Originally posted by L Bernham
It also says property investors in the UK laugh when they see the rental returns here as they expect a minimum of 8-9% gross even in property boom times.
I thought I'd just tack on a comment here about media reporting & the reliability of trusting figures reported in the media.
L Bernham supported his view that property prices would decline by 30% partially based on the fact that The Economist was reporting that rental returns in London are currently around 4%.
Yet earlier in the same thread, L Bernham used a SMH report claiming UK rental returns were currently at least 8-9% to support his same view from the angle of housing prices being too high.
While I appreciate using figures from the media to build a view, I do see a problem when you use contradictory figures from different media sources to build a single picture.
Importantly, this highlights the problem with relying on the media for accurate figures. As I posted in the media thread discussing this issue, journos are more interested in a story than the facts and many do not understand the relevance or dependencies of the figures they post anyway.
Always be VERY careful about relying on secondary & tertiary research reports - wherever possible go back to the primary figures (the source) and check for youself!
Otherwise it ends up like a game of whispers (pass it on!)
Oh, and this post isn't to single anyone out - I think we're all probably guilty of not sufficiently questioning what's reported in the media - or what is placed on the web
Cheers,
Aceyducey