Property syndicates head for safe havens on the Continent

Whatever about the uncertainties in the housing market, there is no scarcity of private investors trying to break into the commercial property sector. In other days, many of these would have settled for residential investments, but with the tough tax regime unlikely to be set aside at least until December's budget, these punters are now being encouraged to look overseas. We are not talking about cheap Spanish villas, but portfolios in many of the European capitals where the returns are considerably better than in Dublin.

For a long time, Hamilton Osborne King had been buying in the UK for Irish clients. However, they are now putting syndicates together to invest in Paris, Brussels, Budapest and even Berlin where prices are falling by the day.

Some of the investors keen to keep their money at home are looking closely at the unit-linked property funds which have lost value in recent weeks as the overall returns have begun to slip. The odds are that the many of the small investors will buy in at a cheaper prices in the expectation that the market will at least stabilise once we get over the present turbulence in the stock market.

Naturally the construction industry here would like to keep this money at home but with the suburban office market heading for trouble, few would venture into this risky sector. Similarly, the industrial market is also slowing down as the demand for space falls off. Retail properties are still performing well but there are few opportunities for investment.