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.