Stamford Property Market in 2017 and Beyond

As the leaves on the trees turn from green to hues of red and brown, the Stamford property market has a confident feel to it.

With the underlying fundamentals of a continued lack of properties being built, a shortage of properties coming to the market (both in terms of quantity and quality), and the continued low mortgage rate environment, buyer enquiries from first time buyers and buy-to-let landlords is strong and motivation is even stronger given those inexpensive lending rates and general demand caused by under supply.

Property ownership, whether it’s as a home for yourself or as a buy-to-let investment, is a long term investment and commitment.  In fact, an increasing number of landlords with properties in Stamford have recently contacted me asking me for my thoughts on the future of the town’s buy-to-let market.  As the politician Edmund Burke said in the 18^th century, "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it”.  In other words, to see the future you must look into the past.

Since the millennium, the housing market has had everything thrown at it; the recent Brexit result, last year’s general election, the near melt down of the world economy with the ‘credit crunch’, The dot com boom (and bust), the housing market crisis in 2008, the housing boom of 2001 to 2004 … the list goes on.  To demonstrate this, there is a graph (courtesy of the Land Registry) of average property values since the millennium in the South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) area.

Even though we had the dot com bubble burst in 2000, just 2 years later in 2002 property values in the SKDC area had risen from £65,200 (in Jan 2000) to £87,800 - and kept rising to September 2007 when they peaked at £180,900.  Then the credit crunch hit us and property prices continued to fall until July 2009 where they averaged £143,800.  But, look where they are now … £190,000.

The point I am trying to get across is long term future property values are more helpful to landlord investors than the month-by-month headline grabbing micro movements in the property market.  If you refer to the graph again you will notice the overall growth in property values follows an upward trend BUT, the average darts about as each month goes by.

So, don’t watch the property indexes and panic if values drop next month or the month afterwards, because even in the glory days of 2001 to 2004 and 2012 to 2014, without fail, values always dropped slightly around Christmas.  People will always need a roof over their heads, and if they can’t buy and the council aren’t building anymore, only buy-to-let landlords can meet that ever increasing demand.

Stamford landlords are being hit in the pocket with the new up and coming taxation rules and, yes, we might have a bumpy ride on the run up to Christmas (because of the points raised earlier), but Brexit or no Brexit, the trend will be a slow and steady upward momentum of property values, demand for rental properties and yields in the Stamford property market into 2017 and beyond.

For professional, trustworthy advice on buying, selling, renting and managing your personal homes and property investments please call David Crooke, Owner and Managing Director.

 
UPP PROPERTY AGENTS
Understanding People and Property



Email: david@upp-property.co.uk

Stamford: 01780 484 554      Oakham: 01572 725 825

 

Not 3, but 4 great buy-to-lets on this week's Rutland & Stamford property market..

With Oakham experiencing such a positive and buoyant rental market currently, I have selected 3 strong properties to consider this week, and 1 great property that's caught my eye in Stamford.

PROPERTY 1:

3 Bedroom Town House for Sale.  £199,950

Coleridge Way, Oakham.  On the market with Moores.

 

3 storey town houses have just started to creep over the £700pcm threshold in Oakham.  We have recently let one out at £725pcm on Kilburn End in Oakham and we were delighted with the amount of applications we received.  This property would probably fetch a similar amount £725pcm which would bring in a yield of 4.4%.  A decent return for a low maintenance property.

 

Price: £199,950
Rent: Approx. £725pcm
Yield: c4.4%

Click this link for more details on this property:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61931453.html  

PROPERTY 2:
3 Bedroom Town House for Sale. Guide Price £175,000
Graffham Drive, Oakham.  On the market with James Sellicks Estate Agents.

Having spoken to the agents selling this property this week, you would be able to acquire the property at £170,000 and with a return of £695pcm the yield would come in close to 5%. An excellent property that should be low maintenance and great purchase for all new buy-to-let landlords.

Guide Price: £175,000
Rent: Approx. £695pcm
Yield: c5%

Click this link for more details on this property:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54968572.html

PROPERTY 3:
2 Bedroom Apartment for Sale.  Guide Price £119,950
The Sidings, Oakham.  On the market with UPP Property Agents.

Having been reduced from £129,950 to now £119,950 and with a return of £550pcm on the rent, these properties on The Sidings are a tremendous purchase. The gross yield is 5.5% but, do remember you have to pay a service and maintenance charge with all leasehold properties that will eat in to your return.

You should still clear 4.5% yield with  this property and is definitely one that would let out easily.

 

Guide Price: £119,950

Rent: Approx. £550pcm

Yield: c4.5+%

 

Click this link for more details on this property:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43995063.html



PROPERTY 4:
2 Bed Terraced House For Sale.  £155,000
Little Casterton Road, Stamford.  On the market with Newton Fallowell

An immaculate 2 double bedroom mid terrace property located close to town. This property would make a wonderful rental investment because the condition is excellent and the location is just as good. You can expect a rental return of c£625pcm which would bring in a yield of 4.8%. A very sensible first time investment also.

Guide Price: £155,000
Rent: Approx. £625pcm
Yield: 4.8%

Click this link for more details on this property:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60336683.html


If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail, or if you are considering another property, please do get in touch with me.  I am here to help and will be glad to discuss any property with you.

UPP PROPERTY AGENTS
Understanding People and Property

We are here to help you buy, sell, rent and manage your own homes and property investments.

Email: david@upp-property.co.uk

Stamford: 01780 484 554      Oakham: 01572 725 825

 

‘Savers’ batten down the hatches with low interest rates

Read the newspapers and every financial commentator is stating that with the decision of The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee in early August to cut the base rate to an all time low of 0.25 per cent, savers should prepare themselves for interest rates to stay low well into the early 2020’s.

... And this isn’t some made up story to capture the headlines. The ‘yield’ (a posh word for interest rates and return) on Government 10-year bonds is currently 0.61%.  This indicates that the money markets believe that The Bank of England’s base rate will, on average over the next 10 years, be below the 0.61% rate they are buying the 10-year bonds at (because they would lose money if the average was over 0.61%). UK interest rates are going to be low for a long time.

For those who have saved throughout their working lives and are looking for ways to maximise on their savings, tying money into property could prove advantageous.  I did a search of the internet and the best savings rate I could find was a 5-year fixed rate at 2.5% pa with ‘Weatherbys Bank’.  A considerable £200,000 ‘nest egg’ or inheritance windfall would earn you £5,000 pa – not much.  Conversely, growth in Oakham house prices and princely buy-to-let yields have made property investment in Oakham an appealing option for many.  According to my research, the...

Average yield over the last 5 years for Oakham buy-to-let property has been 5% pa, and average property values over the same period have risen by a very respectable 21.1%

Using these averages, the Oakham landlord’s property would be worth £242,200 and they would have received a total of £50,000 in rent – generating a total return of £292,200.  Meanwhile, looking at our ‘savers’ (using the average savings rates for the last 5 years - even if they had reinvested the interest), their £200,000 would only be £221,184.

There are of course risks as well as benefits with buy-to-lets though.  As my blog readers know, I tell it like it is, and investing in buy-to-let means locking up capital in a property that may fall in value.  Another option would be stock market income based investment funds, which are paying around 5%, especially if put your nest egg into a tax free stocks and shares ISA. 

 

The other side of the coin is that you cannot buy an unloved ‘stock market income based investment fund’ and set about renovating it and adding value yourself!

 

Selling, buying, renting and managing your homes and property investments shouldn't be stressful, and we treat your property as if it were our own.  Please get in touch with us - we offer independent, trustworthy advice on the Rutland and Stamford property market.

 

David Crooke

Managing Director

 

UPP Property Agents   Rutland 01572 725 825 and Stamford 01780 484 554

 

david@upp-property.co.uk

 

 

 

3 Great Buy-To-Let Deals on the market this week in Rutand and Stamford

Property 1:
2 Bedroom Terraced House For Sale.  £136,500
Ladywell, Oakham.  On the market with Gilbert & Thomas

 

 

Fabulous 2 bedroom house in a prime rental development.  'Ladywell' is a great location to start your buy-to-let portfolio - especially freehold properties like this one.  Offered to the market in excellent order, this property makes for a wonderful investment.  Achievable rental income of £575pcm. Yield return of over 5%. A rental property that must considered.

Price: £136,500
Rent: Approx. £575pcm
Yield: 5+%

 

Click this link for more details:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61235063.html 

 

 

Property 2:

2 Bedroom Semi-Detached House For Sale.  £150,000

Northumberland Avenue, Stamford.  On the market with Sharman Quinney

 

Spacious ex-local authority properties within close proximity to town are always highly in demand with tenants wishing to put down long-term roots.  They normally command a rental return of c£625pcm which is exactly a 5% yield.  This property has a good sized rear garden and is offered in good order.  It is exactly what new investors should be looking for. 
 
Price: £150,000
Rent: Approx. £625pcm
Yield: 5%
Click this link for more details:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61961600.html


Property 3:
3 Bedroom Terraced House For Sale.  Guide Price £179,950
Kings Road, Oakham.  On the market with UPP Property Agents
 

This spacious property has been an outstanding rental property for the current owner.  We have successfully let this property out for many years, and it always generates lots of positive interest.  We have been achieving an income of £595pcm for the current landlord and, with an expected sale price of £170,000 , the yield would bring in 4.2%.

Why don't you read one of my popular blog articles on the continuing demand and appeal of the 'humble terraced house'?; http://rutland-stamford-property.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-stamford-love-affair-with-its-2800.html
 

 

Guide Price: £179,950
Rent: Approx. £595pcm
Yield: 4.2%

Click this link for more details:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44350011.html

Remember...Whichever property you go for, always make sure the boiler is has been serviced regularly!

If you are considering purchasing an investment property, or if you would like to discuss one you already own, please get in touch with us. 

We are here to help you buy, sell, rent and manage your homes and property investments; be that a rental property or your own home.
 

Email: david@upp-property.co.uk
 

UPP Property Agents:  Stamford: 01780 484 554      Oakham: 01572 725 825

How will the 0.25% Interest Rate affect the Stamford Property Market?

I had an interesting chat with a landlord from Tinwell Road who owns a few properties in the town. We had never spoken before because she currently uses another agent to manage her Stamford investment properties, yet after following my property blog for a while, the lady wanted to know my opinion on how the recent interest rate cut would affect the Stamford property market, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you too.



Well, it’s been a few weeks now since interest rates were cut to 0.25% by the Bank of England as they believed Brexit could lead to a materially lower path of growth for the UK, especially for the manufacturing and construction industries.

For the country as a whole, the manufacturing and construction industries are still performing well below the pre-credit crunch levels of 2008/09, so the British economy remains highly susceptible to an economic shock. This is especially important in Stamford, because even though we have had a number of local success stories in manufacturing and construction, a large number of ‘Stamfordians’ are employed in these sectors.

In Stamford, of the 10,161 people who have a job - 1,317 are in the manufacturing industry and 803 are in construction, meaning...

13% of Stamford workers are employed in the manufacturing sector and 7.9% of Stamford workers are in construction.

The other sector of the economy the Bank of England is worried about, and an equally important one to the Stamford economy, is the financial services industry. Financial services in Stamford employ 322 people, making up 3.2% of the Stamford working population.

Together with a cut in interest rates, the Bank of England also announced an increase in the quantity of money via a new programme of Quantitative Easing to buy £70bn of Government and Private Bonds. Now that won’t do much to the Stamford property market directly, but another measure also included in the recent announcement was £100bn of new funding to banks. This extra £100bn will help the High Street banks pass on the base rate cut to people and businesses, meaning the banks will have lots of cheap money to lend for mortgages, and in turn this will have a huge effect on the Stamford property market (as that £100bn would be enough to buy half a million homes in the UK).

It will take until early in the New Year to find out the real direction of the Stamford property market and the effects of Brexit on the economy as a whole, the subsequent recent interest rate cuts and the availability of cheap mortgages. However, something bigger than Brexit and interest rates is the inherent undersupply of housing (something I have spoken about many times in my blog and even how Stamford could be affected).

The severe undersupply means that Stamford property prices are likely to increase further in the medium to long term, even if there is a dip in the short term. This only confirms what every homeowner and landlord has known for decades, that is, investing in property is a long term project and as an investment vehicle, it will continue to outstrip other forms of investment due to the high demand for a roof over people’s heads and the low supply of new properties being built.


For professional, trustworthy advice on buying, selling, renting and managing your personal homes and property investments please call David Crooke, UPP Property Agents.


Tel: Oakham 01572 725 825 or Stamford 01780 484 554

Email: david@upp-property.co.uk  / www.upp-property.co.uk

This week's '3 Best Buy-To-Let Deals' in Stamford and Rutland...

Property 1:
3 Bedroom Semi-Detached House For Sale.  £164,950
Weston Ville, Collyweston, Nr Stamford.  Marketed by Nest Estates.

 

 

A wonderful first time investment opportunity in a popular Stamford village. The property appears to be presented in good order with 3 excellent size bedrooms. Collyweston sits in a neighbouring village, with good links to nearby Stamford and whilst we manage half a dozen properties within this village, we could always do with more. The asking price of this property has caught my attention because the monthly rental return would be in the region of £695pcm which is a fantastic 5.1% yield.

 

Click here for more details:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61775252.html  

Price: £164,950

Rent: Approx. £695pcm

Yield: c5.1%

Property 2:
2 Bedroom Terraced House For Sale.  Offers in the Region of £139,000
Deans Terrace, Uppingham. Marketed by Moores.

This property has been on and off the market for a couple of years now. The location, size and condition of this terrace house makes it a healthy rental property. We have just let 2 properties of similar size and age in Uppingham and both properties had multiple applications. With a very respectable return of £595pcm based the current asking price, the yield would come in at 5.1%.

Click here for more details:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61752359.html
Price: OIRO £139,000
Rent: Approx. £595pcm
Yield: c5.1%


Property 3:
3 Bedroom Terraced House for Sale.  Guide Price £199,950
Hornbeam Lane, Uppingham.  On the market with UPP Property Agents.

I have been told by Adrian McCarthy (sales director at UPP Property Agents) that this property is also available on a 50% part ownership opportunity.

 

However, Spire Homes are now also offering the property to the open market and this makes this property particularly interesting, especially from a buy-to-let prospective.

 

 

 

Bringing in a return of £795pcm the property would generate a respectable yield of 4.8%. This great sized house would be of huge demand to young families wishing to put down long term roots.

 

Click this link for more details:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44227128.html

Guide Price: £199,950

Rent: Approx. £795pcm

Yield: c4.8%

 

 

If you are considering purchasing an investment property, or if you would like to discuss one you already own, please get in touch with us.  We are here to help you buy, sell, rent and manage your homes and property investments; be that a rental property or your own home.

Email: david@upp-property.co.uk
 

UPP Property Agents:  Stamford: 01780 484 554      Oakham: 01572 725 825

 

 

 

New House Building in Rutland slumps by 25.2% in the last year

Speaking frankly, even with Brexit and the fact immigration numbers will now be reduced in the coming years, there is an unending and severe shortage of new housing being built, both nationally and locally.

Rutland’s increasing population and the subsequent demand for homes versus a curtailed supply of ‘new build properties’ is creating an imbalance, and the possibility of even lower interest rates will go further to underpin the property market.

 

When the Tories were elected in 2015, David Cameron vowed to build 1,000,000 new homes by 2020.  As a country, if we hit those levels of building, most academics stated the UK housing market would balance itself as the increased supply of property would give a chance for the younger generation to buy their own home as opposed to rent.  However, the up-to-date building figures show that in the first quarter of 2016 building ‘starts’ were down.  Nationally, there were 35,530 house building starts in the first quarter, a long way off the 50,000 per quarter required to hit those ambitious targets.

Looking closer to home, in 2014/15, for every 1,000 existing households in the area an additional 7.61 homes were built, for 2015/16, that figure is now only 5.69 homes built per 1,000 existing households.  Nationally, to meet that 1,000,000 new homes target, we need to be at 7.12 new homes per 1,000.

 

To put those numbers into real chimney pots, (according to the Office of National Statistics, from April ’15-April ’16), in the Rutland County Council area: 

·         60 Private Builders (e.g. New Homes Builders)

·         0 Housing Association

·         0 Local Authority

 

However, it must be said that there does seem to be a lot of building work going on currently in Rutland.  But remember, with only 60 new builds recorded last year and with a target of 75 houses needed per annum to even stand still, this means we need a minimum of 90 new homes building from April 16 – April 17.

I believe David Cameron and George Osborne focused their attention too much on the demand side of the housing equation, using the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme and low deposit mortgages to convert the ‘Generation Rent’ into ‘Generation Buy’.  Conversely, I would strongly recommend the new Housing Minster, Gavin Barwell, should concentrate the Government’s efforts on the supply side of the equation.  There needs to be transformations to planning laws, massive scale releases of public land and more investment, as more inventive solutions are needed.

Ultimately, responsibility has to rest on the shoulders of Theresa May.  Whilst our new PM has many plates to spin, evading on the housing crisis will only come at greater cost later on.  What a legacy it would be if it was Theresa May who finally got to grips with the persistent and enduring shortage of homes to live in.  The PM has already referenced the “need to do far more to get more houses built” and stop the decline of home ownership.  However, she has also ruled out any changes to the green belt policy – something I will talk about in a future article.  Hopefully these statistics will raise the alarm bells again and persuade both residents and councillors in the Rutland County Council area that new housing needs to be higher on its agenda.

For professional, trustworthy advice on buying, selling, renting and managing your personal homes and property investments please call David Crooke, UPP Property Agents.


Tel: Oakham 01572 725 825 or Stamford 01780 484 554

Email: david@upp-property.co.uk / www.upp-property.co.uk

 

 

Here's this week's '3 Best Buy-To-Let Deals in Stamford & Rutland'...

Property 1:
2 Bedroom Terraced House For Sale.  Offers Over £135,000
Kings Road, Oakham.  Marketed by Moores Estate Agents.

As far as 2 bedroom Victorian properties go, this one is represents excellent value at £135,000. The current rental return would bring in c£625pcm which in fact is a very respectable yield of 5.5%. The property is located within a very popular rental investment area and we have always found these properties very easy to find tenants. The best investment on the market in the last 7 days.

Price: OO £135,000
Rent: Approx. £625pcm
Yield. c.5.5%

Click this link for more details:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59133971.html

 

 

 

Property 2:

2 Bedroom Town House For Sale.  Offers In Excess Of £170,000

St. Leonard's Street, Stamford.  Marketed by Sharman Quinney.

The private rental sector in Stamford just keeps going from strength to strength. St Leonard's is a wonderful street located off the top of Stamford High Street, and gives tenants a fantastic sense of town living with the benefit of being located away from the noise. With a return of £725pcm on the rent, the yield is close to 5% (4.9%) based on its asking price.

Price: OIEO £170,000
Rent: £725pcm
Yield: c4.9%

Click this link for more details:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38733933.html

 

 

 

Property 3:
2 Bedroom Cottage For Sale. Guide Price £219,950
Top Street, Wing, Rutland. Marketed by UPP Property Agents.

We’ve been asked by the vendor to re-market this property for sale at £219,950. The property was on the lettings market and we had three applications in, all were rejected by the vendor and they have decided to sell.

 

With a rental return of £650pcm and with a potential purchase at £200,000 the yield return would bring in c4%. The added benefit with this purchase is its location...it is in the heart of Wing which is a beautiful village to retire in! 

Guide Price: £219,950
Rent: Approx. £650pcm
Yield: c4%Contact: Adrian McCarthy, UPP Property Agents on 01572 725 825

Click this link for more details:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44050029.html


If you are considering purchasing a different investment property, and would like to discuss it in detail, please contact me via: david@upp-property.co.uk or call 01572 725 825

 

Alternatively, if you have a property and are unsure of its sales or rental value, please contact UPP Property Agents on 01572 725 825.

 

10,100 residents in every square mile of Stamford - Is the town over crowded?

Stamford is already in the clutches of a population crisis that has now started to affect the quality of life of those living in the town.  There are simply not enough homes in Stamford to house the greater number of people wanting to live there.  The burden on public services is almost at breaking point with many parents complaining of being unable to send their child to their first choice of school or unable to register with their preferred dentist or GP.

Well that’s what the papers would say.  But let’s look at real numbers, and in particular my specialist subject of the Rutland and Stamford property market, and today I’m looking at the housing issue in Stamford.

To start with, the UK has roughly 1,065 people per square mile – the second highest in Europe. The total area of Stamford itself is 1.949 square miles and there are 19,700 Stamford residents, meaning …

With 10,100 people live in each square mile of Stamford, it’s no wonder the town appears to be bursting at the seams!

 

… but yet again, newspapers, politicians and property market bloggers quote big numbers to sell more newspapers, get elected or get people to read their blog (I recognise the irony!).  A square mile is enormous, so the numbers look correspondingly large (and headline grabbing).  Most people reading this will know what an ‘acre’ is, but for those readers who don’t, it is an imperial unit of measurement for land and it is approximately 63 metres square.

In Stamford, only 14.40 people live in every acre of Stamford … not as headline grabbing, but a lot closer to home and relative to everyday life, and if I am being honest, a figure that doesn’t seem too bad.

Yet, the issue at hand is simply that we need more homes building.  In 2007, Tony Blair set a target that 240,000 homes a year needed to be built to keep up with the population growth, whilst the Tory’s new target since 2010 was a more modest 200,000 a year.  However, since 2010, as a country, we have only been building between 140,000 and 150,000 houses a year.  So where are we going to build these homes, because we have no space! Or do we?

Well, let me tell you this fascinating piece of information I found out recently in an official Government report.  Looking specifically at England (as it is the most densely populated country of the Union), all the 20 million English homes cover only 1.1% of its land mass. That is not a typo, only 1.1% of land in England is covered by residential property. In more detail, of all the land in the country…

 

·         Residential Houses and Flats 1.1%

·         Gardens 4.3%

·         Shops and Offices 0.7%

·         Highways (Roads and Paths) 2.3%

·         Railways 0.1%

·         Water (Rivers /Reservoirs) 2.6%

·         Industry, Military and other uses 1.4%

·         .. leaving 88.5% as Open Countryside (and if you think about it, add to that the gardens, which are green spaces, and the country is 92.8% greenspace)

 

As a country, we have plenty of space to build more homes for the younger generation and the 5 million more homes needed in the next 20 years would use only 0.25% of the country’s land.

 
Now I am not advocating building massive housing estates and 20-storey concrete and glass apartment blocks next to local beauty spots such as Burghley Park or nearby Rutland Water, but with some clever planning and ‘joined up thinking’, we really do need to think outside the box when it comes to how we are going to build and house our children and our children’s children in the coming 50 years in Stamford.

For advice on buying, selling, renting and managing your homes and property investments please call UPP Property Agents on 01572 725 825 or email david@upp-property.co.uk