There is good news for
Aylesbury buy to let landlords as ‘top of the range’ well-presented properties
are getting really decent rents compared to a year ago however, this rise in
rents is thwarting many potential first time buyers from saving for both a
deposit and money for a rainy day. On top of this, there is also a shortage of Aylesbury
homes coming on the market thus adding fuel to the slowdown and affecting not
just Aylesbury first time buyers but also those going up the housing ladder.
Whilst it is true that
the Government’s initiatives, targeted at improving the supply of homes built
and helping first time buyers obtaining necessary funding, are starting to work
(albeit slowly), I also believe that to boost more existing home-owners and
their properties onto the market, we as a Country, need to see a better focus
placed on those looking to downsize (i.e.
the mature generation).
If we took away some
hurdles to home owners downsizing, such as removing stamp duty for those downsizers
(as was done for first time buyers last
year), together with encouraging even more first-time buyers with 100%
mortgages to buy the smaller properties, this would in turn release more
mid-range properties onto the market, which subsequently would encourage more
mature homeowners to downsize from their bigger properties to buy those
mid-range properties - thus completing the circle.
Looking at the most
recent set of data from the Land Registry for Aylesbury (the HP20 postcode in
particular), the figures show the indifferent nature of the current Aylesbury
property market.
Only 136 Aylesbury (HP20) Homes changed hands in the
last 6 months
Aylesbury property
values and transactions continue to be sluggish, and the monthly peaks and
troughs of house prices and properties changing hands doesn’t mask the
deficiency of suitable realistically priced property coming onto the Aylesbury
property market, meaning the housing market is slowly becoming inaccessible to
some would-be home owners.
Looking at what each
property type is selling for in HP20 (note
the data from the Land Registry is always 4/5 months behind) makes
interesting reading ….
We must remember these
are the average prices paid, so it only takes a run of a few expensive or
cheaper property types (as can be seen with the variance in the Apartments and Semi-Detached
in the table) to affect the figures..
Looking at the numbers
of properties for sale … I looked at my research for early Summer 2008, and at
that time, 1,343 properties were on the market for sale in Aylesbury.. and when
I did my research on this article today, just 781 properties for sale.. a drop
of 42%.
The Government needs
to seriously consider the supply and demand of the UK property market as a
whole to ensure it doesn’t seize up. It needs to do that with bold and forward-thinking
plans but, in the meantime, people still need a roof over their head, so as
local authorities don’t have the cash to build new houses anymore, it’s the job
of Aylesbury landlords to take up the slack.
I must stress though, I have
noticed a distinct ‘flight to quality’ by Aylesbury tenants, who are prepared
to pay a little more for an exceptional home to rent. If you want to know what tenants are looking
for and what type of things you as an Aylesbury landlord need to do to maximise
your rental returns – drop me a line.
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