Between blue and yellow shoots..?
Posted on 27th February 2017 by Adam Mackrell
As the winter slowly edges away in the UK there are green shoots appearing in the garden, in parts of the countryside and according to Phillip Hammond in the British economy. However we all know how easily data can be made to show what you want it to and although we wouldn’t for a minute suggest this has happened, we need to always keep in mind common sense, a commodity that often seems like rare earth metals.. In short supply.
Global financial and currency markets are fluctuating as one would expect in “uncertain times” and Gold is doing rather well – depending on which perspective you look at it from. This is of course normal, in reaction to “Brexit” and the mainstream medias reaction to Donald Trumps government and policies…
Much more interestingly and much closer to home we have had the “whitepaper on housing” that we have been waiting for and it doesn’t disappoint see here. Highlights include improving the PRS (private rental sector), the gathering momentum of the “build to rent” wave picks up strength and the – allegedly crucial – issue of tackling planning delays.
We haven’t heard much of some other important factors in what we hope is not too narrow an argument like sufficient land needed for something also important – namely food and agriculture security, shortage of skills in the building sector to build what is needed, other planning issues like community and neighborhoods and the fact that once people actually get a property they generally don’t want anyone to build any more, anywhere near them… And strong human rights laws that they can use to stop this from happening to name just a sample.
The UK rhetoric is finally shifting from home ownership and back towards the pre 1950’s cycle of majority rental and even further back towards the new “version” of landed gentry.
It is worth remembering that the fundamentals underpinning the residential housing market here are still many years from being resolved – namely the supply and demand imbalance.
We believe the UK and this market is still a safe haven for investors looking for a protected place for a part of their portfolios and invested in the right way – the OSG way – will appeal to investors looking to reduce their exposure to uncertainty and help obtain what they need in the medium term.
Adam Mackrell
Director
Oxford Spires Group
Keep calm and carry on
Posted on 17th January 2017 by Adam Mackrell
At times of change and uncertainty stability is essential and of course 2017 will be a year of change; Here – Britain will almost certainly trigger article 50 of the European constitution and thereby beginning the process of leaving the E.U., an act which may well have significant consequences, and on Friday President Trump will be inaugurated as the President of the United States of America, a process which will certainly mean a significant change of direction and style. Who knows whether these changes will be positive or not – but changes and uncertainty there will most certainly be. I am certain that as a world we will need some figures of calmness and some centres of stability because, though people need change, it can often be bewildering and in some cases overwhelming.
As I often seem to, I happen to come across at an apt time the quote on a calendar on my desk that was from German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche;
“Madness is the result not of uncertainty but of certainty”
Then this morning while attending a service 20 yards down the road from our offices at Christchurch here in Oxford, I heard the Dean repeat the words of King George from Christmas day 1939.
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.”
I am determined that as a company, as a fund manager, advisor that we will follow these suggestions this year more than ever. We will indeed move forward with confidence and remain a figure of calmness for our clients, our centre of stability of residential real estate for income will remain the mainstay and DNA of our professional lives here and we will do this knowing that we have things upon which we can depend – our conservative strategy and approach, the intimacy and nimbleness of our size which means we can adapt quickly and value every partner equally and highly. I hope that all our team, all investors and all tenants flourish because they’re properly cared for and their ROI is consistent and solid. We can all move forward we great confidence in these facts!
Adam Mackrell
Director
Oxford Spires Group