed enormous growth in bespoke portfolio purchases. He said: “We are not seeing a great deal of multiple purchases, but that may be because these investors are buying property using cash rather than mortgages. Investing in a number of properties is a good was of diversifying risk, but I haven’t experienced a lot of people following this route.”
