Tuesday 11 November 2014

Watermead or Fairford Leys…which is the best area to buy a two bedroom house to let out?

A new landlord came to me last week seeking advice on how best to invest his money in buy to let property. He already has local knowledge being a resident here for years but has not bought property for a while. Family members had recommended both the above estates and he was looking for my further advice regarding property types also.
I have always been an advocate of buying two bedroom houses over flats or larger houses but which estate gives you the best return? Keen to give them the right advice I looked at the numbers in a bit more detail.
In the latter half of 2011 Fairford Leys two bedroom houses were achieving around £172,500. Through the first half of 2014 this had risen to around £199,000, a leap of £26,500 or 15.4%.
Watermead two bedroom houses on the other hand had achieved £162.125 in 2011 and £193,333 in the first half of 2014. A substantial increase of £31,208 or 19.3%.
But these figures only represent part of the story. The housing stock on Watermead is older so the house may require more maintenance or modernisation. Alternatively the price paid may have been higher as such work had been completed before the sale. But what about rental returns?
In the latter half of 2011 Fairford Leys two bedroom houses were available to rent at an average of £716. By the first half of 2014 this had increased to £734 an improvement by 2.5%.
Watermead two bedroom houses were £703 for the same period in 2011 and improved to £786 by the first half of 2014. This represents an increase in rent of 11.8%.
So you could argue that Watermead has been the better investment over the last few years, but you need to take the likely higher maintenance costs of older stock in to account. It is fair to say that if you have invested in a two bedroom house on either estate the market has been good to you!
The landlord mentioned at the beginning of this post has now completed on a house in Fairford leys that I viewed with him, the tenants have moved in and he has his first rent payment in the bank.
If you want to talk through your investment plans please contact me 01296 398555, ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk
Trying out the new harness for the first time

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