Is property investment still a good idea?

Is property investment still a good idea? It’s a question that hasn’t come up much over the last couple of years – but the recent changes mean we’re hearing it ever more frequently.

In this episode we address the main concerns we hear, including:

• The new tax treatment will reduce profits
• Higher stamp duty rates will reduce yields and push prices down
• We’ve already had all the growth – property is unaffordable now
• The government is going to make life impossible for investors

How much merit does each of these arguments have? We find out – as well as discussing some reasons why we think (surprisingly) that property is still a good idea.

Property Detective is another tool for finding out about a local area – just pop in a postcode, and it will give you information about schools, the local population, and so on.

A lot of the data requires payment in order to access it – but the company behind it has just been bought by Zoopla, so we might see its features being integrated soon…

Who doesn’t love an interactive map? This piece in the Independent features a map put together by Savills showing where owner-occupier loan-to-value ratios vary across the UK.

It purports to show which areas will be worst affected when the base rate rises – but also tells a story how different parts of the country have performed over the last few years of recovery.

If you’re into graphs and charts, Rob B suggests following Neal Hudson on Twitter.