Looking to invest in the Crawley property market? How about this flat in Ifield.

I have to admit to being a bit of a sucker for these maisonettes.  Not only do I already rent out a lot of them but I grew up in one these, it was the first property my parents had when they moved to Crawley in the late sixties (obviously I was born much later….!!).  This one is in the very popular area of Ifield and is being marketed by local agent Moore & Partners, you can view the details on Rightmove by clicking the link below:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44604369.html

Built by the new town commission these properties have excellent room sizes making them an ideal choice for couples and young families alike.  The separate kitchen and large garden will appeal to a family and could lead to a long term tenancy, especially as Ifield has a good range of schools.  The asking price of this property is 37.5% higher than a similar flat that was marketed in 2013 which shows just how much the sales market has moved upwards over the last few years.  However, as a rental property and long term investment, it’s the current yield of 5.2% that would interest investors and that is based on the current asking price of £220,000.  Landlords would need to be aware that the additional stamp duty will cost them £8500.  If you are considering an investment purchase or have a property to sell please contact me at the Martin & Co office in Crawley town centre.  

Loxwood Walk, Ifield

34.5% of Crawley Rented Property have Children living in them

A few weeks ago I was asked a fascinating question by a local Councillor who, after reading the Crawley Property Blog, emailed me and asked me – “Are Crawley Landlords meeting the Challenges of tenanted families bringing up their families in Crawley?”

What interesting question to be asked.

Irrespective of whether you are tenant or a homeowner, to bring up a family, the most important factors are security and stability in the home. A great bellwether of that security and stability in a rented property is whether tenants are constantly being evicted. Many tenancies last just six months with families at risk of being thrown out after that with just two months’ notice for no reason.

Some “left leaning Politian’s” keep saying we need to deal with the terrible insecurity of Britain’s private rental market by creating longer tenancies of 3 or 5 years instead of the current six months. However, the numbers seem to be telling a different story. The average length of residence in private rental homes has risen in the last 5 years from 3.7 years to 4 years (a growth of 8.1%), which in turn has directly affected the number of renters who have children. In fact, the proportion of private rented property that have dependent children in them, has gone from 29.1% in 2003 to 37.4% today.

Looking specifically at Crawley compared to the National figures, of the 11,157 private rental homes in Crawley, 3,850 of these have dependent children in them (or 34.5%), which is interestingly (although expected) below the National average of already stated 37.4%.

Even more fascinating are the other tenure types in Crawley…

•    38% of Social (Council) Housing in Crawley have dependent children
•    43.5% of Crawley Owner Occupiers (with a Mortgage) have dependent children
•    8.4% of Owner Occupiers (without a Mortgage) have dependent children

Although, when we look at the length of time these other tenure types have, whilst the average length of a tenancy for the private rented sector is 4 years, it is 11.4 years in social (council) housing, 24.1 years for home owners without a mortgage and 10.4 years of homeowners with mortgages.

Anecdotally I have always known this, but this just proves landlords do not spend their time seeking opportunities to evict a tenant as the average length of tenancy has steadily increased. This noteworthy 8.1% increase in the average length of time tenants stay in a private rented property over the last 5 years, shows tenants are happy to stay longer and start families.

So, as landlords are already meeting tenants’ wants and needs when it comes to the length of tenancy, I find it strange some politicians are calling for fixed term 3 and 5 year tenancies. Such heavy handed regulation could stop landlords renting their property out in the first place, cutting off the supply of much needed rental property, meaning tenants would suffer as rents went up. Also, if such legislation was brought in, tenants would loose their ‘Get Out of Jail card’, as under current rules, they can leave at anytime with one months notice not the three or six month tenant notice suggested by some commenters. 

Finally, there is an extra piece of good news for Crawley tenants. The English Housing Survey notes that those living in private rented housing for a long periods of time generally paid less rent than those who chopped and changed.

Crawley Maisonette For Sale in Ifield West

One bedroom properties with private gardens are always popular with tenants.  This ground floor maisonette has been listed with Connells this week and would make a good investment choice.  You can view the details on Rightmove by clicking here:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44375742.html

I have rented a number of these and each and every time it is the L-shaped lounge/dining area that appeals to the tenants.  There is enough space to have distinct dining and living areas and the kitchen is separate.  The benefit of having a door on the kitchen allows TV watching without the noise of the washing machine & you can close the door on the washing up if not inclined to do it until the morning.  The asking price of £185,000 would give a yield of just over 5% if rented at the current valuation of £800 per calendar month.  The public transport to the Ifield West area of Crawley is not as frequent as some other parts of town but this maisonette has an allocated parking space for a car driving tenant.  Landlords should be aware that the additional stamp duty costs would give a total bill of £6750.  For any other property purchase advice you are welcome to contact me at the Martin & Co office on Orchard Street in Crawley. 

1 Bedroom Maisonette For Sale, Ifield West, Crawley

New House Building in Crawley increased by 5.0% in the last year

Let me speak frankly, even with Brexit and the fact immigration numbers will now be reduced in the coming years, there is an unending and severe shortage of new housing being built in the Crawley area (and the UK as a whole).  Even if there are short term confidence trembles fueled by newspapers hungry for bad news, the ever growing population of Crawley with its high demand for property versus curtailed supply of properties being built, this imbalance of supply/demand and the possibility of even lower interest rates will underpin the property market.

When the Tories were elected in 2015, Mr. Cameron vowed to build 1,000,000 new homes by 2020.  If we as a Country hit those levels of building, most academics stated the UK Housing market would balance itself as the increased supply of property would give a chance for the younger generation to buy their own home as opposed to rent.  However, the up-to-date building figures show that in the first three months of 2016 building starts were down.  Nationally, there were 35,530 house building starts in the first quarter, a long way off the 50,000 a quarter required to hit those ambitious targets.

Looking closer to home, over the last 12 months, new building in the Crawley Borough Council area has grown.  In 2014/15, for every one thousand existing households in the area, an additional 3.57 homes were built.  For 2015/16, that figure is now 3.75 homes built per thousand existing households.  Nationally, to meet that 1,000,000 new homes target, we need to be at 7.12 new homes per thousand.

To put those numbers into real chimney pots, over the last 12 months, in the Crawley Borough Council area,

·         150 Private Builders (e.g. New Homes Builders)

·         20   Housing Association

·         Nil   Local Authority

These new house building numbers are down to the fact that not enough is being done to fix the broken Crawley housing market.  We are still only seeing 170 new homes being built per year in the Crawley Borough Council area, when we need 320 a year to even stand still!

  

I am of the opinion Messer’s Cameron and Osborne focused their attention too much on the demand side of the housing equation, using the Help to Buy scheme and low deposit mortgages to convert the ‘Generation Rent’ i.e. Crawley ‘20 somethings’ who are set to rent for the rest of their lives to ‘Generation Buy’.  On the other side of the coin, I would strongly recommend the new Housing Minster, Gavin Barwell, should concentrate the Government’s efforts on the supply side of the equation.  There needs to be transformations to planning laws, massive scale releases of public land and more investment, as more inventive solutions are needed.

However, ultimately, responsibility has to rest on the shoulders of Theresa May.  Whilst our new PM has many plates to spin, evading on the housing crisis will only come at greater cost later on.  What a legacy it would be if it was Mrs. May who finally got to grips with the persistent and enduring shortage of homes to live in.  The PM has already referenced the ‘need to do far more to get more houses built’ and stop the decline of home ownership.  However, she has also ruled out any changes to the green belt policy – something I will talk about in a future up and coming article.  Hopefully these statistics will raise the alarm bells again and persuade both residents and Councilor’s in the Crawley Borough Council area that housing needs to be higher on its agenda.

In the meantime, for more thoughts, opinion or advice on the Crawley Property Market you can contact me at the Martin & Co office in Crawley Town Centre