There’s nothing like early January for setting unrealistic New Year’s resolutions and letting them fall by the wayside once the cheer from late December has died down. So what can we expect for 2016? Rather than being foolish with a few predictions, I’ve highlighted areas that may (or may not) be of interest to the development finance world over the coming year.

Following action taken by the US Federal Reserve at the back end of the last year, it’s fair to say this could finally be the year interest rates go up. While it could be some time before we see the knock-on effect and implications of this, it will undoubtedly start to change the shape of the market. Lenders and borrowers would have to react accordingly, and with a lot of liquidity in the market today it will be interesting to see if new lenders are still able to enter the market.

Property prices in general, particularly in the South East, should continue to steadily rise. This will keep rental demand strong but make it even harder for first time buyers to hoist themselves onto the property ladder. Investors may have to start to look outside of London to find affordable investment opportunities. Although yields are still attractive there may be further changes in some of the tax benefits landlords currently benefit from. This will in turn have consequences for property prices.

And as for Regentsmead, there is plenty to be motoring on with. Last year saw a substantial increase in our loan book, a bigger team, further award wins and now nominations for this year - not just in the category of development finance provider but also as an innovator too. Much like a football team we are only as good as our last result, which is why we will strive to continue to innovate, further improve our service and try and deliver more market leading contributions to the development finance world.

A lot can be achieved within 12 months - which makes for a very exciting year ahead for the industry and for Regentsmead.