August 5, 2010
Buy To Let Landlord Back In The Game
He may be splashing out £60 million to help develop a chic west London hotel with a butterfly house in the reception, but Andreas Panayiotou still has an eye on the buy-to-let market that was the foundation of his fortune.
In a rare interview, Panayiotou, who was one of the few to call the top and bottom of the market, said: ‘Residential property is very safe. It will be good long term. There’s a shortage of housing, and developers have stopped building.’
His predictions carry weight. Panayiotou, 44, born in the East End of London to Cypriot parents, warned in 2006 that a crash was imminent and began cashing in his £1 billion property investment portfolio. Property prices tumbled more than 20 per cent between 2007 and 2009.
When economists made apocalyptic predictions in the spring of 2009, he revealed he was buying back in as he could earn more in rent than from the bank. A powerful recovery followed, which saw prices rise ten per cent in the year to April.
