During inflationary periods, practically everything increases in price, including housing costs and rent, as well as mortgage interest rates. With real estate, there are three basic strategies for investors to protect themselves from inflation and rising costs.
- Take advantage of low interest rates: According to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rates are now averaging 3.07 percent (as of October 2021). Low interest rates allow an investor to take advantage of inexpensive money now in order to avoid paying higher rates later.
- Exporting inflation to tenants: Having a single family rental home may allow an investor to pass on rising costs to a renter in the form of increased monthly rent. Vacant-to-occupied rent growth has climbed by 12.7 percent year-over-year, according to Arbor’s most recent Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report, compared to the current reported rate of inflation of 5.4 percent. Since May 2020, yearly rent growth for single family houses has averaged 8.1 percent, compared to a historical average of 3.3 percent. In other words, recent rent price growth has exceeded inflation by 2.7 percent to 7.3 percent.
- Benefit from rising asset values: Housing prices have a long history of rising, which is one of the reasons why investors utilize real estate as an inflation hedge. The median sales price of houses sold in the United States has climbed by 345 percent since Q3 1990, and by approximately 20% since Q3 2020, according to the Federal Reserve.
Is real estate profitable during an inflationary period?
Over a longer period of time, such as 100 years, house prices have maintained pace with inflation, even outpacing it by 2 percent or 3 percent in developed nations, he said. Real estate is an appealing investment option now that inflation is at levels not seen in years.
What happens to property prices when prices rise?
The cost of your down payment does not affect the price of your home; it is determined by the rate of inflation multiplied by the cost of the home. Inflation may have quadrupled the value of your down payment if the house’s worth doubled. You’ve done even better if you took out a fixed-rate mortgage because your payment has decreased in inflation-adjusted dollars. You’re paying less than you were when you took out the loan.
What happens to real estate when inflation is high?
Many real estate investors are concerned about the impact of rising inflation on their assets and businesses. We see consumer prices rise as inflation rises, but what impact does this have on real estate?
Inflation has a number of real estate-related consequences, including higher mortgage rates, rising asset prices, depreciation of long-term debt, increased building costs, and so on. Let’s look at how inflation affects real estate assets and mortgages, as well as how investors might position themselves in a high-inflation climate.
How does real estate work as an inflation hedge?
Real estate has a long history of being seen as an inflation hedge due to its unusual combination of rising income, appreciating value, and decreasing debt, which allows it to keep up with rising expenses.
Is inflation beneficial to real estate investors?
I admit that I’m old enough to recall the 1970s flares, discos, and collars.
But not just the modest 2 or 3 percent inflation of the previous year, but true double-digit inflation, the kind that saw the price of a Marathon go from 2 pence to 2 and a half pence overnight. Indeed, following the 1973 oil shock, when the price of oil tripled (are there any parallels here with our current economic woes?) For the rest of the decade, inflation stayed in double digits, peaking at 24 percent in 1975.
The Consumer Price Index is now rising at 3.3 percent (1.3 percent higher than the official objective of 2%), while the Retail Price Index (excluding mortgage interest payments) is rising at 4.4 percent (not far off 2 percent above its old 2.5 percent target).
However, most of us believe that these data understate the true situation. Majestic, the wine retailer, said that wine prices would have to climb by 10% to meet transportation expenses and the increasing euro, and that banana prices would rise by 8%.
The majority of this inflation comes from outside the country, in the form of increased gasoline and food prices. Twelve of the 55 countries surveyed by the Economist have double-digit inflation rates.
Inflation, according to most economists, is bad for economies. Consider what is happening in Zimbabwe, when buying a loaf of bread from the local market requires a barrow load of cash. Consumers and businesses find it difficult, if not impossible, to make economic decisions due to the lack of pricing stability.
Landlords, like all consumers, are affected by growing costs and prices. Landlords have been hit hard by enormous labor price inflation in recent years, as skill shortages have driven up the cost of hiring all trades, including plumbers, builders, and decorators.
Other expenses, such as accounting and buy-to-let insurance, are also rising.
The one huge benefit of inflation for landlords is that, because many landlords use a buy-to-let mortgage to fund an investment, their loan charges are the most expensive part of their rental company. Inflation, on the other hand, is excellent news for borrowers like landlords, and here’s why.
If a landlord takes out a 100,000 interest-only buy-to-let loan over 20 years in a zero-inflation country like Japan, that buy-to-let mortgage will still be worth 100,000 after 20 years. Consider the case when inflation is running at the Bank of England’s current target rate of 2%. This means that the buy-to-let loan’s true real value will have decreased to 67,297 after 20 years.
Consider a scenario in which inflation is twice the Bank of England’s target rate, with a long-term average of 4%. In this case, the loan’s real value drops to 45,639, which is less than half of its original value.
As a result of declining property values and rising buy-to-let loan costs, being a landlord may not seem like a great place to be. Inflation, on the other hand, may be just what landlords need to reduce the real value of their buy-to-let loans. There is a silver lining to every dismal sky, as the clich goes. In this scenario, inflation may very well be the culprit!
Lower Prices
Houses tend to stay on the market longer during a recession because there are fewer purchasers. As a result, sellers are more likely to reduce their listing prices in order to make their home easier to sell. You might even strike it rich by purchasing a home at an auction.
Lower Mortgage Rates
During a recession, the Federal Reserve usually reduces interest rates to stimulate the economy. As a result, institutions, particularly mortgage lenders, are decreasing their rates. You will pay less for your property over time if you have a lower mortgage rate. It might be a considerable savings depending on how low the rate drops.
Does inflation affect property prices?
Inflation is defined as an increase in the price of goods and services in a specific economy over time. In the case of the housing sector, inflation can drive up house prices, preventing many potential purchasers from purchasing a home.
It goes without saying that housing prices in the United Kingdom have risen dramatically since World War II. In fact, according to Nationwide statistics, the average home cost 1891 in 1952.
When you compare that to the early 2011 numbers from the Rightmove House Price Index, which estimate that the average UK property asking price is 230,030, it’s easy to see how much house prices have risen in the intervening 59 years. A house costs nearly 121 times as much in modern Britain as it did in the early 1950s.
The causes of house prices inflation
So, what factors are at play when it comes to driving up housing prices? There are several justifications, but the economic theory of supply and demand is one of the most straightforward. House prices will rise when there is a greater demand for or a less supply of properties.
Housing demand has been extremely high in recent years, particularly during the 1990s and early 2000s. When the financial crunch occurred, this, of course, changed.
Meanwhile, in the UK housing market, a lack of supply has long been an issue, particularly in desirable locations. As a result, even a minor increase in demand might result in a proportionally big increase in house prices.
Keep up-to-date on house prices inflation with Rightmove
The Rightmove House Price Index is based on the largest and most up-to-date sample of property asking prices in the UK, and it tracks movements in the market on a month-by-month and year-by-year basis.
As a result, it provides a comprehensive picture of the present situation of the property market in the country, and it should be your first stop for the most up-to-date information on house prices and inflation rates.
What happens to property prices in the United Kingdom when inflation rises?
According to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics, average UK house prices climbed by 9.6% in the year to January 2022, down from 10% the previous month (ONS).
According to the ONS, the average UK home costs 274,000 in January, up 24,000 from the same month in 2021.
Property prices in Wales rose 13.9 percent to an average of 206,000 in the year to January 2022, continuing to lead the way in terms of the highest national home price increases.
Over the same time period, prices in Scotland increased by 10.8% to 183,000. Prices in England increased by 10.4% to 292,000, while prices in Northern Ireland increased by 7.9% to 160,000.
In terms of geographical performance in the United Kingdom, the East Midlands saw the most yearly gain, with prices rising by 11.6 percent in the year to January. Over the same period, average prices in London climbed by only 2.2 percent, making it the weakest of the UK’s regions.
“A minor tightening in home price growth has been foreseen for some time with headwinds accumulating across the broader economy,” said Nicky Stevenson, managing director of estate firm Fine & Country. A surge in inflation, as well as the resulting increasing pressure on loan rates, has put a strain on affordability.”
“What these ONS numbers imply is that the cost of living, energy prices, and rising interest rates mean purchasers are beginning to be more cautious with their cash,” said Nathan Emerson, CEO of housing industry organization Propertymark.
“Our data reveals that more properties are entering the market, indicating a leveling off of supply and demand that will likely have a more stabilizing influence on prices in the coming months,” says the report.
What investments do well in the face of inflation?
- In the past, tangible assets such as real estate and commodities were seen to be inflation hedges.
- Certain sector stocks, inflation-indexed bonds, and securitized debt are examples of specialty securities that can keep a portfolio’s buying power.
- Direct and indirect investments in inflation-sensitive investments are available in a variety of ways.