What is happening in the Aylesbury property market?

Up to date comment and views from the team at Mortimers. Are prices to let too high, are they holding back the market and putting off new tenants? Should you be buying to let in the current climate?

 

When you are passing our office in Temple Street please drop in to discuss your purchase/investment needs. If you are not getting the service you want from your current agent I am sure we have an incentive package that you would find interesting...we would love to help you
ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk

What will the General Election do to 19,022 Aylesbury Homeowners?

In Aylesbury, of the 28,877 households, 7,104 homes are owned without a mortgage and 11,918 homes are owned with a mortgage. Whether I am out walking with Nala or out with friends the one question I will be asked above all others is what the General Election will do the Aylesbury property market?  The best way to tell the future is to look at the past.

I have looked over the last five general elections and analysed in detail what happened to the property market on the lead up to and after each general election. This gives us some very interesting information.

Of the last five general elections (1997, 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015), the two elections that weren’t certain were the last two (2010 with the collation and 2015 with unexpected Tory majority). Therefore, I wanted to compare what happened in 1997, 2001 and 2005 when Tony Blair was guaranteed to be elected/re-elected versus the last knife edge uncertain votes of 2010 and 2015 ... in terms of the number of houses sold and the prices achieved. 

Look at the first graph below comparing the number of properties sold and the dates of the general elections.

 

It is clear, looking at the number of monthly transactions (the blue line), that there is a certain rhythm or seasonality to the housing market. That rhythm/seasonality has not changed since 1995 (seasonality meaning the periodic fluctuations that occur regularly based on a season - i.e. you can see how the number of properties sold dips around Christmas, rises in Spring and Summer and drops again at the end of the year). 

To remove that seasonality, I have introduced the red line. The red line is a 12 month ‘moving average’ trend line which enables us to look at the ‘de-seasonalised’ housing transaction numbers, whilst the yellow arrows denote the times of the general elections. It is clear to see that after the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections, there was a significant uplift in number of households sold, whilst in 2010 and 2015, there was a slight drop in house transactions (i.e. number of properties sold).

I also wanted to consider what happened to property prices. In the graph below, I have used that same 12-month average, housing transactions numbers (in red) and yellow arrows for the dates of the general elections but this time compared that to what happened to property values (pink line).

 

It is quite clear none of the general elections had any effect on the property values.  Also, the timescales between the calling of the election and the date itself also means that any property buyer’s indecisiveness and indecision before the election will have less of an impact on the market. 

So finally, what does this mean for the landlords of the 4,701 private rented properties in Aylesbury? Well, as I have discussed in previous articles (and just as relevant for homeowners as well) property value growth in Aylesbury will be more subdued in the coming few years for reasons other than the general election. The growth of rents has taken a slight hit in the last few months as there has been an overheating of rental property prices in Aylesbury, making it imperative that Aylesbury landlords are realistic with their market rents. But, in the long term, as the younger generation still choose to rent rather than buy ... the prospects, even with the changes in taxation, mean investing in buy-to-let still looks a good bet.

To read more about the Aylesbury property market –visit the Aylesbury Property Market Blog for more information http://theaylesburypropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Aylesbury Flats Out Perform Property Market Average by 10%

According to the Land Registry's latest House Price Index for Aylesbury and the surrounding locality, the value of apartments/flats are rising at a faster rate than terraced/town houses, semi-detached properties and even detached property. 

Values of apartments in Aylesbury have increased by 12.84% over the past year, which is proportionally 10% more than the Aylesbury average rise of 11.63%. The last time flats/apartments in Aylesbury out performed all the other types of property, by such a gulf, was back in the spring of 2005. For comparison, the other property types performed as follows ..

·         Detached homes rose by 11.78%

·         Semi-detached homes rose by 11.15%

·         Terraced/Town-Houses rose by 11.30% 

This moderately increasing rate of property value growth is opportune – but no one should confuse it with a strong and vigorous healthy Aylesbury property market. Instead, it is somewhat an indicator of the long-lasting lack of property on the market. In fact, I have spoken about the lack of homes for sale in Aylesbury on a number of occasions in my Aylesbury Property Blog and whilst it isn’t as bad as it was 12 months ago – choice is quite limited for buyers. 

The average property value in Aylesbury

now stands at £380,700. 

When split down into property types .. 

·         Aylesbury Apartments at £201,600

·         Aylesbury Detached at £608,800

·         Aylesbury Semi-Detached at £342,000

·         Aylesbury Terraced/Town-House at £287,800 

So why have Aylesbury apartments performed so well, and is it just an Aylesbury thing? Well in part the apartments have been pulled along by the lack of two bedroom houses. But when I scrutinised the figures for the rest of the UK, it appears that apartments are currently leading the pace in a clear majority of the country. Of the 379 local authority areas in the UK, the value of apartments is rising faster than detached, semi-detached and terraced houses in 320 of them.

So, should Aylesbury apartment owners be getting out the Champagne? Well, I would keep it on ice as the Land Registry figures are notorious for short term fluctuations. It’s hard to have faith in the fact that Aylesbury house values rose rapidly last month given that, in the last six months, the Land Registry has frequently made downward revisions to their first published House Price Index figures.

Thankfully, the bigger picture from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) stated that home buying activity last month was up 2% over the same month in 2016 – not bad as we have had the Autumn, Winter and now Spring since Brexit. The CML stated first time buyer’s levels of affordability was being squeezed and that the average amount borrowed by those first-time buyers dropped slightly last month, but the overall amount borrowed (by all buyers) was an impressive 12% higher than the same month in 2016. 

So, what next for the Aylesbury Property market? I believe the uplift in the values of apartments is a short-term blip. The real issue is with the way wage growth might not keep up with inflation as the effects of 2016 exchange rate sucks in inflation (meaning real wage growth stagnates). This will mean buyer demand growth will be curtailed and with property values already so full, I believe a renewed hastening in house price growth is unlikely. 

I believe we are starting to return to the housing market we saw in the mid 1990’s, Steady demand – nothing silly when it comes to house price growth. Therefore, I believe, with what is happening around us – this isn’t a bad thing at all.

 

 

 

You can still buy good affordable two bedroom houses in Aylesbury

I had a lengthy and very interesting conversation with an existing landlord today. We have known each other for about 10 years and talk the same language. He has several properties locally which I helped him to source and now manage for him together with others outside of the Aylesbury area. We were discussing the merits of buying an Aylesbury property in the current climate where purchase prices are so strong and stock (choice) is limited.
He is looking to buy another two bedroom house and prefers to buy on the modern estates (Fairford Leys, Watermead etc.) which are out of reach presently as his current budget is limited to £230,000.
I suggested he look at cluster houses like those on the Willows but he was not keen, does not feel the returns are as good in that location or with that property type.
I suggested we did some research together at my desk.
Rightmove shows a selection of the mentioned cluster houses available right now (shown here) . Prices range from £220,000 to £230,000 so are in the right price range for him. But what about rental values, yield, capital growth?
Rent ranges are £850 to £900. So depending on the price you have to pay and the rent you achieve a yield of 4.4% to 4.9% gross is readily available...compares well with Aylesbury averages.
Capital growth? Well this is the icing on the cake! Go back 5 years to 2012 and these properties were selling for around £130,000...these unassuming ordinary properties have made their owners £100,000 in just 5 years, £20,000 per annum... that's more than £1500 each and every month!
We discussed the potential future market and what returns could be seen in the future. Rents are growing and there is increasing demand ahead of us...this government nor the next are likely to be brave enough to address the lack of housing adequately. So continued capital growth and rent increases will prevail.
My landlord booked two appointments to view before he left my office. I should have another two bedroom cluster house to rent in around two months time!

If you are thinking of investing for the first time or want to add to your portfolio I am always available for a chat. I talk to dozens of landlords every week so I get to hear who is making it work and how. ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk

Nala thinks she would make a great secretary.

2.26 Babies Born for Each New Home Built in the aylesbury Area

As more babies are being born to Aylesbury mothers, this increase will continue to add pressure to the over stretched Aylesbury property market and materially affect the local property market in the years to come. 

On the back of eight years of ever incremental increasing birth rates, a significant 2.26 babies were born for every new home that was built in the Aylesbury council area in 2016.  I believe this has and will continue to exacerbate the Aylesbury housing shortage, meaning demand for housing, be it to buy or rent, has remained high.  The high birth rate has meant Aylesbury rents and Aylesbury property prices have remained resilient – even with the challenges the economy has felt over the last eight years, and they will continue to remain high in the years to come.

 This ratio of births to new homes has reached one its highest levels since 1945 (back in the early 1970’s the average was only one and a half births for every household built).  Looking at the local birth rates, the latest figures show we in the Aylesbury council area had an average of 66.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.  Interestingly, the national average is 61.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 and for the region it’s also 61.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.

 The number of births from Aylesbury women between the ages of 20 to 29 are closer to the national average, but those between 35 and 44 were higher.  However overall, the birth rate is still increasing, and when that fact is combined with the ever-increasing life expectancy in the Aylesbury area, the high levels of net migration into the area over the last 14 years (which I talked about in the previous articles) and the higher predominance of single person households … this can only mean one thing ... a huge increase in the need for housing in Aylesbury.

Again, in a previous article a while back, I said more and more people are having children as tenants because they feel safe in rented accommodation.  Renting is becoming a choice for Aylesbury people. 

The planners and Politian’s of our local authority, central Government and people as a whole need to recognise that with individuals living longer, people having more children and whilst divorce rates have dropped recently, they are still at a relatively high level (meaning one household becomes two households) ... demand for property is simply outstripping supply.

 Only 1.1% of the Country is built on by houses.  Now I am not suggesting we build tower blocks in the middle of the Cotswolds, but the obsession of not building on any green belt land should be carefully re-considered.  

Yes, we need to build on brownfield sites first, but there aren’t hundreds of acres of brownfield sites in Aylesbury, and what brownfield sites there are, building on them can only work with complementary public investment.  Many such sites are contaminated and aren’t financially viable to develop, so unless the Government put their hand in their pocket, they will never be built on.  

I am not saying we should crudely go ‘hell for leather’ building on our Green Belt, but we need a new approach to enable some parts of the countryside to be regarded more positively by local authorities, politicians and communities and allow considered and empathetic development.  Society in the UK needs to look at the green belts outside their leisure and visual appeal, and assess how they can help to shape the way we live in the most even-handed way.  Interesting times!

 

For more thoughts on the Aylesbury Property market – visit the Aylesbury Property Blog

Relaxation Husky style.

Hard Brexit could cause 1,900 properties to be dumped onto the Aylesbury Property market

So all cards up in the air! A general election will be on the books, but one thing is for sure ... whoever gets the job to deal with Brexit has a hard job on their hands (I'm just glad its not me!) As it currently stands, by not assuring the rights of EU citizens in the UK, Theresa May has squandered an opportunity to give peace of mind to our EU co-workers working and living in Aylesbury (and the rest of the UK). No.10 Downing Street’s point of view is that in promising the rights of EU citizens in the UK, it will postpone the same guarantee to the 1.5 million UK citizens living in the other nations of the EU. 

Putting aside the politics for one second, the simple fact is now Article 50 has been triggered, we have two years to make a deal with the EU; otherwise it will be a ‘hard Brexit’. Now you might not think a hard Brexit will affect you in your home in Aylesbury ... but nothing could be further from the truth. 

Of the 170,651 people who are resident in the Aylesbury Vale District Council area, 152,496 were born in the UK, 3,962 were born in EU countries from West Europe and 1,742 were born in EU countries from the former Soviet States in East Europe (the rest coming from other countries around the world).

 

The rights of these EU citizens living in the Aylesbury area are not guaranteed and will now be part of the negotiation with Europe. It is true a lot of our EU next door neighbours in Aylesbury will have acquired rights relating to the right to live, to work, to own a business, to possess a property, the right to access health and education services and the right to remain in a UK after retirement… yet those acquired rights are up for negotiation in the next two years. 

So, what would a hard Brexit do to the Aylesbury property market?

Well a hard Brexit could mean the nuclear option when it came to the Aylesbury housing market. It could mean that every EU citizen would have to leave the UK.  

In the Aylesbury Vale District area, 2,713 of 3,926 Western European EU citizens own their own home and (so they would all need to be sold) and 1,131 of 1,742 Eastern European EU citizens rent a property, so again all those rental properties would all come on the market at the same time. 

Hard Brexit and mass EU Migration would mean c. 1,900 properties being dumped onto the housing market in a short period of time, meaning there would be a massive drop in Aylesbury property values and rents, causing negative equity for thousands of Aylesbury homeowners and many buy-to-let landlords would be out of pocket. 

While there is no certainty as to what the future will hold, both UK expats in the EU and EU citizens in the UK rights will no longer be guaranteed and will be subject to bilateral renegotiation. 

All I ask is that the politicians are sensible with each other in the negotiations. A lot of the success of the Aylesbury (and UK) property market has been built on high levels of homeownership and more recently in the last 10/15 years, a growth of the rental sector with lots of demand from Eastern Europeans coming to Aylesbury (and the surrounding area) to get work and provide for their families. Many Aylesbury people have invested their life savings into buying a buy to let property. 

Much will depend on what is politically realistic. Unilateral knee-jerk reactions and measures caused by a hard Brexit would not only likely cause major disruption or suffering to the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK, but also everyone who owns property in the UK ... politics aside - a hard Brexit is in no one’s interests.

 

 

 

 

 

Should some of the 6,614 home owning OAP’s of Aylesbury be forced to downsize?

This was a question posed to me on social media a few weeks ago, after my article about our mature members of Aylesbury society and the fact many retirees feel trapped in their homes. After working hard for many years and buying a home for themselves and their family, the children have subsequently flown the nest and now they are left to rattle round in a big house. Many feel trapped in their big homes (hence I dubbed these Aylesbury home owning mature members of our society, ‘Generation Trapped’). 

So, should we force OAP Aylesbury homeowners to downsize? 

Well in the original article, I suggested that we as a society should encourage, through building, tax breaks and social acceptance that it’s a good thing to downsize. But should the Government force OAP’s? Well, one of the biggest reasons OAP’s move home is health (or lack of it). 

Looking at the statistics for Aylesbury, of the 6,614 Homeowners who are 65 years and older, whilst 3,678 of them described themselves in good or very good health, a sizeable 2,261 home owning OAPs described themselves as in fair health and 675 in bad or very bad health. 

10.21% of Aylesbury home owning OAP’s are in poor health 

But if you look at the figures for the whole of Aylesbury Vale District Council (not just Aylesbury), there are only 266 specialist retirement homes that one could buy (if they were in fact for sale) and 826 homes available to rent from the Council and other specialist providers (again- you would be waiting for dead man’s shoes to get your foot in the door) and many older homeowners wouldn’t feel comfortable with the idea of renting a retirement property after enjoying the security of owning their own home for most of their adult lives. 

My intuition tells me the majority ‘would be’ Aylesbury downsizers could certainly afford to move but are staying put in bigger family homes because they can't find a suitable smaller property. The fact is there simply aren’t enough bungalows for the healthy older members of the Aylesbury population and specialist retirement properties for the ones who aren’t in such good health ... we need to build more appropriate houses in Aylesbury.

The Government's Housing White Paper, published a few weeks ago, could have solved so many problems within the UK housing market, including the issue of homing our aging population. Instead, it ended up feeling annoyingly ambiguous. Forcing our older generation to move with such measures as a punitive taxation (say a tax on wasted bedrooms for people who are retired) would be the wrong thing to do. Instead of the stick – maybe the Government could use carrot tactics and offer tax breaks for downsizers. Who knows – but something has to happen? 

... and come to think about it, isn’t the word ‘downsize’ such an awful word?  I prefer to use the word ‘decent-size’ instead of ‘down-size’- as the other phrase feels like they are lowering themselves, as though they are having to downgrade themselves in their retirement (and let’s be frank – no one likes to be downgraded).

The simple fact is we are living longer as a population and constantly growing with increased birth rates and immigration. So, what I would say to all the homeowners and property owning public of Aylesbury is ... more houses and apartments need to be built in the Aylesbury area, especially more specialist retirement properties and bungalows. The Government had a golden opportunity with the White Paper – and were sadly found lacking.

 

 

1,158,350 People use Aylesbury Train Station a year -

How does that affect the Aylesbury Property Market? 

It might surprise you that it isn’t always the poshest villages around Aylesbury or the swankiest Aylesbury streets where properties sell and let the quickest. Quite often, it’s the ones that have the best transport links. There is a reason why one of the most popular property programmes on television is called Location, Location, Location! 

As an agent in Aylesbury, I am frequently confronted with queries about the Aylesbury property market, and most days I am asked, “What is the best part of Aylesbury and the surrounding areas to live in these days?”, chiefly from new-comers to the area.  Now the answer is different for each person – a lot depends on the demographics of their family, their age, schooling requirements and interests etc. Nonetheless, one of the principal necessities for most tenants and buyers is ease of access to transport links, including public transport – of which the railways are very important. 

Official figures recently released state that, in total, 1,591 people jump on a train each and every day from Aylesbury Train station. Of those, 860 are season ticket holders. That’s a lot of money being spent when a season ticket, standard class, to London is £3,920 a year.  

So, if up to £3.37m is being spent on rail season tickets each year from Aylesbury, those commuters must have some impressive jobs and incomes to allow them to afford that season ticket in the first place. That means demand for middle to upper market properties remains strong in Aylesbury and the surrounding area and so, in turn, these are the type of people whom are happy to invest in the Aylesbury buy to let market – providing homes for the tenants of Aylesbury…  

 

The bottom line is that property values in Aylesbury would be much lower, by at least 3% to 4%, if it wasn’t for the proximity of the railway station and the people it serves in the town

 

And this isn’t a flash in the pan. Rail is becoming increasingly important as the costs associated with car travel continue to rise and roads are becoming more and more congested. This has resulted in a huge surge in rail travel.  

 

Overall usage of the station at Aylesbury has increased over the last 20 years. In 1997, a total of 695,298 people went through the barriers or connected with another train at the station in that 12-month period. However, in 2016, that figure had risen to 1,158,350 people using the station (that’s 3,182 people a day). 

The juxtaposition of the property and the train station has an important effect on the value and saleability of an Aylesbury property. It is also significant for tenants - so if you are an Aylesbury buy to let investor looking for a property - the distance to and from the railway station can be extremely significant.

One of the first things house buyers and tenants do when surfing the web for somewhere to live is find out the proximity of a property to the train station. That is why Rightmove displays the distance to the railway station alongside each and every property on their website. 

 

For more thoughts on the Aylesbury Property market get in touch with ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk

Aylesbury rents rise by 22.6% since 2005

The Aylesbury Property Market is a very interesting animal and has been particularly so over the last 12 years when we consider what has happened to Aylesbury rents and house prices.  

There’s currently much talk of what will happen to the rental property market following Brexit. To judge that, I believe we must look at what happened in the 2008/9 credit crunch (and what has happened since) to judge rationale and methodically, the possible ramifications for long-term investors in the Aylesbury property market. You see, an important, yet overlooked measure is the performance of rental income against house prices (i.e. the resultant yields over time). In Aylesbury (as for the rest of Great Britain), notwithstanding a slight drop in 2008 and 2009, property rentals have been gradually increasing. 

The income from rentals has been progressively increasing over the last 12 years. Today, they are 22.6% higher than they were at the beginning of 2005. In fact, over the last five years, the average growth has been 2.4% per annum. From a landlord’s point of view, increases in average rental income are not to be sneered at. However, the observant readers will be noting that we are ignoring an important factor – our friend inflation. 

Turn the clock back to 2005, and we have a property being rented for say £900 a month and that is still being rented at £900 a month today, in Spring of 2017. While the landlord is not getting any less income, this £900 is no longer worth as much. Let me explain, in 2005, £900 may have bought a two-week 4* holiday in Italy. Yet, holidays have increased in line with inflation (which has been 38.5% since 2005), so our holiday would cost today £1,246 (£900 + 38.5% inflation = £1,246). Therefore, the landlord could no longer afford the same holiday, even though having the same amount in pound notes from their rental property. 

This means when we compare rents in Aylesbury to inflation since 2005, Aylesbury landlords are worse off today, when they receive their monthly rental income, than they were in 2005 by 15.9% in real terms (rents increased by 22.6% since 2005, less the 38.5% inflation since 2005 – net affect 15.9% drop)  

However, rental income is not the only way to generate money from property as property values can increase (capital growth). Although in the short term, cash flows are diminishing, many Aylesbury landlords may be content to accept that for an increase in capital value. 

Property values in Aylesbury have risen by 62.7% since 2005 

This equates to a 5.22% per annum increase over the last 12 years. This includes the 2008/9 property crash and will make those Aylesbury landlords and investors feel a little better about the information regarding rents after inflation. 

The prospects of making easy money on buy to let in Aylesbury have diminished, when compared to 2005. Last decade, making money from buy to let was pretty straight forward.

It would be true to say, my rental income versus property prices research does lead to noteworthy thoughts. I am often asked to look at my landlord’s rental portfolios, to ascertain the spread of their investment across their multiple properties. It’s all about judging whether what you have will meet your needs of the investment in the future. It’s the balance of capital growth and yield whilst diversifying this risk.

If you are investing in the Aylesbury property market, do your homework and do it well. While some yields may look attractive, there are properties in areas that do not have the solid foudations in place to sustain them. If you are looking for capital growth, you might be surprised where the hidden gems really are. Take advice, even ask your agent for a portfolio analysis like I offer my landlords. The majority of agents in Aylesbury will be able to give a detailed analysis of past and anticipated investment opportunity (especially the effect of inflation) on your portfolio. However, if they can’t help – well, you know where I am, the kettle is on!

ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk 

 

Sunshine walks with Nala

 

Aylesbury Rents To Rise Faster Than Aylesbury Property Prices In Next 5 Years

The next five years will see an interesting change in the Aylesbury property market. My recent research has concluded that the rent private tenants pay in Aylesbury will rise faster than Aylesbury property prices over the next five years, creating further issues to Aylesbury’s growing multitude of renters. In fact, my examination of statistics forecasts that ..  

By 2022, Aylesbury rents will increase by 23%, whereas Aylesbury property values will only grow by 16%. 

Let me explain why I have come to those conclusions: 

Over the last five years, property values in Aylesbury have risen by 48.7%, whilst rents have only risen by 16.3%. 

Throughout the last few years, and compounded in 2016, tenant demand for rental properties continued to go up whilst the Press predicted some landlords expect to reduce their portfolios in the next couple of years, meaning Aylesbury tenants will have fewer properties to choose from, which will push rents higher. In fact, talking to fellow property professionals in Aylesbury, there appears to be privation and shortage of new rental properties coming on to the Aylesbury lettings market.

 Landlords have some intriguing challenges ahead of them in the coming years most notably in that the Tory’s have changed the taxation rules for landlords in the way buy to let properties are to be taxed. On top of that, there is the ban on letting agent fees which is still to come into force (probably in 2018). When that happened in Scotland in 2012, Scottish letting agents passed on those fees to their landlords, who in turn increased the rent they charged to their tenants. 

All I would say to Theresa May and Philip Hammond is that they must be wary about indicating both red and green lights at the same time to the private rented sector. They can’t expect the armies of small private landlords to continue to house around a fifth of the population and then tax the hell out of them. They didn’t invest in buy to let as a charity or to satisfy any philanthropic urges. Something has to give – and that will be significant rent rises over the coming few years (and before anyone gives me any derogatory comments about landlords … if it wasn’t for landlords buying all these buy to let properties over the last 15 years, I am not sure where everyone would be living today – because most of the Council houses were sold off in the 1980’s!). 

With the challenges ahead, with the ‘B’ word (that’s budget if you wondered!), house price inflation will be tempered over the coming five years in Aylesbury. As I have discussed in previous articles, the number of properties on the market in Aylesbury remains close to historic lows, which is both good as it keeps house prices relatively stable, yet not so good as it impedes choice for buyers… and hence why I believe property values in Aylesbury will only be 16% higher in five years’ time.  

Whilst on the other side of the coin, with the challenges facing landlords and the significant shortage of new homes being built, Aylesbury people still need somewhere to live. If those people aren’t buying houses and the local authority aren’t building council houses in the thousands (because they have no money), with the average rent for an Aylesbury rental property currently standing at £895 per month … 

Over the next five years, I predict the average rent

in Aylesbury will rise to £1,100 per month 

These are interesting times. There is still money to be made with buy to let in Aylesbury – Aylesbury landlords will just need to be smarter and more savvy with their investments.

For the right free advice, what to buy and where, get in touch ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk

 

 

Aylesbury property market update for landlords and investors

As the end of the first quarter approaches it is a great time to take stock of what is going on in the property market. The New Year enthusiasm has died down a bit, optimistic agents, sellers and landlords alike have become a bit more realistic as the market finds its own level.

It is interesting to look at some facts.

The lettings stock available in Aylesbury has increased and continues to do so from 116 properties in January to 156 today. This illustrates that you as a landlord have more competition currently. You need to make sure your price is right and present the property to a high standard to ensure you let swiftly.

The number of lets in Aylesbury was just 62 in February, fewer in any one month than I can recall for years. New to the market tenants are reluctant to enter the market when high prices prevail. Fortunately March has been much better but some landlords have found themselves forced to reduce rents to attract tenants.

The supply of new stock coming to market is only slightly lower than last year. This surprised me as we were seeing many investors buying and then letting prior to the Stamp Duty changes in 2016.

The sales market has been indifferent in January and February but that is entirely in line with previous years. We have seen lots and lots of activity that does not convert to results until you reach March. This month has seen our sales double the previous two months and even more surprisingly double the level of sales we agreed in March 2016!

So there is no sign that prices are about to fall back. Of course they have to be realistic to start with. You are seeing many price reductions in the market but don’t be fooled in to thinking this is a sign that the market is falling. It is not. This is merely over ambitious agents working to bring their overpriced stock in line with the market, where it should have been to start with! I think many investors, buy to let landlords were waiting to see if the market would fall back from its high levels as the year progressed, but there is little sign of that.

In summary…if you were waiting for the market to take a tumble before buying to let it does not look like that is about to happen. Buy now before the good stock has disappeared.

If you are trying to let, getting your price and presentation spot on is vital to attract tenants.

As always do your own research and make sure you are buying the right property to suit your investment goals.

Thinking of buying? Get in touch to discuss your plans - I give FREE no obligation advice and can probably save you money! ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk

Triple Husky trouble

 

 

Notes

The figures used above have been generated via Rightmove using various filters in the search for data. These filters or lack of them will generate different results dependent upon the filters used.