x
RECEIVE BUSINESS TIMES FREE TO YOUR DOOR EACH MONTH, COURTESY OF ROYAL MAIL.
* indicates required

Perfect time to invest

WITH rents still increasing and interest rates low, this is a good time to invest in rental properties, despite changes to tax and stamp duty that aren’t necessarily in the landlord’s favour.

The housing plan for the county is very positive. This brings employment to the area, and along with it the need for short and longer term rented accommodation. New properties bring new first time buyers to the market as well as a growing number of investors who can’t find a better platform for investment with the all-time low interest rates, property investment offers by far a better return.

Taking all this in to account, I believe that the property market is very stable with steady capital growth and a great return on investment.

Recent figures showed that rents for new tenants across the UK continued to rise in the latter part of last year, standing at an average of £913 a month, and we have seen exactly this happen across Northamptonshire.

At Chelton Brown we have seen these increases first hand and can report our average rent as approximately £750 pcm which is a huge increase. In 2014 I ran a report on our managed portfolio and reported the average rent to be in the region of £600. We have seen two-bedroom properties in this period increase from around £550 pcm to about £700 pcm. With mortgage rates low, this represents a great increase for our investor clients.

So while the landlord is being hit hard with tax and stamp duty, the rents have risen well to compensate and see portfolios bring in good returns.

In the medium to longer term, the fundamental driver of rents will be the balance between demand and supply for rented property. We expect demand in the private rental sector to continue to grow in line with demographic changes such as population growth and as affordability concerns remain in the house purchase market, so it is important that we see efforts to support supply.

If you would like more information about letting, selling or property investment, call Chelton Brown on 01604 603433.

Companies mentioned in this article

More economic advice & solutions articles: