Soaring demand, reliable returns: property investment opportunities in South London, South Essex and North Kent

This week we’re introducing our new BDM for South London, South Essex and Kent, Rhys Evans. Rhys joined LendInvest as an underwriter and after three years in the team has moved over to the sales team. You can call Rhys here, or connect with him on LinkedIn. 

If there’s a part of the country where you can rely on the property market to remain strong, it’s the South East. 

The region I cover, South London, South Essex and North Kent, have been reliable areas for investors due to being desirable areas to live in and having strong transport links into London for both work and leisure commuting. 

This hasn’t changed in the past year, where the whole market was buoyed by the Stamp Duty Holiday, and transactions and demand in the region has remained high despite some concerns you’d see remote workers begin to move out en masse. 

For property investors, this reliability has manifested itself in high demand and a reliably steady increase in values. 

Increasing values

Over the past decade, the region has seen huge property value increases which has provided strong investment opportunities in both the long and short term for different types of property investors. 

The short-term opportunities are in the demand for good quality housing, of which there is still a shortage nationwide.

Good, attentive investors can find profit realised quickly in acquisition and refurbishment bridging finance before exiting with a sale or onto long-term lending, where yields remain steady and have trended upwards over time. 

While we haven’t seen remote workers move out of the region, we have seen them change what they value from their home.

The value of space has become apparent after lockdowns and continued remote working, and some minor relocation is taking place into the suburb areas I cover. 

Demand is soaring

Demand for houses in these areas has soared, both from people looking to purchase their first home and renters who are now looking to better balance their home and city working life. 

This creates opportunities for every type of property investor, whether it be building or improving housing to be sold to homeowners, or in providing high-quality rental accommodation for the city workers using their commute less frequently. 

It has always been a strong area to do business in for property investors, and even as the market changes that will remain true if the investors manage to adapt to the opportunities. 

Take a look at our current rates and offers on our intermediaries page.