An analysis of HMRC property transaction statistics has shown that commercial property purchases for the twelve months ending April 30th 2017 have risen by 6% compared to the previous year.

According to Marc Da Siva, writing on the website propertyinvestortoday.co.uk, commercial property is attractive to investors because of rent increases and long leases. Many leases are for five years which is longer than the average commercial lease in Europe. This also means landlords will experience fewer void periods when they are not earning an income.

It is now cheaper for overseas investors to purchase commercial property due to the fall in the value of the pound following the Brexit vote means. A large part of the increases in commercial property transactions could be due to more overseas investors investing here.

Brexit has created some economic uncertainty, but as yet this has not affected the commercial property market.

Though foreign investors are attracted to the UK commercial property market, there are still plenty of British investors. Interest rates on commercial mortgages are low because of competition between lenders. This has meant decreases in the profits of lenders, but allowed borrowers to obtain mortgages at reasonable interest rates. Low interest rates will probably remain during 2017. A spokesman for one of Britain’s largest lenders, Nationwide said:

“We expect the prolonged low interest rate environment and competition in the mortgage market to continue in the period ahead.”

Despite fears around Brexit, confidence in the commercial property market is high.