We started marketing your development years ago
Off-market property sales in the post-general election era look set to get tougher. The UK and overseas investors may become more hesitant to commit funds to a market that could be unsettled, despite Theresa May’s claims of forming a government to ensure stability. However, while many press headlines in the coming weeks are likely to send shivers through the hearts and minds of some investors, we’ve witnessed an early uptick in positive interest.
Why are our investor clients more positive than the press?
Our investors are savvy people. By the time they invest in off-plan property opportunities, they are highly educated about the UK property market. When others see nothing but dark clouds of pessimism, our client base focuses on the silver lining.
UK property fundamentals remain intact. There are excess demand and a backlog of unsatisfied demand that stretches back years. The economy may be shaken, but is unlikely to be stirred. The nature of the election result will not alter the massive governmental infrastructure spending already pencilled in for the next decade. In fact, it may serve to loosen the purse strings a little, with the potential for greater investment in public services.
We’ve worked hard over many years to educate investors from the UK and overseas about the attractiveness and long-term qualities of UK property investment. And how better to invest than in early-stage off-plan developments?
Our marketing of developments begins months or even years before a client invests. A long time before we have selected the area, outstanding location, and developer and development.
Off-market property sales made with educated confidence
We actively promote property investment education. Our educational resource may be the most extensive, focused solely on property. It is centred on the Gladfish Blog, which consistently ranks in the top 100 investment blogs and websites for investors worldwide. Also, we provide investment education material which includes blogs, articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, webinars, books and research.
Our Gladfish property consultants help to keep investors grounded. Our market news and commentary removes the BS and sensationalism preferred by traditional media. We tell things like they are, ensuring that investors understand how to analyse news and ignore misplaced views. It helps investors take a long-term view.
Consequently, we find that our clients take advantage of sluggish property markets caused by short-term shocks. They understand that it is the underlying property market fundamentals that drive long-term returns. Also, as we provide free investment education and unbiased market commentary, we build long-term relationships with investors. These investors benefit from our approach to research.
Selecting and recommending the best places to invest in property UK
While we provide investors with the knowledge and tools that enable them to undertake their property research, we, of course, go above and beyond. We do the research for them.
We’ve developed a Ripple Effect Pentagon and unique Hotspots Algorithm, which pinpoint the top performing areas for investment. These tools and techniques are easy for investors to understand, and have proven to be remarkably accurate in their forecasting capability.
We analyse 108 data points across 324 UK areas and identify those areas in which the property fundamentals are strongest. We rank these areas, so our clients can see at a glance the best places to invest in the UK property market. Then we produce detailed investment guides that walk investors through the specifics and dynamics of each area. And we allow investors to download these for free.
Drilling down to specific location
With the best areas identified, we then drill down to pinpoint specific locations. It is where those property fundamentals come most strongly into play. Locations within walking distance of transport – or near shops, for example – rank high on the list of positive pointers for investment potential. With location identified, we then search for the final piece in the jigsaw.
Developer and development – sold!
Throughout our process of education, research, and location selection, our clients’ confidence increases. We ensure that we do things right, and throughout communicate the necessity to be cautious. For example:
- Always undertake extensive research
- Never invest without completing comprehensive due diligence
- Invest with property fundamentals
- Overestimate costs, and underestimate income
The penultimate step in our long-term marketing strategy to connect long-term investors with developers is to carry out due diligence on developers and individual developments. When we put that final piece of marketing in place – offering a specific development to a highly targeted slice of our investor client base – we do so in the knowledge that every piece of the off-plan investment opportunity stacks up.
Our investors are already three-quarters of the way to making a buying decision by the time we market an off-plan property to them. We’ve guided them by:
- Educating, inspiring, and instilling confidence, no matter the market conditions.
- Collecting client data, and learning their investment preferences and objectives.
- Identifying area and location for investment.
- Marketing the best developments from the best developers, in the best locations, to investors who are already warm to the idea of investing upon our recommendation.
We’ve sold over £750 million of property across the UK since 2004. We’ve helped more than 2,500 property investors achieve their goals. And we’re still building. Investors from abroad are making up an increasingly large proportion of our business – aided by our international reach (for example, in 2015, we conducted client meetings in 11 different countries across Asia, the Middle East, and here in Europe and the UK).
The marketing of your development has already started. In fact, it began when we first met our investor clients who will buy your development – and that was before your development even hit the drawing board.
Contact us today on + 44 207 923 5680, and we’ll start developing our segmented investor client lists specifically for marketing your new build development.
Live with passion,
Brett Alegre-Wood