Are you considering buying property in the UK from abroad? If so, you need to learn about using a brokerage to make international payments. But first, we need to discuss whether it is worth buying UK property in 2022.
Many people have been waiting a couple of years to carry through their plans of buying UK property. The start of the pandemic seemed like a terrible time to buy property, with no one certain of what would come next. In fact, it seemed like property prices would tank. However, property prices started to rise after a short dip and have been on the up ever since.
Housing prices are now at record highs. With inflation going up, the cost of living is sky-high as well. This might deter you from buying UK property, as you do not want to buy at its peak. The flipside is that property prices still seem set to go up for the foreseeable future. If you don’t buy now, you may not get the chance again.
Your currency is going to have an impact, and we will get into how to use the best currency brokers. Let’s first take a look at how other currencies are stacking up against the pound.
Currency Predictions for 2022
There is no exact science for predicting how currencies will fare over the course of a year. A lot of factors come into play, including social and economic realities, as well as politics. With the global political situation more uncertain than ever, along with the effects of that on global economies, any predictions are close to guesswork.
However, we can look at how different currencies have fared against the GBP over the course of the year so far. And, as is usually the case, the GBP is fairly stable in the context of other major global currencies.
There has been a small amount of movement in the EUR/GBP pairing, but in April 2022 they are in almost exactly the same position as in January. The USD/GBP pairing has seen more significant movement, with the GBP in a slightly worse position now. But the differences will only make an impact on a large scale. For someone buying property, that is a consideration.
We see similar patterns with the CAD and AUD, as the GBP has lost some of its value. Whether these losses will continue is up for debate and impossible to know for sure. Either way, your currency is unlikely to lose a lot of value against the GBP, especially with much of the world confronting the same forces of change.
Buying UK property now is, as far as we can tell, still a solid investment. Currencies should not impact your decision, as long as you know how to take advantage of international money transfer services.
If you are worried about what will happen if you buy property in the UK with currencies at current prices and your currency consequently loses value, this is one of the issues currency transfer companies address.
How to Pay for Money Transfers with Currency Brokers
The best way to pay for UK property from abroad is through currency brokers. These are companies that specifically serve the purpose of transferring payments from one country to another with minimal costs. If you’ve ever made an international money transfer through a bank, you know that the costs can add up and that the best currency rates for bank transfers are almost always unfavourable for clients.
Currency brokers use a variety of means to transfer money with low fees at the best possible rates. Instead of getting an exchange rate that works against you, you get the mid-market rate you would find in a Google search – or at least as close as possible.
But it is not just the good exchange rates provided by currency brokers that make them worth it. In today’s world, with a lot of uncertainty surrounding economic realities, buying property knowing that you will need to make multiple large international transfers means risking the impact of changing exchange rates.
The best currency brokers provide tools to deal with this. With forward contracts, for example, you can secure the current exchange rate for future payments on a set timeline. This allows you to know exactly how much you are going to pay for the property, regardless of what happens in the meantime.
Ready to find a currency broker to make your property payments? Finding the right broker requires an understanding of which companies are reliable and what they specialise in.
UK Currency Brokers: A Brief Overview
The UK is home to some of the biggest currency brokers in the world. There are companies that have been in the business for decades, with others having started fairly recently. More recent startups disrupted the industry and changed the game, but older companies have found ways to catch up.
Wise is perhaps the most hyped currency broker in the UK, but it is no longer necessarily the best. Companies like Wise, Halo, and OFX offer excellent services and have each been innovative players in the industry. However, they do not have the same reputation that older companies hold, especially as what they offer has become standard. That said, they are reliable and come highly recommended.
Nonetheless, when it comes to large property payments, you want to use the most reliable and trustworthy company in the UK.
The Best Currency Broker for Property Investments in 2022
You may well have heard the name Moneycorp, as the company has existed since the 1970s. They have always been well-reputed, even as they played catch-up with brokerages founded in the 2010s. In 2022, they offer all of the features you could possibly need when making international payments and are particularly great for large sums of money.
Moneycorp charges zero transfer fees and will always provide the best possible exchange rates. They also deal with massive sums each year, having exchanged over £43 billion in 2021 alone. In other words, you will not be alone in trusting Moneycorp with your money, and their customer satisfaction rates show that they are not going to let you down.
By using Moneycorp – or similar companies – you will get your property at the best possible price even though you are paying in a different currency.
Should You Buy UK Property in 2022?
Coming back to the question of whether you should buy UK property in 2022, there is no clear answer. The world is in a state of flux, and that does not seem to be changing. Whether it’s a pandemic, climate change, or war that is impacting global economies, there is no certainty to be had.
However, UK property looks good at the moment, and prices are likely to continue to rise. Since currency exchange will not hinder you, you may well find buying property now to be advantageous.
