Crawley First Time Buyers borrow £70m in the last 12 months

Starting with the bigger picture, over the last 12 months in the UK, 1,061,557 properties were sold with a total value of £223.74 bn. To give that some context, ten years ago 1,581,727 properties sold with a total value of £405.56bn, so it can be seen the number of people moving house has dropped by over a third over the last decade.

Whether you are a landlord, homeowner or tenant, it’s always important to keep an eye on the Crawley property market, not just from your point of view, but also from every player’s point of view. Over the last 12 months, 1,458 properties have sold (and completed) in Crawley, worth £434.6m. Interestingly the number of properties changing hands in Crawley has also dropped when compared to a decade ago.

It might surprise you that first time buyers in 2017 will benefit from a slight decline in Crawley buy-to-let investors.

Those looking to buy a home in the spring and summer of 2017 will face a far less competitive Crawley property market than the same time of year in 2016, when the urgency to beat the buy-to-let stamp duty hike was in full swing.  

Many landlords brought forward their purchases to beat the tax, and since then, the number of buy-to-let purchases has dropped slightly. First time buyers have taken advantage of that and have increased their buying. In fact, looking at the Bank of England figures, this is what UK lenders have lent on buy-to-let properties versus first time buyers over the last 12 months  …

Q4 2015 - £1bn buy-to-let mortgages vs £1.31bn for first time buyers

Q1 2016 - £1.35bn buy-to-let mortgages vs £1.08bn for first time buyers

Q2 2016 - £760m buy-to-let mortgages vs £1.28bn for first time buyers

Q3 2016 - £827m buy-to-let mortgages vs £1.42bn for first time buyers

When looking at the figures for Crawley itself, first time buyers have borrowed more than £70.08m in the last 12 months to buy their first home. This is a ringing endorsement of their confidence in their jobs and the local Crawley economy. Those 20 and 30 something’s who are considering being first time buyers in 2017 will find that the number of properties on the market has never been as good as it has for quite a while, meaning you have more choice of properties and less competition from so many buy-to-let landlords than a year ago.

Rightmove announced nationally that new seller enquiries are 26% up on the same time last year giving the stoutest indication that we may see a slight ease in the lack of properties on the market. When I look at Crawley, at this moment in time there are 286 properties for sale, compared to 337 properties a year ago. All this will be welcome news amongst Crawley first-time buyers with a combination of a proportional reduction in new investors and landlords.

2017 will be an interesting year for all homeowners, be they buy-to-let landlords, existing homeowners or future homeowners. 

Ideal investment in a Crawley flat with 6% yield

Any landlord looking for a long term investment would be wise to look at the potential of this two bedroom flat in the Broadfield area of Crawley.   Popular with couples and small families I have rented many of these over the last few years.   Currently being marketed with Martin & Co you can view the details by clicking the link below:

https://www.martinco.com/property/for-sale/297773

Hayling Court is located at the northern end of the neighbourhood of Broadfield, close to the home of Crawley Town Football Club and well placed for the FastWay transport links to the town centre and Gatwick Airport.  The property benefits from a previously refitted kitchen that has the luxury of being separate from the lounge and a bathroom that was fitted and tiled at the same time.  The second bedroom is a single making the flats popular with couples that have a small child.    

 

refitted bathroom

This property can command a 6% yield if purchased in the middle of the guide price & rented at the same price as the one across the hall last year - £900 per calendar month.  Landlords would need to be aware the additional home stamp duty will land them a bill of £7000 if purchased for £190,000.

Hayling Court, Crawley

With 16,485 people in Private Rented Properties in Crawley - Should you still be investing in Crawley Buy To Let?

If I were a buy to let landlord in Crawley today, I might feel a little bruised by the assault made on my wallet after being (and continuing to be) ransacked over the last 12 months by HM Treasury’s tax changes on buy to let. To add insult to injury, Brexit has caused a tempering of the Crawley property market with property prices not increasing by the levels we have seen in the last few years. I think we might even see a very slight drop in property prices this year and, if Crawley property prices do drop, the downside to that is that first time buyers could be attracted back into the Crawley property market; meaning less demand for renting (meaning rents will go down). Yet, before we all run for the hills, all these things could be serendipitous to every Crawley landlord, almost a blessing in disguise.

Crawley has a population of 106,212, so when I looked at the number of people who lived in private rented accommodation, the numbers astounded me …

Crawley - Accommodation Type and the Number of Occupiers
Owned outright - Crawley	Owned with a mortgage - Crawley	Shared ownership (part owned and part rented) - Crawley	Social rented (aka Council Housing) -  Crawley	Private rented - Crawley	Living rent free - Crawley
18,555	44,575	1,313	24,359	16,485	925
17.5%	42.0%	1.2%	22.9%	15.5%	0.9%

Yields will rise if Crawley property prices fall, which will also make it easier to obtain a buy to let mortgage, as the income would cover more of the interest cost. If property values were to level off or come down that could help Crawley landlords add to their portfolio. Rental demand in Crawley is expected to stay solid and may even see an improvement if uncertainty is protracted. However, there is something even more important that Crawley landlords should be aware of: the change in the anthropological nature of these 20 something potential first time buyers.

I have just come back from a visit to a relations after a family get together. I got chatting to family members far younger than me.  Both are in their mid/late twenties, both have decent jobs in Crawley and they rent. Yet, here was the bombshell, they were planning to rent for the foreseeable future with no plans to even save for a deposit, let alone buy a property. I enquired why they weren’t planning to buy? The answers surprised me as a late 40 something, and it will you. Firstly, they don’t want to put cash into property, they would rather spend it on living and socialising by going on nice holidays and buying the latest tech and gadgets. They want the flexibility to live where they choose and finally, they don’t like the idea of paying for repairs. All their friends feel the same. I was quite taken aback that buying a house is just not top of the list for these youngsters.

 

So, as 15.5% of Crawley people are in rented accommodation and as that figure is set to grow over the next decade, now might just be a good time to buy property in Crawley – because what else are you going to invest in?  Give your money to the stock market run by sharp suited city whizz kids – because at least with property – it’s something you can touch - there is nothing like bricks and mortar!

For more views and opinions on the Crawley Property Market – keep reading the Crawley Property Market Blog at www.mycrawleyhome.com