Properties in The Rydons outperform the Cranbrook housing market by 29%

Following a discussion with a local landlord who lives in Kings Heath, between The Rydons and Cranbrook, we got chatting about how The Rydons’ property market currently compares to Cranbrook.

Interestingly, he had a couple of properties in both areas and wanted some advice on where to buy next. I did a comparison between the two and was surprised to find that the property market in The Rydons had outperformed the Cranbrook market by around 25.5%!

The average price of property in The Rydons is

£199,733. When you consider that the rents that are achieved in The Rydons are on average £801per month, this gives us a yield of approx. 4.8% per year. So is The Rydons the best investment?

Well, yields at Cranbrook, where the average value of a property is £347,585 and the average rent is £911 per month, yields are around 3.15% per year (compared to the 4.8% per year in The Rydons), so surely The Rydons is the best investment, isn’t it?

This, however, is a great example of annual yield / return not being the only factor when choosing an investment property, as you should also consider how much the value of the property goes up in the long term.

In the last 4 years, property values have only risen on average by 3.9% in The Rydons, however, average property values at Cranbrook have risen on average by 5.6% in the same time frame.

So, if you are investing in Exeter property, do you want capital value or yield? And do you know enough about what is planned for developments around Exeter such as Cranbrook and The Rydons to have an informed view of how values and yields may move in the future?

If you would like any advice on choosing properties, come and see us at our office on South Street.

2 bedroom houses are like hot cakes at Cranbrook

We have managed to build a good presence at Cranbrook over the last year, so when a landlord came to me last week to discuss two new two bedroom properties they were buying to let out, I was very confident that we would be able to get them moving very quickly; I was very pleasantly surprised when we let the first of the two within 48 hours!

I have found that it has been predominantly three bedroom houses which have been bought to let at the site, the average time for a property to let at Cranbrook is currently around 67 days so this shows that two bedroom properties are proving very popular in comparison.

It is important to point out that while the average time for a property to let is 67 days at Cranbrook, in the majority of cases properties are marketed before they are completed so viewings are not possible, we have been very successful in letting the properties off plan.

If you are considering or are in the process of buying a property at Cranbrook, please come and see me at our office on South Street so we can discuss the best marketing strategy for your property.  Please find the link below to more photos and floor plans.

http://www.martinco.com/to-rent/property/172241

Property values rise by £227 per week in Exeter

Last week, a landlord who lives in one of those nice terraced houses off Radford Road came into our office to discuss the rising property values in Exeter.

He owns a varied portfolio of rental properties, primarily in Exeter, with a couple in St Leonards and one in St Thomas, so it is interesting to compare the increase in property values around the area.  

Over the last 12 months in Exeter average property values have increased by an impressive £227 per week. Some areas have done better than others.  Radford Road, for instance, appears to have had a lower average increase, at around £204 per week, whilst the increase in St Thomas was lower again at around £170 per week.  

It is, nonetheless, a rise in average property values to suggest the market is recovering steadily in our area – good news for home owners and landlords alike.  

This landlord’s buy to let portfolio also showed that there has been a steady increase in the rental values in Exeter over the last 12 months.  

All in all, then, it could be a good time to invest in the property market in Exeter. If you would like some advice about buying to let, be you a landlord with a portfolio or a potential landlord, please come and see us at our office on South Street. 

How can you find a good property deal in Exeter?

The subject of a lack of Exeter property bargains over the last couple of years has always been near the top of most landlords’ thoughts.

I have built up an extensive database of every property sale in Exeter since 2008, so am able to give an objective and unbiased opinion on what does (and what doesn’t) make a good property deal/investment. Knowing what is happening in the property market in Exeter, compared to say Exmouth or Crediton, enables me to spot any trends or opportunities for buy to let landlords.

Here are some bargains that I spotted at the time, and have now completed. A 2 bed flat on South Street sold in October 2011 for £138,500. Just over two years later, the apartment came back for sale in the autumn, completing in December for £145,800, giving an approximate 5.3% increase in value in just over two years.

If you were wanting something a little more impressive, again I saw this a couple of years ago when someone paid £150,500 for one of those nice terraced houses on Oxford Street, St Thomas, in March 2012, selling a little over a year later for £165,000, a rise of around 9.6%.
Whether you are a landlord of ours or not, you are welcome to drop by our office for any advice and opinion on where the bargains are in Exeter. We will be happy to offer guidance on what (or not) to buy. We don’t charge for our advice, so can give our impartial opinion, without any conflict of interest to our landlords.

Flats are 36.35% better than houses in Exeter

I was talking to one of my landlords from Lower Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago, when the subject of flats came up and whether they would make a good investment. 

Flats are not always the first choice for investors but they do usually rent very well and generally offer good yields. There is a strong argument that buying a flat these days is not an issue, however it is worth checking the service and maintenance charges are not too high and that there is a cap on how much they can be increased by.

You can still find a decent property to let in Exeter, typically, an apartment can be bought for around £156,500 – the average rent for a flat here is likely to be around £668 per month giving a gross yield in the region of 5.1%.

When compared to a house, which is usually a landlords preference, with an average price of around £275,700 and a rental of £862pcm, apartments could provide a 36.4% greater GROSS return.  Of course service and maintenance charges also need to be taken out of this, however so does the repair and maintenance of a freehold property.

If you would like our opinion on any potential investment, pop into our office on South Street, call us on 01392 254488 or email exetersales@martinco.com.

Want 41% higher yield than the Exeter average?

Following on from my previous post about capital growth throughout Exeter, I thought I should share this property to show an example of what is available at the middle of the range.

The property is currently achieving £685pcm and has been for some time, there could be some scope to push this a bit higher. If the property is purchased at the full asking price, this would give a gross yield of 5.5%. This is a pretty good yield I'm sure you will agree?

If you do not agree, you may find it interesting to learn the average yield for a property in Exeter is approximately 3.9%. Working this out in % terms, this property then has around a 41% higher yield than the average property in Exeter!

Now that's not bad!  Follow the link below for more photo's of the property.

http://www.martinco.com/for-sale/property/168749

EX4 outperforms the rest of Exeter

A landlord came into my office last week and asked my opinion on where he should buy his next property to get the best capital growth.

Over the last year, properties in EX4 have achieved an average price increase of 4.6% more than the rest of Exeter, therefore making it a good place for those interested in capital growth.

Knowing that capital growth is not the whole story, I suggested to the landlord that we also look at the potential rental income for the area.  Calculating the average rent for EX4 at £728 according to Zoopla, he would actually be achieving around 20% less rent than the rest of Exeter.

We ultimately decided that landlords have to make a decision on whether they would prefer greater capital growth or a higher rental return.

It seems in the current market in Exeter, the higher the property value, the lower the gross yield so choosing the right property is essential.