As my regular readers know, my passion is talking about Oakham
property. As a property agent I like to comment on the Oakham property market, which
I hope will be of interest to both homeowners and buy-to-let landlords alike.
However, this week, I want to
highlight the plight of the tenants of Oakham as bit by bit their wages are
being taken up by ever increasing rents. The cost of renting a home in Oakham
has broken through the £700 a month barrier as the average rent for a property
in the town, now stands at £710 per month, a rise of 1.6 % last month, leaving
rents for new lets 6.6% higher than they were 12 months ago.
House price inflation has
certainly eased in Oakham from the heady days of 2014, but still with retail
price inflation (for goods and services) reducing to 0% any increase in
property values, no matter how small, means in real terms property is still
getting more expensive.
Meanwhile, many tenants have
given up saving for a mortgage deposit, as rents continue to take a bigger
slice of their wage packets, leaving nothing to save for a deposit. That means,
progressively more tenants are deciding to rent for the long term and,
therefore, the desire for decent high quality rental properties continues to exceed
the available rental stock.
I would go as far as to suggest
that rents are an ideal barometer to the state of the local economy as a whole
and strongly believe that the recent increase in Oakham rents are a sign that
the Oakham economy is picking up.
This means Oakham landlords are
continuing to capitalise on the Oakham property market. The most recent Land
Registry data suggests the annual property price rises in the town have eased
over 2015, leaving property values only 4.85% higher than 12 months ago, so as
property price growth is easing off, with the increased rents, rental yields
are strengthening for the first time in years to compensate.
The mortgage market has become
more stable after the mad months of May and June after the Tory’s got back into
No.10, and so, everything is set to be good news for landlords; even with the
Chancellor’s change of tax rules in the coming years for buy-to-let mortgages. You can get some amazingly low
mortgage rate deals at the moment, so with mortgage rates so low and returns
still extraordinarily attractive, there’s rarely been a better time to invest
in rental properties.
However, (you knew there would be
a ‘however’!), it’s all about buying the right property at the right price. Not
all property types are seeing equal rises in rents and capital growth. Different parts of the town and different
types of properties are experiencing quite different changes.
For example, the average length
of time the 7 Oakham properties up for rent between £250 to £500 per month is 26
days, whilst the average length of time the 21 properties at £500 to £1000 per
month is 30 days and 7 properties that fall into the £1000 to £2000 per month
price bracket is 26 days. When you start comparing
different parts of Oakham, the numbers are even stranger! The bottom line is that you must take advice
and opinion.
To discuss any potential buy-to-let
properties currently on the market that have caught my eye, or if you have your own property to discuss,
please contact me to arrange a suitable time for us to meet.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Email me: David@upp-property.co.uk or call me on 01572 725 825 / 01780 484 554
No comments:
Post a Comment