NI Property Girl, Eimear Gourley reveals ‘is now the right or wrong time to invest in property?’

Dubbed the NI Property Girl on social media, Eimear Gourley, recently announced Keego’s stewardship of more than £2 million of investment sales in only six months.

However discussing the current state of the NI property investment market, she is also seeing an increased interest from outside the province, especially from the ROI and England.

She explained: “Since the pandemic began, and more so now as life begins to return to normal, I’m often asked by clients is now the right or wrong time to invest in property? And what, if anything, has changed in the market since we first heard about Covid-19 in the news.

“And my answer always remains the same. From what I see day to day now, it is in fact the investor that has changed since the pandemic and not so much how to go about investing.

“The pandemic has given people a different perspective on life and I am contacted by perspective clients who are now seriously focused on time and how much of it they feel they are wasting by having a traditional ‘9-5’ job. They believe that they now need to replace or supplement their income to either leave their job, or to provide a security net should anything like Covid happen again. They rightly believe that real estate is a great way to achieve this.

“The pandemic has given those who would never have considered themselves able to invest in property, the time to research, educate themselves to an extent and then be more open to taking a risk. Most would have had the odd investment over the years but the ‘you only live once’ ideology has come on strong in the circles and company that I keep. I find that the majority of clients that come to me are like minded. They have really taken the pandemic as an opportunity to change their lives, focus on the important things in life and they do not want to remain caught up in the minutia that they previously would have. They now see that investing, should that be in real estate or anything else as a way of escaping that minutia and they see an extra one or two thousand pounds a month as a way of making this happen. They see extra money as a way of buying time which has become a lot more important to a lot of us.

“Whilst these investors are concentrating on the figures, as they should be, they are also being mindful of outside space, much like the residential mover. They are happy to know that a property has outside space for the occupants or has room to grow the property in the future.

“From a Northern Ireland view point, I am seeing an increased interest from outside the province, especially from the ROI and England. Those that are cash-rich are seeing NI housing as a viable investment vehicle as they can see the potential growth, especially in greater Belfast.

“I find that investing has become more of a popular topic with it being discussed by those that would never dream of chatting about the stock market or property prices. It is now a common focus of conversation and again, I believe that this comes down to money banked during the pandemic and an increase in those educating themselves on what is available and how investments can really change their lives.

“It is hard to tell if this investor type is here to stay or it is simply a rebound reaction to the pandemic and how people view their own lives. So, investing practices as such haven’t changed but I definitely feel like there is a new breed of investor in the market.”

To find out more about potential investment opportunities throughout Northern Ireland and beyond, visit www.keegoinvestments.co.uk

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