Buy-to-Let Deal of the Day - 4% Gross Yield Close To High Schools

I was interested to hear last week that the average first time buyer now earns over £50,000 per year and has to provide a deposit in the region of £30,000 to get onto the housing ladder.

It is no surprise then that many people are now considering renting as a long term alternative to buying. This maturing tenant market means that good quality family homes to close to local schools are always in demand. 

Looking on Rightmove this morning I noticed this charming three bedroom cottage on Grove Road (just off Kingsham Road, near the High Schools).

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39400887.html 

On the market with Cubitt & West estate agents at offers over £300,000, the property has been extended into the loft space to create three decent sized bedrooms, ideal for a growing family and looks in lovely condition judging by the photographs.

Rental values for three bedroom houses in Grove Road have been known to reach £1125pcm however I feel a more conservative £995pcm is reasonable for this particular property.

A purchase at the £300k mark with a rent of £995pcm would return a healthy 4% yield. Sale prices in Grove Road are also rising at an encouraging rate of over 18% over the last 5 years, meaning that a property of this ilk could make a savvy buy-to-let investment.

Rush to purchase buy-to-lets keeping housing market buoyant says RICS

Landlords trying to beat Chancellor George Osborne’s stamp duty surcharge deadline are behind the latest upbeat assessment of the housing market from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 

In its latest survey of residential members it says demand in December flouted the usual seasonal slowdown and rose to a three-month high after the government announcement that a three per cent duty surcharge would be imposed on April 1. 

In one region, the north west, 40 per cent of chartered surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries in December, up from 19 per cent in November.

RICS says high prices across most market sectors continues to be fuelled by a relative shortage of properties but new instructions to sell homes rose for the first time since January last year.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the RICS, says a further increase in activity is likely before the April stamp duty deadline. 

In the longer term, he believes prices in London, the South East and East Anglia would rise by a further five per cent over each of the next five years.

Article courtesy of Estate Agent Today

What can we expect from the Property Market in 2016?

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all. I hope that you had an enjoyable Christmas.

One question I was asked a few times over the festive period was whether the property market will continue to grow in 2016. In my opinion, the signs are good.

Halifax forecasts that house prices will grow between 4% to 6% this year, which is slightly slower than 2015, which saw a 9.7% annual growth. This steady and continued growth is fueled by lack of supply, shortage of new build developments, and indeed a homeowners fear that they may not be able to secure, or indeed afford, upgraded accommodation.

Buy-to-let continues to go from strength to strength, with lending in this market at a post-recession high. The main drivers for growth in the sector remain in place; restricted housing supply, high net migration, limited affordability and restrictions on lending.

In November, The Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that buy-to-let purchasers would face an additional 3% surcharge on each band of their stamp duty land tax bill, beginning in April this year. Some within the property industry have described this as a “catastrophe”, however in reality, I believe that landlords will simply factorise their additional costs into their offer price. Buy-to-let purchaser’s ability to complete quick transactions, with typically larger cash injections, and less lending restrictions, means that there is a better chance of a sale completing, thus always making this profile of buyer more attractive to a seller.

With these stamp duty changes on the horizon, we expect to see short-term benefits to the buy-to-let market, as prospective investors look to bring forward their purchases to beat the April deadline.

As a company, Martin & Co have quickly established themselves as the lettings specialist in the Chichester area, and we are proud to announce that we have now entered the property sales market. The reason for this recent addition is largely down to area demand and repeated requests from our current landlords to offer this service to either sell their rental properties and/or re-invest or expand their portfolios locally.

If you are considering selling your property this year, please come and talk to us in the first instance, as we have an active ever-growing database of landlords actively looking to invest.

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year.