6% Yield close to Town Centre

If I had a pound for every time a prospective tenant says they want to live “close to the tenant centre” I could be a millionaire.  I have seen this flat come on to the market that is not only close to town centre but also walking distance to the Manor Royal Industrial Estate.  The property is being marketed by Northwood, you can see the details by clicking here

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48933761.html

It is not the biggest 2 bedroom flat on the market but it has the big advantage of a garage and is in a very desirable location.  We would advertise at £900 per calendar month therefore a yield of over 6% is almost certain on this property.  If the tenants don’t have a car & rely on public transport they are well served by the FastWay buses that run almost 24 hours a day from the stops on the road outside the development. 

Increase yield by spending more..?

With house prices seeming to increase on a daily basis I am always interested when agents reduce the marketing price.  Astons have been marketing this property in Chiltern Close, West Green for months and have dropped the price on two occasions to its current level of £225,000.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30039987.html

It has been a rental property for many years and has suffered from a lack of investment but even so, if purchased and rented in its current condition with no improvement works it would achieve £975 per month – a yield of 5.2%.

West Green is a highly sought after area close to the Town Centre and based on the similar properties I have let in the surrounding streets it would only take a new kitchen & a new bathroom and maybe a couple of new carpets upstairs to increase that rental price nearer to £1100 per month. 

I would budget a £6000 spend on new rooms to bring the property to a top rental standard.  What would interest the investor is that the total spend on the property is still much less than the £240,000 it was originally marketed for but the yield would increase to 5.7%

St Peters Church, West Green

1 Bedroom House with ready made tenants

After spotting the maisonette in Cottesmore Green on Friday that was for sale with another agents, we have just listed this little 1 bedroom house in the same area of Crawley. 

http://www.martinco.com/for-sale/property/182223

It has been tenanted with us for many years and has the benefit of being a proper house with an upstairs and downstairs.  Admittedly there isn’t a great deal of house but it is more than adequate for a single person or a couple and the current tenants are very happy living there.  One of the many advantages is not just its proximity to Buchan Country Park but this house comes with its own private garden.  To achieve its maximum values the house will require modernisation but for landlords looking for an easy investment this house will come with great tenants paying rent from the day of completion.

If you are interested in this property or any others listed on my company website please call my office on 01293 735000  

Cottesmore Green Investment 5.8% yield

I saw this little property come on the market with Astons, these are not the biggest 1 bedroom maisonettes you’ll find in Crawley but they are really popular as rental properties.  Located in Cottesmore Green they have easy access to FastWay for Gatwick Airport & great links to the M23 motorway.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46023268.html

Cottesmore Green is on the western edge of Crawley and makes an easy commute for tenants that work in Horsham as well as Gatwick.  Being further out they need to be priced under the rates achieved in the town centre and I would suggest a rental valuation of £675 per month would get the phones ringing off the hook, especially as 1 bedroom flats in the centre of Crawley are now advertised at £800 per month.  At £675 it would realise a yield of 5.8% on the current marketing price and would have tenants queuing, giving the landlord the luxury of moving someone straight in with no void period.  

The verdant Buchan Country Park & lake is just across the road for tenants that like woodland walks.  I don’t know if the lakes & trees would be a big enough selling point but if we found a tenant that would pay a higher rent of £695 a month & the purchase price was haggled down to £137,500 we could increase the yield to over 6%.

Do the terraced houses on Ifield Drive in Crawley make good investments?

I was talking to a client who lives in a terraced house on Ifield Drive in Crawley and she asked if the properties made good investments.  Her house is close to Ifield railway station and she suspected there was a market for rental property fuelled by the commuters using the station.

I have always found a stronger demand for the property from families because of the local secondary school but to investigate the area further I checked the data listed with the online portals.  The listings show that 44 of the 3 bedroom terraced houses in Ifield Drive have been sold since the year 2000. 

Figures from the Halifax show that average property values in the South East have risen by 101.9% since the year 2000 but the terraced houses on Ifield Drive have beaten that rise.  The average sold price of 3 bedroom terraced house in 2000 was £98,830 but the land registry is showing a 3 bedroom house has sold this year for £225,000, that’s a rise of 127.6%.  There has only been one reported sale so far this year but if the others mirror that price the homeowners in the street are doing very well.

With outstanding capital growth it certainly makes the area good for families wishing to trade up to a bigger property but landlords would expect the yields to be comparatively lower.  A good quality 3 bedroom house with parking will now rent at £1100 per month or even more, that’s a yield of 5.8% based on the price of the property that has sold this year already. 

The client was pleased that the properties on Ifield Drive are good news for both owner occupiers and investors.  If you are considering a sale, a purchase, the family home or an investment you are welcome to contact me for any advice or insight into the Crawley property market.

Great Little Investment in Ifield West

It is always worth splashing out a little bit more for a property that has its own private garden and I saw this little 1 bedroom maisonette being marketed with Astons.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30852609.html

These maisonettes in the leafy suburb of Ifield West have a great shape to the living space that allows for distinct areas for lounge & dining – which is unusual in the smaller properties.  They also have enclosed kitchens rather than the current craze of having cookers and washing machines open plan to the main living area.  With its own private garden I can rent this at £725 per month or maybe even more in todays property starved rental market.  Ifield West is not best served by public transport but car owners would enjoy the allocated parking space. 

If purchased at the marketing price of £154,950 the yield would be a respectable 5.6% but I’d be tempted to put in a cheeky offer based on the highest price achieved for one of these in the 2007 boom time.  If accepted at £140,000 the yield would be over 6% & make the property much more attractive to the investor.

Prices Boom, Bust and Boom again but Yields remain constant in Seaford Road, Crawley

A few weeks ago I featured a 3 bedroom house in Seaford Road, Crawley that I thought would make a good investment.  Interestingly I have just let one of these houses for a landlord who owns a number of properties all in the same road and I checked back through the records to discuss the rise and fall of property prices on the street and how this has affected the yield over the years.

In 2001, when he purchased his first property on Seaford Road, the average sold price of the 3 bedroom terraced houses on the street was £105,000. This rose sharply to £144,500 in 2004 and continued to rise to £150,750 by 2006.

At the end of 2007, in the height of the property boom, the same terraced house on Seaford Road had an average value of £177,000. But along came the crash and sold prices fell back by over £20,000, land registry data shows the average sold price in 2011 was just £154,000.

The land registry sold house price data for 2014 will verify every media report about a housing market recovery (or boom depending on which media you read).  There have only been 2 sales recorded this year but the average sold price has rocketed to £185,000, surpassing the previous property highs of the 2007 boom and do not look like slowing at any time soon.

We trawled through the dusty Martin & Co archives to look at the average rents achieved on the street and they have done nothing but rise.  In 2002 the average rent was £750 per month and is now £975 per month.  Despite the obvious fluctuations in price the yield has barely changed in the last ten years, it was 6.6% in 2004 and in 2014 the yield is now 6.3%.

For any landlord who has kept hold of their property in Seaford Road it has been a solid investment.  Prices have gone up, come down, gone up again but with 10 years of consistently achieving a yield of over 6% it is still a road to consider investing in.

Return to Sunnymead, Crawley

Back in June I wrote about the tremendous yield you could get on the 2 bedroom flats in West Green, Crawley & today I have seen one of these flats come to the market with local agent Platinum Estates

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47689544.html

On my last post I had  guessed the price had surpassed the 2007 peak and if they achieve todays marketing price of £179,950 it would be a record for a two bedroom flat in that road.  It would seem that my client that bought in 2006 for £137,000 has done ok now that the market has recovered. 

But do these flats still make a good investment?  The current rent for a 2 bedroom flat in this road is now £850 per month.  Even if this flat was purchased for the record full asking price it would generate a yield of 5.66% which makes it worth considering. 

My job is to keep the property filled with tenants paying the correct rent & I can show how the rent for these properties have consistently risen, in fact rents are 20% higher now than 6 years ago.  It would be up the investor to see how much of a discount they could get off the asking price to make it an even better investment and increase that yield even further.

One House versus Two Flats

I often see investors who want to buy the biggest house they can find with their available cash.  But in the world of property investment we often find it is the investors who have divided their cash among as many properties as possible that benefit the most.  As an example I have seen that Mansell McTaggart are currently advertising this great family home in Three Bridges for £280,000

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31874094.html

It has all the hallmarks of being a great rental property, driveway, garage, close to Three Bridges Station & some of the best schools in Crawley.  If I listed this house to rent the phone lines would go into meltdown with the amount of enquiries we would get.  Based on a buy to let mortgage of 75% the deposit would be £70,000.  A conservative rental valuation would be £1200 per month giving a yield of 5.1%.

However if you had £70,000 cash I would be telling you to increase your yield by 11% simply by buying two smaller properties.  I have seen two 1 bedroom maisonettes on the other side of town being advertised at £140,000 each.  Neither are as attractive as the house, there are no garages or driveways but the office phone would still ring & we would have tenants for them very quickly.  The £70,000 will buy both with a 25% deposit and I would give a conservative rental figure of £675 on each.  Combine both rents & that gives a rental yield of 5.7% - 11% higher than the yield for the house.

I would have guessed the house would win with its capital appreciation but I may have been wrong.  The current marketing price is 24% higher than the last sold price from 3 years ago.  There were fewer property sales in 2011 but the data that is available would give a 2011 valuation of £110,000 to the maisonettes.  Based on the marketing price their capital appreciation is even greater than the house at 27% higher than 3 years ago.  Both maisonettes have already had their asking prices reduced and a few months after they have been sold I’ll be able to check the land registry data to see if the maisonettes met the current asking price and achieved a greater capital increase.

Investment Opportunity - Southgate

With house prices being at their highest level we worry there aren’t any good investments to be had in Crawley.  But I think there are – I saw this 3 bedroom house come on the market this morning with Connells in Crawley High Street.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47664386.html

Investors might gasp at the £220,000 price tag but with a little bit of touching up these properties will rent for £1100 per month to a family – that’s a 5.7% yield which is pretty good on a 3 bedroom house.  Renting to a single family will give any landlord an easier life and a more stable let.  Southgate has always been popular with tenants, it is close to Town, has great links to Gatwick and is a traditional family neighbourhood.  The price may seem high but doing a quick search on Rightmove is showing similar properties in the £230,000 to £240,000 price range.      

Tollgate Hill Price Reduction gives 6.2% Yield

We love these little maisonettes – they are really popular with tenants, easy for landlords to maintain & even though they are leasehold there is no service charge & only a peppercorn ground rent.  My neighbour, Taylor Robinson, has just reduced the price of this 1 bedroom ground floor maisonette in Tollgate Hill.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45762676.html

We know it is currently rented and I suspect the lack of any internal photo’s could be a clue as to why there has been a price reduction on what should be a really popular property.  However, as an investment the figures look good.  The garden would be a big draw for tenants & the rental valuation of £725 per month would give a yield of 6.2%.  Prices have risen sharply over the last 12 months but the benefit of these properties is that they tend to attract long term tenants.  It could be the fact they have gardens or the easy commute to Gatwick via FastWay or the M23 motorway.  I have a couple of these garden maisonettes that have tenancies in excess of eight years, ensuring a constant income stream throughout the peaks and troughs of the housing market.

5.8% Yield & Move-In Condition in Broadfield

Anyone would think I was wearing my “I Love Broadfield” T-shirt but I have seen this great 3 bedroom house come on the market with Zoom995.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47432291.html

Even though the price is 22% higher than only a few years ago the yield is still an impressive 5.7%.  I have rented a number of similar houses in the surrounding roads this year all at the £975 or even £995 price.  It looks to be in move-in condition so would require no initial works and therefore no delay in generating the income.  I think tenants would be drawn to the property because of the garage and the separate shower cubicle.  In addition, the location is well served for transport, being only a couple of minutes walk from the No.10 and No.20 FastWay routes direct to both terminals at Gatwick Airport and both stations, Crawley & Three Bridges.  And finally, what would please any investor is that from my experience the length of tenancy in these properties can be is 4 to 5 years or even longer.  

Langley Green - A Forgotten Gold Mine?

Many of the new investors I meet want to buy in Maidenbower and Pound Hill because they have been told about the lists of prospective tenants waiting for those houses but finding good deals in these areas can be tricky.  They are amongst the most desirable areas and naturally attract the highest prices in Crawley.

It is then I step in and tell them about the clients I have with investment properties that have achieved a 45% increase in capital value.  Langley Green is another of Crawleys well planned new town estates, north of the town centre, west of the Manor Royal business park and south of the runway at Gatwick Airport.  They say location is key and that could be the reason why properties in the Langley Green area have generated great returns.

One of my clients was a little apprehensive when I took him to view the early 1960’s new town commission house that I told him would be a great investment purchase.  Located in Beckett Lane, Langley Green, the road is a mixture of 2 and 3 bedroom council and ex-council properties, close to the Manor Royal business park.  That was in 2008 and he obtained the house for £155,000, we saw a similar property come on to the market last week at £225,000, that’s a 45% increase in capital value.  He has no plans to sell, in fact he still has the same tenants that moved into the property in 2008.  The tenants work at Gatwick Airport and the house makes a perfect home for their family because it is only a 15 minute commute to the North Terminal. 

In general the new town commission parts of Crawley are only 54% owner occupied making them fertile grounds for property investors. Local agent Choices is currently marketing a 2 bedroom maisonette at £180,000 which would make a great rental property for either a young family or 2 sharers.  The rental value of £850.00 would generate a yield of 5.7%, more than enough to satisfy the most discerning of investors.  For those looking a little higher up the market the Vancouver Drive area of Langley Green offers a collection of detached and semi-detached house with a private estate feel.  The main UK headquarters of Virgin Atlantic is an easy 10 minute walk from the entrance of the estate and for other airport related staff the No.10 FastWay stops almost right outside, giving a direct route to both North & South terminals.

Another of our investors bought a 3 bedroom detached house on this estate for £190,000 in 2004, a neighbouring house sold for £264,000 in 2013, that’s a 39% increase in capital value over the last 9 years.  This house is still rented and with the current rent set at £1020 per month giving a 6.4% yield on the original purchase price.

For any property prospectors considering an investment purchase in Crawley I am happy to look through the data and offer advice, free of charge & based on actual properties and tenancies deals that I have been involved with. 

Investment Opportunity in Broadfield - 5.2% yield

I had discounted this property when it was first listed in June with neighbouring agent Taylor Robinson.  The original price was too high for investors however the recent price reduction of £15,000 makes it much more attractive. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30647433.html

A conservative rental figure of £850 per month will give a 5.2% yield and looking at the photo’s it is almost in a “move in” condition and it has a relatively new boiler fitted.

Admittedly it is not the prettiest house in the village but tenants will be attracted to the large garden and it is in the perfect position to catch either the No.10 or No.20 FastWay routes direct to Gatwick.  And who knows, its already had one price reduction – with a bit of haggling the price may come down even more.

Take advantage of a 6% yield in Tilgate

I have previously highlighted a Tilgate property & if you missed it here is another.

Offering both rental yield and capital appreciation it would make a solid purchase. This great little maisonette in the Tilgate area of Crawley is on to the market with local agent Choices.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47256398.html

Having checked through the data these properties were being sold for £130,000 in 2006, today’s marketing price represents a 30% increase in capital value.  I have let a number of these properties, the last one rented at £850 per month which at the current marketing price is a 6% yield.

Famed for its park, nature centre and lake, the Tilgate area of Crawley is favoured by young families because of the access to schools and the extensive leisure facilities and is also home to the well-equipped K2 centre with pools, gym and sports facilities.

Is The Crawley Market Booming?

The Crawley property market appears to be booming so we took a look through the results of the recently published census and housing survey to see what it could tell us.  The data was compiled a couple of years ago and it is true to say that since then the house prices have risen substantially but prices do not tell us about the type of housing stock & demand.

The statistics show that Crawley & the surrounding villages are a landlords paradise with a good proportion of privately rented property.  Within this area 48,334 households, just over 6 out of 10 properties are owner occupied.  A further 22% are social rented properties which is a definite nod to the new town roots of Crawley in the 1950’s.  That leaves the remainder, just about 18% or to put a number on it, 8000 households as rented properties.  This puts Crawley firmly in the centre of the national average, the latest English Household Survey reports that the national average for England to be 18% but there is a wide variation around the regions.  For example our colleages in the Chelmsford office have a private rented sector that accounts for just 11% of their local property market.

So if there is a high proportion of rented property in Crawley does that mean it is harder to find a tenant or not enough tenants to fill the thousands of rental houses and flats.   In the lettings industry we have traditionally worked on the basis that 5% of the private rental portfolio will be “on the market” at any one time.  5% of the rental property around Crawley would be the equivalent of 406 properties.  I have just checked the Rightmove website & it is listing just over half that amount at 225.  From experience I know that a good proportion of those properties will already be let to subject to contract whilst the new tenants are being referenced.  In reality the figure could be 50% lower than the 225 properties listed on the portal.

Is the Crawley rental market booming?  If only 100 of the eight thousand rental properties are available to let it would suggest demand is incredibly high and could explain why Crawley is a firm favourite for investment landlords.

House values in Holder Road, Maidenbower rose by £355 a week

I was discussing the property market with one of my landlords who had purchased a property in Holder Road, Maidenbower in 2006 before the big crash.  It came up because a neighbouring house has come on the market this week at a price 34% higher than her investment.  In actual pounds - £64,000 higher, not bad considering the value dropped substantially in the years following the purchase.  The recovery has been long and the headline increase is only recent, figures from the internet tools show the value of property in Holder Road has risen by an average of £355 a week but only in the last 12 months. 

As a rental agent I’m interested in the investment potential & whether the property will pay its way.  I checked the records since 2006, 4 tenancies, a rent increase on each and a total void period of 21 days in 8 years.  The rental yield started at 5.4% in 2006 and the current marketed price has dropped the yield to just less than 5% but with a 34% capital appreciation & negligible voids the house is still to be considered as a solid investment.  I am pleased for my landlord, she bought a great house that has always had great tenants and proved to be a great investment.     

Central Crawley Apartment with 6.2% Yield

When the old Crawley swimming pool and sports centre was demolished who knew the area would be transformed into one of Crawley’s most sought after developments for rental property.  I have seen this 2 bedroom apartment come on to the market with Mansell McTaggart at a price that would make it a great investment.

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44765996.html#

I believe it is the location of the development that fuels the great demand for these apartments, they are within walking distance of Crawley town centre, Crawley train station and Three Bridges train station with its direct trains to London Victoria & London Bridge.  Not forgetting that underground parking and ensuite bathrooms also score highly on tenants wish lists.

Finding a tenant at the rental value of just under £1000 per month is the easy part, perhaps more difficult is actually purchasing the property at the advertised price of £190,000 to achieve the rental yield of 6.2%.

Will it get harder to find a property deal in Crawley?

Landlords, investors & anyone looking for their next home are always on the lookout for property bargains but will they be harder to find in Crawley.  The recent announcement that £443million is to invested in the Gatwick Diamond area with Crawley at its heart should surely increase the pressure on the housing in the local area. 

Popular investment properties are the 1 bedroom maisonettes in Southbrook, Tollgate Hill, last year they were selling at £125,000 but ten years ago they were being sold at £89,500, that’s a 39% increase in value.  Despite the recession and housing “crash” anyone who had invested in one of these great little properties has seen the value increase by 39% through it all.  Popular with airport staff because of the direct FastWay routes to both terminals the rents have risen by 30% during the same period.

Gatwick currently employs 23,500 staff actually on the airport, who knows what this will climb to if Gatwick gets its wish for the 2nd runway in 2019.  The 3 bedroom family houses in Southgate Drive, Crawley could be bought for £165,000 in 2004 – the latest sale this year was at £227,500 – an increase of 37%.  Based on the past ten years data and looking at the possibilities for the investment in the Crawley area and what could happen with the 2^nd runway at Gatwick it could be that any property deal in the area will turn out to be a good deal.

Investment Opportunity - Tilgate

Yield or capital appreciation – which is better?  Why not go for both.  I have seen this great little maisonette come on to the market with local agent Homes Partnership in the Tilgate area of Crawley.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44746693.html

Having checked through the data these properties were being sold for £130,000 in 2006, today’s marketing price represents a 30% increase in capital value.  When they come up for let they have always proved popular, the last one rented at £850 per month which at today’s price is a 6% yield.

Famed for its park, nature centre and lake, the Tilgate area of Crawley is favoured by young families because of the access to schools and the extensive leisure facilities.

House prices on the Langshott estate outperform Horley by 11%

Last week I highlighted a flat for sale in Horley that had a great rental yield and we have looked further into Horley and its property market.  One of the areas that always generates a great deal of interest is Langshott, just to the east of Horley.  Started in the 1980’s it is still being added to today, the newest part, the Acres started to complete this year.  There is a full range of property from detached houses at £475,000 to 2 bedroom apartments under £200,000.   All of these properties are a short walk from the town centre and train station and only minutes from the Fastway bus service with its direct connection to both terminals at Gatwick Airport.

Of the 37 properties for sale today in the Langshott area, 27 of them have a buyer and are sold subject to contract, demonstrating that the chances of finding a buyer are good.  The great news for home owners is that average prices over the last five years have outperformed the local market by 11%.  Average prices on Langshott have risen by 20% whilst the average rise in the more general Horley area has been 18% over the last five years. 

The good news also extends to investors with high demand and high rents resulting in decent yields and minimal void periods.  Not all new-build properties have great yields but this fully appointed brand new 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in Coppice Lane was let earlier this year and achieved a good yield of 5.2%. 

Invest in Horley & get a yield of 6.2%....?

Perfect for Gatwick workers this 2 bedroom flat is less than 20 minutes by direct bus from Gatwick Airports North Terminal & has a FastWay bus stop minutes from the front door.  Marketed by Connells it is not only perfect for commuters but investors should sit up & take notice of the 6.2% yield if you can seal the deal at £160,000. 

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30585336.html

The No.100 runs from 3.30am to midnight, perfect for getting staff to and from the airport.  Being situated just north of Horley town centre it would also appeal to anyone looking for an easy drive to either Crawley or Redhill.  

 

Studio Flats - Are They Worth Investing In...?

Earlier this year a landlord client of mine sold his studio flat in Broadfield, Crawley, that he purchased in 2009.  After five years the capital growth had not been outstanding, only 4% to be precise.  If he had purchased the flat when it was previously sold in 2003 the capital growth would have been a much more impressive 50%.  But what struck me was the yield, based on the 2009 purchase price the yield was a phenomenal 8%.

 

Studio apartments tend to be the first rung on the property ladder for tenants or a temporary place to stay for visiting workers and experience a higher turnover of tenants than the larger properties.  But with a constant stream of workers coming to Crawley to work at Gatwick Airport the studios are always in demand and this has continuously pushed up the monthly rent.  Amazingly, at the price the flat was sold at the yield is still just under 8% (7.93% if you want the exact figure).

So are studio flats worth investing in?  If the right location & the right price can achieve an 8% yield – yes they are.

Southgate, Crawley - A good place to buy?

I spent a sunny Sunday afternoon in Goffs Park and looking around at the large detached houses I wondered how the market compared with the general Crawley property market.  Southgate could be the leafiest suburb of Crawley and parts of it pre-date much of the new town that has sprung up around it.   The Southgate area has a property for everyone, from an impressive detached house close to the park for £450,000, equally impressive Victorian red brick houses closer to the town centre in the mid £300,000 range.  At the other end of the scale a very reasonably priced terraced house could be purchased for around the £250,000 mark in the area around Southgate Drive & the neighbourhood shopping parade.

Of the 87 properties for sale today in Southgate, 52 of them have a buyer and are sold subject to contract, which shows that if you want to sell, the chances of finding a buyer are good.  What is encouraging for everyone is that sales are evenly spread across the price ranges (from the period properties in Malthouse Road through to the 1970’s flats in the middle of the Southgate West by the Tesco Express).

Taking a general view on the property prices in Southgate I found that average property values in Southgate have risen by 20.87% in the last five years, compared to the Crawley average of only 19.53%.  That means house prices in Southgate have outperformed Crawley as a whole by 7%. 

As a rental agent I know that Southgate properties are always in demand because of their proximity to the town centre and the station but it’s also good to know that I can advise any investor or home buyer that bought in Southgate five years ago that their capital value has outgrown the local average.

Investment Opportunity in Northgate

Everyone knows location is key & I saw this come on to the market with my neighbouring agent, Zoom995.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31061076.html 

This two bedroom house is located within a short walk of the Manor Royal Industrial Estate and has the added benefit of being close to a Fastway bus stop for a quick commute to Gatwick Airport.  We always have a strong demand for property for workers coming in to the area to work at Gatwick or one of the companies based at Manor Royal.  The rental valuation of £900per month would give a yield of a smidgeon over 5% but that doesn’t reflect the demand I would expect it to get because of its location.  However, no need to worry if it attracts a tenant who drives to work – they’ll benefit from the garage included in the sale.

Are ex-council flats a good investment - we think so

I remember the initial meeting with a landlord who was nervous about his first buy to let purchase.  A 2 bedroom top floor flat in a council built & council run block in Sunnymead, close to Crawley town centre.  It was one of the original 1950’s blocks built by the new town commission and the flat had good sized rooms and a balcony.  It had been well looked after and the previous owner had installed a new kitchen.  As one prospective tenant put it – “I was a bit unsure from the outside but once through the door it was lovely and really handy for town”.

The purchase price was £137,000 in 2006 and the value climbed, a similar flat sold for £145,000 in 2007 but then the crash came.  However with a rental income of £800 per month the yield was 7.01%.  The market crashed, bank base rate plummeted to 0.5%, money in the bank earned almost nothing but this landlord was getting 7.01% on his investment, 2 years ago that increased to 7.33% when the rent increased to £825 per month.

My landlord still has his flat, it is still tenanted, he is still getting a great yield.  There haven’t been any recent sales in the road but as property prices have been increasing across Crawley I’m sure my landlords flat is back to its 2006 purchase price and may have even risen beyond the ceiling price the flats achieved in 2007.

Investing in Ifield

How about an investment in the Ifield area of Crawley this Monday morning?  Andrew Hunt is listing this 2 bedroom flat in Ifield, close to the neighbourhood centre.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30971829.html 

Construction of the estate by the new town development corporation started in 1954 to expand Ifield village into a Crawley neighbourhood.  The location is popular because it retained its own railway station that links directly to Gatwick & London Victoria to the north and Horsham to the south.  We would market this property at £825 per month which if achieved, would give a yield of 6.1%.  The capital growth in this part of town has not been too bad either – 19.53% over the last five years to be precise.

If you have a seen a property that you are considering investing in – get in touch, I will happily give my opinion on the property.   

Maidenbower - Are the properties a good investment?

We always get asked by new landlords and investors for our opinions on which is the best area in Crawley for property investment.  Many of them already know that Maidenbower is one of the most sought after neighbourhoods but are put off by the high price of the property.

This 2 bedroom house in Stirling Close, Maidenbower was sold this week at £230,000.  It is tenanted at £950pcm which gives a gross yield of 4.9%, just short of the magic 5% that some landlords consider their minimum.  There are higher yields to be had in Crawley but yield is not the only consideration. 

For a little bit of Friday fun I checked the rental history of this property and discovered that in the last 11 years there have been 4 changes of tenant but the total of all the void periods came to only 19 days.  A property in a highly sought after area like Maidenbower will have a higher purchase price but it is likely there will also be an increased tenant demand.  There aren’t many landlords who can say they only lost 19 days rent in the last eleven years.     

Broadfield Investment Opportunity

On my routine search of Zoopla I came across this great property in Seaford Road, Broadfield

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/33541256

With gardens, garages and good sized rooms the houses in Seaford Road are popular with families.  We already rent a number of these houses, the last one let at £975.00 per month which would give a 6% yield which is outstanding for a larger property.

Property Focus West Green

I have built up an extensive database of every property sale in Crawley since the early 2000’s so are able to give an objective and unbiased opinion on what (and what doesn’t) make a good property deal/investment.  Knowing what is and what has happened to the property market in Crawley, compared to say Horsham or Horley, enables me to spot any trends or opportunities for landlords.

I lived in the West Green area of Crawley for over 10 years and I take a keen interest in the property market in my old neighbourhood.  The mixture of new town housing and Victorian terraces close to the town centre make it a desirable area of Crawley.  Here are some bargains that I spotted at the time, and now they have completed, I wanted to share with you. 

A 3 bedroom house in St Johns Road, West Green sold in May 2011 for £182,500 but less than 3 years later in January 2014 sold for £235,000.  That’s a 28.77% increase in total value but if you break it down that’s 9.69% per year, more than any interest rate paid by the banks.  Would it have made a good rental property I hear you ask, the answer is yes.  In 2012 we rented a similar 3 bedroom house in Albany Road, West Green for £950 per month, assuming the same rent that would give a yield of over 6%.

I saw a similar property in Town Barn Road, near to Crawley Hospital that sold in October 2011 for £204,000 but went on to sell for £247,000 in April of this year, 2014.  That’s an increase in value of 21.08% in just 2 and a half years.

Property is my business, whether I lived in the neighbourhood or not we will guide you on what you should be looking for in your next investment purchase.  We do not charge for advice and you are welcome to call in to our offices or email us for our opinion.

Property values rise by £195 per week in Crawley

Last week, a landlord who lives outside of our area, came in to our office to discuss the rising property values throughout our county.  I looked at one of our portfolios that comprises of property primarily in Crawley but also in Horsham and compared this to one of our smaller villages, Handcross, as I thought it would be interesting to compare the increase in property values around the area.

Over the last 3 years, in Crawley, average property values have risen from £234,137 to £264,582 a rise of £30,445 or £195 per week.  When I looked at some of the surrounding areas, the village of Handcross had a higher increase at £231 per week but just nudging ahead was the town of Horsham with a slightly higher increase of £239 per week.  The results show, nonetheless, a rise in all of the town’s average property values which suggests the market is recovering right across our area – good news for home owners and landlords alike.

When considering this buy to let portfolio, yields can be in the order of 4% in Horsham but rising to over 6% on some Crawley properties, depending on where you buy, so combine that with steady rental growth, excellent increases in capital values of the properties themselves, it could be a good time to invest in the property market in either Crawley or Horsham 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, please come and see me at our office in Orchard Street, behind Barclays Bank on Crawley High Street.  

Creasys Drive property market outperforms Wakehams Green Drive by nearly 14%

One of my existing landlords came in to discuss his investments in Crawley and the possibility of expanding his portfolio. One of the most important considerations you will make before investing is the balance between annual return/yield and the annual value increase/capital growth.  When purchased, both of his properties had warm air central heating so I thought it would be interesting to compare 2 areas that were built with this system. 

The three bedroom houses around Wakehams Green Drive, Pound Hill were built in the early 70’s and featured amongst other things, gas warm air central heating.  Pound Hill is considered to be one of Crawley’s premier neighbourhoods with excellent school ratings.  The average three bedroom terraced house is valued at around £255,000 and rents are roughly £1150 per calendar month.

With this in mind, it was a surprise to find the similar sized three bedroom terraced houses around Creasys Drive in Broadfield have outperformed those on Wakehams Green Drive.  The original parts of Broadfield were constructed in the 1970’s and featured the same gas warm air central heating in many of the houses but the neighbourhood was primarily built by the local council.  £190,000 is the average price for a three bedroom terraced house in this part of Broadfield and the achievable rents can be up to £965 per calendar month.

The yield which could be achieved from property on Creasys Drive is around 6.11% per year. When we compare this to the possible 5.37% on Wakehams Green Drive, it is nearly 14% higher in Broadfield.

However, we must remember that yield is not the sole consideration when investing in Buy to Let properties.  In 2004 the average value of a three bedroom terrace house on Creasys Drive was £145,000, which has since risen by 33% in the last 10 years.  However the properties around Wakehams Green Drive were £170,000 in 2004, meaning the value has increased by an impressive 50% in the same 10 years.

If you would like more information on investing in Crawley’s property market, please call me on 01293 735000 or visit our office on the High Street.