This study indicates that the binary of choosing to invest in property, rather than some other area of investment is, in practice, misleading: most of the property investors interviewed also invest in other areas, mainly shares. It’s not an either/or decision for many people. However, shares are generally seen as being of a different (ie, lower) order and scale to property, and are treated accordingly. It also transpires that many investors have previously lost money in shares, and are not keen to repeat the experience. Regardless of whether they have owned shares or not, there are several reasons behind investors’ choice to invest in property over other forms of investment.