There is no shortage of opinions about the future of the market in the wake of the fall in the stock market. Since October 19, trying to draw any conclusions or ascertain a consensus is slightly more difficult.
Such is the level of uncertainty that London & Edinburgh Trust has, unusually, produced a newsletter aimed at “cutting through the fog to the real issues”, John Beckwith says: “It is becoming increasingly difficult to see whether there is a crisis or a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom.”
He is highly critical of the brokerage community: “The analysts who were hyping the property market some eight weeks ago are today the same individuals who are preaching doom and gloom.”
LET sought opinions from a number of senior agency men, as well as Norwich Union’s Martin Olley, Michael Mallinson of the Pru, Peter Hunt of Land Securities and Teruo Kato of Nippon Credit, among others. The overall tone is that, the fundamental demand is still there. John Beckwith concludes that he is “totally confident in the future of the property industry and its continued ability to create a credible alternative investment medium to that of equities and gilts.”
