Views score premium prices

OCEAN view or city landscape? Which property will yield the best long-term investment?

When you’re looking for a new property – whether it be to live or to invest – there are a number of things that you need to look out for. The number of rooms, the quality of the interior, the garden, the desirability of the street and neighbourhood, the potential for price growth and even the parking are all, admittedly, important factors.

Yet all of those involve looking at or in the property. What any buyer must not do is forget to look out and appreciate the view. For some homes, the view is a huge selling point and can add great value in the short term, while making it a safe investment in the longer term too.

But what view works best? Here’s our look at the ocean view and city landscape and how they impact on a property’s value…

Ocean view

There’s no denying the fact that we do love to be beside the seaside. An ocean view can turn a good property into the perfect holiday getaway.

Experts reckon the affect of this can be to raise the price by about 60 per cent or more compared to a similar property without such a view. There’s also likely to be a long-term rental value in such a property, with an obvious attraction that will always be able to attract a premium.

You must also beware that such views don’t come without issues. Properties facing directly onto the sea or beach are more open to the elements and, as such, require greater upkeep. The value – and the security of this in the long term – should outweigh this but only if you do the work to protect your asset.

Cityscape

It’s one thing to live in one of the most vibrant and thriving cities in the world. It’s quite something else to be able to be able to have a view of such a city.

Take New York, for example. The properties with the strongest long-term value on sites such as ftpropertylistings.com are those that offer fabulous views of Manhattan. In Hong Kong, streets on the Victoria Peak – with views looking down over the city – are among the most expensive in the world (more than $100,000 per square metre and about ten times the value of those without such a view).

Beware the changing nature of cities though. New skyscrapers, landmarks and developments are going up all the time. You’ll be left powerless if this changes and the view you invested in could be compromised. Research as much as you can into what’s being built where to avoid any nasty surprises.

Location

One factor unites both the ocean view and city landscape when it comes to their potential to yield the best for you in the long term: the location.

A view of a beach is great – but a view perched up high looking over Santa Monica beach in Los Angeles? That’s even better.

Equally, a cityscape can be a breathtaking backdrop – but the cinematic skyline of New York or the iconic landmarks of London are another matter. That’s where it’s important to be specific. Cities such as these, Hong Kong, Dubai and Monaco, for example, have the potential to offer stunning views in some of the most desired locations in the world. The combination of the two can result in the best long-term yields.

Ocean views offer a safer long-term investment when it comes to a property’s value – but involve higher upkeep costs. City-based properties fluctuate more – and can change over time – but have the potential for even higher growth in the short term. These factors must be weighed up carefully to get the most from an investment in a property with a view.