The
‘Liquorice Allsorts’ Flitwick Property market
Despite the UK economy heading in the right direction with
record low mortgage rates and unemployment
figures dropping, the rate of
property prices rising in Flitwick have tempered since the start of the year.
This slow but sure downward trend in the rate of growth has been in evidence
since mid-2014. Property value increases
continue to outpace the growth in salaries, however the gap is closing, helped
by a lift in salaries over the last 6 months.
Property values in the East region as a whole are 8.8% higher than a
year ago. Compare this to the
neighbouring regions of the East Midlands at 2.9% higher and the South East at
9.1%, the majority of the country continue to see annual house price gains -
the exception being Wales which recorded a slight decline of -0.6%.
Even with the tempering in house price inflation, it does
not necessarily change my outlook that property prices are likely to be firmer
over the second half of 2015 amid heightening activity in the Flitwick property
market. As stated in a previous article,
there is a current shortage of properties on the market, restricting supply,
which in turn will provide stability and support to Flitwick property prices.
Therefore, my overall opinion is that Flitwick property prices will rise by 6%
over 2015 and roughly the same in 2016.
Property investment is a long term business. Buying the right sort of property is vital. I have recently been speaking with a number of Flitwick landlords about the importance of a balanced portfolio, when buying and renting out property. The balance between buying properties that offer good monthly returns (high yields) but quite often offer poor capital growth (i.e. they don't increase in value that much over the years compared with the average) verses properties that do go up in value quicker but often offer a lower yield. So, what type of properties have performed best over the last few years in Flitwick, especially in terms of their capital growth?
When comparing what the average price of detached, semi detached, terraced and flats were selling for back at the start of the Millennium to the present. The results are quite remarkably different, almost like a bag of Liquorice Allsorts, as the different types of property have performed poles apart over the last 15 years:
- Detached Houses in 2000 were selling on average for £190,963 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Flitwick for £403,300 a rise of 111%
- Semi -Detached Houses in 2000 were selling on average for £83,464 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Flitwick for £228,833 a rise of 174%
- Terraced Houses in 2000 were selling on average for £77,868 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Flitwick for £182,100 a rise of 134%
- Flats and Apartments in 2000 were selling on average for £46,500 and so far in 2015, they have been selling on average in Flitwick for £165,250 a rise of 255%
Moving forward, what should new and existing buy to let landlords do with this information? Well, the questions I seem to be asked on an almost daily basis by landlords are:
- “Should I sell my property in Flitwick?”
- “Is the time right to buy another buy to let property in Flitwick and if not Flitwick, where?”
- “Are there any property bargains out there in Flitwick to be had?”
Many other Flitwick landlords, who are with both us and other local letting agents, like to pop in for a coffee, pick up the phone or email us to discuss the local property market, how Flitwick compares with its closest rivals (Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedford), and hopefully answer the three questions above. I don’t bite, I don’t do hard sell, I will just give you my honest and straight talking opinion. I look forward to hearing from you if i can be of help: 01525 838848 - graham@1st-house-lettings.co.uk
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