716% rise in Stamford property prices since 1981

Looking back 35 years to 1981 and Maggie Thatcher was in power, we had a Royal Wedding, Britain won the Ashes and Bucks Fizz won The Eurovision Song Contest with "Making your Mind up’"   How things have changed!

I wish I had a pound for every homeowner and property investor who says to me ‘that with hindsight they wished they had bought up every house in Stamford all those years ago’.  Especially when you realise...



...Stamford property values since 1981 have risen by 716%

Now that's really 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 Stamford are 444.1% higher.   It’s no wonder people can’t afford to buy property anymore and landlords continue to remain attracted by bricks and mortar.  Yet the changes to the property market run much deeper than property value changes, as no one could have predicted how the property market could have changed over the last 30 years.

Referring to Local Authority data for South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) in 1981, 28.6% of Stamfordians lived in a council house, whilst today its 13.4% ... a massive drop which can mostly be attributed to Margaret Thatcher 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’ve almost doubled, however, with the proportion of properties privately rented in the Stamford area (i.e. through a private landlord or a letting agency) there has been a slight increase, rising from 12.4% to 14.6% of property.

So, let us reflect on those people who own their own home, surely that has had a massive drop?  In 1981, the proportion of people who lived in the SKDC area who owned their own home was 58.9%, and today it’s 69.4%.  Not the seismic change most of you were expecting (including myself!).

Homeownership in the 1980’s and 1990’s in Stamford did in fact rise, but (as I have discussed in previous articles in my on-line blog) that was because nearly every council tenant was 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.

Therefore, this is why the buy-to-let market is an investment sector that will continue to grow as councils aren’t building council houses in their thousands each year (like they were in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s).  The 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 regulations and landlord and tenant law in a different perspective to the doom mongers and see it as bringing many opportunities where yield will become more important.

Like the famous Bucks Fizz lyrics, it’s time for “making your mind up”!  The advice I give to my landlords is this; these changes will make some landlords panic, meaning competition for decent buy-to-let bargains will reduce as fear of change kicks in and amateur investors flee the market.  These opportunities will provide a more stable platform for knowledgeable and wise buy-to-let landlords to thrive in.

I like to keep a close eye on the local property market on a daily basis because it enables me to give the best advice and opinion.  If you want to learn more about the Rutland and Stamford property market, feel free to pop in for a coffee at our office for a chat with me.

 

For professional advice on buying, selling, renting and managing your homes and property investments.

David Crooke
Owner & Managing Director

 

UPP PROPERTY AGENTS
Understanding People & Property

Email: david@upp-property.co.uk

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