Last
week, a landlord who lives in Ropsley stopped me in the street to discuss the
rising property values in our part of the East Midlands. He owns a varied
portfolio of rental properties, primarily in Grantham and Newark with one in Sleaford,
so it is interesting to compare the increase in property values around the
area.
Over
the last 12 months in Grantham average property values have risen from £167,000
to £182,100, a rise of £15,100 or £290 per week. When I looked at some of the
surrounding areas, Newark has had a much lower than average increase in
property values, at around £111 per week (as the average value of a Newark
property has risen from £179,200 to £185,000 , whilst Sleaford has had a slightly
higher rise of around £184 per week (taking an average property in Sleaford
from £163,300 to £172,900).
However,
when one looks at the percentages, Grantham has performed the best, rising by 9%
in the last 12 months, compared to Newark at 3.4% and Sleaford at 5.8%! It is,
nonetheless, a rise in all the town’s average property values which suggests
the market is increasing steadily in our area, but especially Grantham– good
news for home owners and landlords alike.
However,
back to Grantham, long term property values which track peaks and troughs are
more helpful to landlord investors. The questions I seem to be asked on an
almost daily basis by landlords are:-
·
“Should I sell my property in Grantham, or even buy another?”
·
“Is the time right to buy another buy to let property in Grantham and
if not Grantham, where?”
·
“Are there any property bargains out there in Grantham?”
When
considering this landlord’s buy to let portfolio, yields can be in the order of
an average 4% - 6.5% per year, depending where you buy, so combine that with
steady rental growth, excellent increases in capital values of the properties
themselves and it could be a good time to invest in the property market in Grantham
as property values start to rise.
If you would like some advice about buying to let,
be you a landlord with a portfolio or someone thinking of investing in the rental
market, do
what a number of other Grantham landlords do and visit the Grantham Property
Blog (link here http://granthampropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk/ ) where I discuss the Grantham property market, how Grantham compares with
its neighbouring towns/ rivals, and at the same time, I can hopefully answer
the three questions above.
