Estate agency Yopa has launched an investment calculator to help users discover the best and worst historical investment options – with property proving the best long-term investment.
The calculator lets users compare popular investment classes including property, gold, silver, the S&P500 ETF, the FTSE100, Brent Crude oil, Apple, and Bitcoin.
The calculator shows how much an investment would have risen/depreciated since any given year over the last 20 years.
Despite the slower growth of property value compared to the likes of Bitcoin and tech stocks, it is obviously a more stable option.
It also tends to be better than investing in the stock market. If someone had invested £10,000 in property in 2002, that money would have turned into £24,617 today – a 146% return. Compare that to investing in the FTSE100, which would have turned into just £16,883.
While a lucky few have made hefty profits by investing in cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, its volatility can also lead to huge losses, particularly for those who are inexperienced. This is especially relevant considering the cost-of-living crisis, where many people are thinking about new ways to bolster their finances.
Yopa also said it’s also likely that concerns over a ‘post-Covid housing bubble’ expressed by many commentators are overplayed. Whilst house prices have indeed increased by 12.4% in the past year, it’s important to remember that when adjusted for inflation this number is actually closer to 3%.
Mike Scott, Yopa’s chief analyst, said: “Unlike most financial assets, houses are not interchangeable and generally take a considerable amount of time and money to buy or sell.
“This makes their prices far less volatile, so you are very unlikely to find that the value of your house has halved or doubled by this time next year.
“While limiting the potential for a quick profit, this does similarly reduce your chance of making a large loss.”
