Only 1.4% of Northampton Homes Are For Sale

The Northampton Property Market continues to disregard the end of the world prophecies of a post Brexit fallout with a return to business as usual after the summer break.

The challenge every Northampton property buyer has faced over the last few years is a lack of choice – there simply hasn't been much to choose from when buying (be it for investment or owner occupation). Levels are still well down on what would be considered healthy levels from earlier in this decade, as there is still a substantial demand/supply imbalance. Until we start to see consistent and steady increases in properties coming on to the market in Northampton, the market is likely to see upward pressure on property values continue.

For example, last month in NN5 saw 133 new properties coming on to the market, not bad when you consider for the last year the average has been in the 85 to 95 ranges. With the average Northampton property value hitting a record high, reaching almost £238,100 according to my research, this shortage of properties on the market over the last two years has contributed to this ‘fuller' average property figure.

As I write this article, 1.48% of Northampton properties are up for sale. In terms of actual Chimney Pots, that equates to 1,077 properties on the market in Northampton (within 5 miles of the centre of Northampton) – which, when compared to only a year ago when that figure stood at 1,103, is a slight decrease in the number of properties available to buy. Split down into the type of property; it makes even more fascinating reading ...

 

• Detached Properties in Northampton  - 343 on the market a year ago compared to 394 on the market now – an increase of 15%
• Semi-detached Properties in Northampton - 233 on the market a year ago compared to 221 on the market now - a decrease of 5%
• Terraced Properties in Northampton - 210 on the market a year ago compared to 196 on the market now – a decrease of 7%
• Flats / Apartments Properties in Northampton  - 230 on the market a year ago compared to 176 on the market now - a decrease of 23%

This is evidence of strength in the Northampton housing market that many didn't expect. Many believed that the Northampton property market wasn't going to be strong enough post Brexit - as what was a sellers' market before the Brexit vote and Buyers' market in the early months after it, may now be somewhere in between and the market might just be coming back into balance.

However, all this will mean property values won't continue to grow at the same extent they have been over the last 12 to 18 months, and in some months (especially on the run up to Christmas and early in the New Year), values might dip slightly. This won't be down to Brexit but a re-balancing of the Northampton Property Market – which is good news for everyone. 

Peaceful Buy to Let Northampton

Today I have found this suitable buy to let property in Westone, Northampton, although it’s a bit further out of the town it is very popular with tenants wanting more of a peaceful surrounding.

It’s a ground floor maisonette and is offered to the market with No Upper Chain. Accommodation comprises; entrance hall, sitting room, kitchen, two double bedrooms and bathroom. Outside there is the benefit of two allocated parking spaces one to the front and another to the rear of the property. Further benefits include gas radiator heating and double glazing.

I would expect to see a rental value in the region of £650.00 pcm on this type of property, in this location, so when we compare this with the asking price of £124,995 would see a healthy return of 6.2%.

With flats and maisonettes there is normally the lease to consider and possible charges for the services and ground rents, but I notice on the advert it says the vendor advises there are 107 years remaining on the lease and the service charge is £675 PA – which isn't too bad either!

Belvoir are the selling agents of this one, so get in touch with them for more information or follow the link below to view the advert on Rightmove…

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45304371.html 

High Demand Property Northampton

Two bedroom houses are in high demand with tenants at the moment, so why not check out this property for sale as a possible investment…

It appeared today on Rightmove and is being sold with Connells estate agents in Kingsthorpe Northampton. 

They describe it as a well presented two bedroom terraced property with accommodation comprising entrance hall, cloakroom, kitchen and lounge with French doors onto the garden. First floor, two bedrooms and bathroom. Outside driveway providing off road parking for two cars side by side and rear garden.

Personally I would give it a once over decor wise to freshen it up and perhaps tone down the purple……… tenants love to move into a property that smells of paint!

The likely rent for this type of property in good order would be £700.00 pcm, giving you a return of 5.0% gross so it really does work as an investment.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45253935.html

Private Renting set to grow by 6,800 Northampton households by 2025

I was having a most interesting chat the other day with a Northampton landlord when we were looking at a property. As I am sure you are aware, I am always happy to cast my eye over any potential buy to let purchase in Northampton, be that you emailing me a Rightmove link, a brochure in the post or even treading the carpet and seeing it together. I don't charge for that, and you don't even need to be a client of mine. We got talking about the Northampton Property Market and this landlord brought up the subject of a report he had read from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) that stated almost 1.8m new rental homes are needed by 2025 to keep up with current demand from tenants. He wanted to know what this meant for Northampton.

Well some commentators said last Winter that buy to let was about to die, what with the new stamp duty changes and how mortgage tax relief will be calculated. Others even said 500,000 rental properties would flood the market nationally in the 12 months after the new Stamp Duty rules came into force on the 1st April 2016 as landlords left the rental market. Well, all I can say is, I wish all the landlords of those half a million properties would hurry up and put them on the market – because I have plenty of other potential landlords wanting to buy them!

Back to the matter in hand… if the RICS and PWC are indeed correct, what does this mean for Northampton? The fact is, as a country, we are facing a precarious rental shortage and need to get Northampton building in a way that benefits a cross-section of Northampton society, not just the fortunate few. I call on the Prime Minister to drop the higher stamp duty tax on buy to let purchases to ease the pressure on the rental market.

Of the 90,000 households in Northampton, currently 38,900 tenants live in 15,900 private rented properties. If we apportion those 1.8m households equally around the Country, that means in nine years’ time, the number of rental properties in Northampton needs to rise by 6,800 (i.e. 42.8%)  taking the total number of rented properties in the town to 22,700.

That means Northampton landlords need to buy around 800 properties a year between now and 2025 to meet that demand – because according to my calculations, an additional 16,700 people will want to live in all those 'additional' Northampton rental properties – so why is the government penalising landlords?

Thankfully the new housing minister Gavin Barwell detached Teresa May's new administration from the Cameron/Osborne laser-like focus of just home ownership to solve our housing issues, saying "we need to build more homes for every single type of person needing a home and not focus on one single tenure". The private rented sector became a stooge under David Cameron's watch and still, with increasingly unaffordable Northampton house prices, the majority of new Northampton households will be relying on the rental sector in the future to house them. 

I can only say Westminster must put in place the measures that will allow the rental sector to flourish. Any restrictions on the supply of rental property will push up rents (bad news for tenants), thus side-lining those members of Northampton society who are already struggling. Let's hope this new Government continues to see the contribution landlords give to the country as a whole.