942% - Rise in Aylesbury Property Prices since 1981

Roll the clock back 35 years to 1981, and Mrs. T was in power, we had a Royal Wedding, Britain won the Ashes and Bucks Fizz won Eurovision with ‘Making your Mind up’. Things have changed.  Homeowners and property investors say they wish they had hindsight and bought up every house in Aylesbury all those years ago, especially when you consider what has happened to Aylesbury property values, as…  

Aylesbury Property Values since 1981 have risen by 942%. 

Not bad when you consider inflation over the same time period has been 271.9%, meaning in real terms (i.e. after inflation), property values in Aylesbury are 670.1% higher.   It is no wonder people cannot afford to buy property anymore and landlords are attracted by bricks and mortar. Yet the changes to the Aylesbury Property market run much deeper than property value changes, as no one could have predicted how the property market has changed in Aylesbury over the last 30 years. 

Looking at the Local Authority data for Aylesbury Vale District Council in 1981, 28.5% of Aylesbury people lived in a Council House, whilst today its 12.9% ... a massive drop which can mostly be attributed to Maggie allowing Council tenants the right to buy their Council House.  The private rental sector since 1981 has, as one would have expected, also changed.  

Nationally they have almost doubled, however, the proportion of properties privately rented in the Aylesbury area (i.e. through a private landlord or a letting agency) may not have doubled, but they have increased, rising from 11.6% to 13.3% of property. 

So, let us consider those people who own their own home, surely that has had a massive drop?  In 1981, the proportion of people who lived in the Aylesbury Vale District Council area who owned their own home was 59.7% … and today it is … 71.6%. Not the seismic change most of us would expect. 

Homeownership in the 1980’s and 1990’s in Aylesbury did in fact rise, but as I have discussed in previous articles that was because so many Council tenants were buying their council house. Now there are hardly any Council houses for the younger generation to move into (because of the right to buy scheme) so they have no choice but to privately rent. 

 

This is why the buy to let market in Aylesbury is an investment sector that will continue to grow as councils are not building council houses in their thousands each year (like they were in the 1950’s,60’s and 70’s).  The Aylesbury property market is constantly changing and buy to let for too long has been heavily dependent on house price growth, where yield has been almost forgotten.  I see the changes in tax and landlord and tenant law in a different perspective to the sooth-sayers and see it as bringing many opportunities where yield will become more important.  You might need to change your buy to let targets, your methodology to financing or even consider places other than Aylesbury in which to invest your money, but this will shine a light on investing in properties with healthier yields and create more realistic long term buy to let opportunities. 

 

The advice I give to my landlords is this; these changes will make some landlords panic, meaning competition for good Aylesbury buy to let bargains will reduce. These opportunities will provide a more stable platform for knowledgeable Aylesbury buy to let landlords to thrive in.  If you want to discuss the Aylesbury Property Market, feel free to pop in for a coffee at our office for a chat.

ian@mortimersaylesbury.co.uk

 

 

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