IFAs were urged this week to look closely at overseas real estate vehicles “because of their liquidity and cheap prices.”

According to Peter Zabierek, a senior portfolio manager with the BNY (Bank of New York) Mellon Asset Management subsidiary Urdang, “Hong Kong and Singapore are growth areas in real estate because of increases in trade and visitors” and the Far East property markets offer good potential returns.

Zabierek is more cautious about European property investments however because of “sovereign debt concerns, credit available from banks and austerity measures.”

“There are forecasts of 750,000 jobs to be lost in the UK,” he says, “which will hit residential spending. This will have a downward pressure on yields and continue until 2013. There is not a lot of new development. It will be a few years before demand is restored.”

Kelvin Lillywhite, financial consultant of East Sussex-based IFA Albany Financial, agrees   with Zabierek adding “property investment schemes are a growing area. Previously people said property was an asset class that was either commercial or residential … now there are very specialist areas within property. It gives you the opportunity to diversify within a different asset class.”