Stoke-on-Trent First Time Buyers borrow £221.6m 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 Stoke-on-Trent property market, not just from your point of view, but also from every player’s point of view. Over the last 12 months, 4,611 properties have sold (and completed) in Stoke-on-Trent, worth £630.8m. Interestingly the number of properties changing hands in Stoke-on-Trent 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 Stoke-on-Trent buy-to-let investors.

Those looking to buy a home in the spring and summer of 2017 will face a far less competitive Stoke-on-Trent 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 Stoke-on-Trent itself, first time buyers have borrowed more than £221.6m in the last 12 months to buy their first home. This is a ringing endorsement of their confidence in their jobs and the local Stoke-on-Trent 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 the Stoke-on-Trent market, at this moment in time there are an impressive 1,026 properties for sale, so lots of choice. All this will be welcome news amongst Stoke-on-Trent 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.

Thinking of a Bungalow as an investment property in Stoke-on-Trent?

I spotted this one for you yesterday.  Bungalows in Werrington don't come on to the market very often and strangely enough I am just preparing an article on the rental opportunities where bungalows are concerned.  We always have a demand for bungalows in decent areas and the beauty is you usually end up with a good long term tenant.   

 

 

 

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65231858.html

 

Great Norton Heights, Stoke-on-Trent investment property

From the pictures there is nothing to do other than find a tenant.  It looks like it is in good condition and Norton Heights is an excellent rental area with 2 bed apartments fetching £500+pcm.  Obviously there is ground rent and service charges to take in to consideration but bought at the right price this will return a healthy gross yield

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65352491.html

Looking for a reasonably priced 3 bed semi in Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent

We put this one on recently and I drive past it on my way in to the office and this morning I was stuck in queuing traffic when I got to it which gave me time to think what a nice family home it would make with just a little effort 

It does need some updating but is a good sized house, the 3^rd bedroom is a decent sized single and the proximity to Hanley makes this a popular location.  With a nice sized garden and plenty of parking this just needs a little TLC.     

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46789791.html

 

With 36,757 people in Private Rented Properties in Stoke on Trent - Should you still be investing in Stoke on Trent Buy To Let?

If I were a buy to let landlord in Stoke on Trent 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 Stoke on Trent 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 Stoke on Trent property prices do drop, the downside to that is that first time buyers could be attracted back into the Stoke on Trent 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 Stoke on Trent landlord, almost a blessing in disguise.

 Stoke on Trent has a population of 267,547, so when I looked at the number of people who lived in private rented accommodation, the numbers astounded me …

 

Stoke on Trent - Accommodation Type and the Number of Occupiers
Owned outright - Stoke on Trent	Owned with a mortgage - Stoke on Trent	Shared ownership (part owned and part rented) - Stoke on Trent	Social rented (aka Council Housing) -  Stoke on Trent	Private rented - Stoke on Trent	Living rent free - Stoke on Trent
69,170	102,072	887	55,312	36,757	3,349
25.9%	38.2%	0.3%	20.7%	13.7%	1.3%

 

Yields will rise if Stoke on Trent 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 Stoke on Trent landlords add to their portfolio. Rental demand in Stoke on Trent is expected to stay solid and may even see an improvement if uncertainty is protracted. However, there is something even more important that Stoke on Trent 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 my Significant Other’s relations after a family get together. I got chatting with Her niece and partner.  Both are in their mid/late twenties, both have decent jobs 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 50 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 13.7% of Stoke on Trent 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 Stoke on Trent – 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!

Fancy a “ready to go” Stoke-on-Trent rental property

We have been letting this property on behalf of the current owners since 2009 and they have now decided it is their time to sell.  There is nothing much to do on it and has undergone redecoration since the end of the last tenancy.  Our last tenancy for it achieved a rent of £425pcm giving a potential gross yield of c.7% 

 https://www.martinco.com/property/for-sale/291628

Only 958 Properties For Sale in Stoke-on-Trent

2017 has started with some positive interest in the Stoke-on-Trent property market.  Taking a snap shot of the Stoke-on-Trent property market for the first quarter of 2017, the picture suggests some interesting trends when it comes to the number of properties available to buy, their asking prices and what prices properties are actually selling for.

Let us first consider the number of properties
for sale, compared to 12 months ago:

Type of Stoke-on-Trent Property	Number of Properties on the Market 12 months ago	Number of Properties on the Market now	% change
Detached	115	106	-8%
Semi	315	293	-7%
Terraced	346	328	-5%
Flat	145	148	+2%

So when we add in building plots and other types of properties that don’t fit into the four main categories, that means there are 958 properties for sale today compared with 1,037 a year ago, a drop of 8%.

Next, Stoke-on-Trent asking prices, compared

to the same as a year ago, are 7% higher.

With that in mind, I wanted to look at what property was actually selling for in Stoke-on-Trent. Taking my information from the Land Registry, the last available six months property transactions for ST4 show an interesting picture (note the Land Registry data is always a few months behind due to the nature of the house buying process and so November 2016 is latest set of data). The price shown is the average price paid and the number in brackets is the number of properties actually sold.

	Jun-16	Jul-16	Aug-16	Sep-16	Oct-16	Nov-16
Detached	£221,850 (10)	£223,093 (14)	£221,387 (13)	£242,166 (16)	£189,784 (16)	£311,000 (11)
Semi Detached	£138,207 (29)	£138,535 (30)	£160,514 (32)	£120,773 (26)	£128,708 (24)	£152,330 (18)
Terraced	£95,818 (32)	£90,105 (37)	£86,898 (30)	£86,065 (37)	£88,646 (34)	£82,161 (33)
Flat	£58,990 (5)	£82,667 (3)	£76,300 (5)	£62,000 (1)	£57,000 (2)	£79,967 (3)
All	£126,153 (76)	£129,300 (84)	£137,536 (80)	£128,264 (80)	£121,756 (76)	£140,217 (65)

 So what does all this mean for the property owning folk of Stoke-on-Trent?

Well, with less property on the market than a year ago and asking prices 7% higher, those trying to sell their property need to be mindful that buyers, be they first timers, buy to let landlords or people moving up the Stoke-on-Trent property ladder, have much more price information about the Stoke-on-Trent property market at their fingertips than ever before.

Those Stoke-on-Trent people who are looking to sell their property in 2017, need to be aware of the risks of over pricing their property when initially placing it on the market. Over the last 12 months, I have noticed the approach of a few Stoke-on-Trent estate agents is to suggest an inflated asking price to encourage the homeowner and secure the property to sell on their books. The down side to this is that when offered to the market for the first time, buyers will realise it is overpriced and wont waste their time asking for a brochure. They won’t even view the property, let alone make an offer. So when the price is reduced a few months later, the property has become market stale and continues to be ignored.

Whilst the Stoke-on-Trent property-market has an unassailable demand for property – there is one saying that always rings true - as long as the property is being marketed at the right price it will sell.

If you want to know if your Stoke-on-Trent property is being marketed at the right price, send me a web link and I will give you my honest opinion.

The sun is out for a change and with a blue sky to match the one in this photo it seems to have had a positive effect on the mood of a few people who have been in the office today looking at buying their next house.  I have just been talking to a couple of investors and whilst I was looking at their potential purchase this one caught my eye

Looks like it needs a lot of work but with a guide price of £90k for a 4 bed semi it’s got to be worth a look.  It’s a popular rental area and with a shortage of 3 and 4 bed rental properties on the market we would have tenants queuing up for this one once refurbished

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65398382.html

Refurbished Stoke-on-Trent property would make an ideal BTL investment

Here we have a fully refurbished end terraced 2 bed house.  The current owner has completed a full refurb and this is ready for either a first time buyer or a investor.  It has been done to a good standard and will make a cracking rental investment.  Not much room for short term capital growth but will deliver a solid yield and is ready to go.  As is often the case there is a shortage of good quality rental stock and we have a list of people waiting for good properties like this to rent.  It is on the market for offers in the region of £74,950  


https://www.martinco.com/property/for-sale/296809

Another cracking investment property in Newcastle under Lyme

The weather took a turn for the worse over the weekend so the gardening turned out to be a bit of a muddy affair, it did however mean I was looking to see what had come on the market recently when taking a break from the rain!

I really like the look of this one on Cherry Tree Road, Chesterton, Two bedroom, semi detached with driveway. There is strong demand for rental property in this area. The property is currently marketed for offers in the region of £68,000 and should achieve £475 PCM giving a healthy yield even at full asking price.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43896183.html

844 Stoke on Trent Households Occupied by OAP Renters

Recent statistics published by the Office of National Statistics show that there are 267,704 private rented households in the Country that are occupied by people aged 65 and older, meaning 4.39% of OAP’s are living in private rented property.

It got me thinking two things. How many of these OAP’s have always rented and how many have sold up and become a tenant?  In retirement, selling up could make financial sense to the mature generation in Stoke on Trent, potentially allowing them to liquidate the equity of their main home to enhance their retirement income.  I wanted to know why these older people rent and whether there was opportunity for the buy to let landlords of Stoke on Trent?

The Prudential published a survey recently that said nearly six out of ten OAP renters had never owned a home.  Two out of ten OAP renters were required to sell up because of debt, just about one in ten OAP renters sold their property to use the money to fund their retirement and the remaining one out ten OAP renters, rented for other reasons.

Funding retirement is important as the life expectancy of someone from Stoke on Trent at age 65 (years) is 16.9 years for males and 19.8 years for females (interesting when compared to the National Average of 18.7 years for males and 21.1 years for females).  The burdens of financing a long retirement are being felt by many mature people of Stoke on Trent.  The state of play is not helped by rising living costs and ultra-low interest rates reducing returns for savers.

So, what of Stoke on Trent?  Of the 30,012 households in Stoke on Trent, whose head of the household is 65 or over, not surprisingly 21,378 of households were owned (71.23%) and 6,854 (22.84%) were in social housing.  However, the figure that fascinated me was the 844 (2.81%) households that were in privately rented properties.

Anecdotal evidence, by talking to both my team and other Stoke on Trent property professionals is that this figure is rising.  More and more Stoke on Trent OAP’s are selling their large Stoke on Trent homes and renting something more manageable, allowing them to release all of their equity from their old home.  This equity can be gifted to grandchildren (allowing them to get on the property ladder), invested in plans that produce a decent income and while living the life they want to live.

These Stoke on Trent OAP renters know they have a fixed monthly expenditure and can budget accordingly with the peace of mind that their property maintenance and the upkeep of the buildings are included in the rent.  Many landlords will also include gardening in the rent! Renting is also more adaptable to the trials of being an OAP - the capability to move at short notice can be convenient for those moving into nursing homes, and it doesn't leave family members panicking to sell the property to fund care-home fees.

 Stoke on Trent landlords should seriously consider low maintenance semi-detached bungalows on decent bus routes and close to doctor’s surgeries as a potential investment strategy to broaden their portfolio.  Get it right and you will have a wonderful tenant, who if the property offers everything a mature tenant wants and needs, will pay top dollar in rent!

Investment property in Newcastle under Lyme

We are always being asked for family sized rental property to rent in Chesterton and here we have one on Boxwood Place Chesterton.  Another 3 bed semi and it will probably need some updating. Currently on the market for £65,000. These are good family homes and rent well. This property should achieve £475-£495 pcm  giving a potential gross yield of 8-9%

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45836604.html

Needs some work...but £70k for a 3 bed semi!

For those who read the blog regularly you will know that 3 bed semis are where the demand outstrips supply in the rental market, and I have spotted this one that needs some work but looks to have plenty of potential.  It’s on Fontaine Place, three bedroom semi detached property with garden and shared driveway. Currently on the market with Bridgefords for £70,000 Located in a cul de sac – needs a bit of a revamp but will achieve £495 pcm. Word of caution this is for cash investors only, please find out the reason for this before you offer!

 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45646644.html

Stoke-on-Trent Unemployment Drops to 6.3% and its effect on the Stoke-on-Trent Property Market

It was late May 2016, The Right Hon. Member for Tatton, Mr George Osborne, published an official HM Treasury analysis stating UK house prices would be lower by at least 10% (and up to 18%) by the middle of 2018 compared with what is expected if the UK remained in the European Union. So, eight months on from the Referendum, are we beginning to show signs of that prophecy? The simple answer is yes and no.

Good barometers of the housing market are the share prices of the big UK builders. Much was made of Barratt’s share price dropping by 42.5% in the two weeks after Brexit, along with Taylor Wimpey’s equally eye watering drop in the same two weeks by 37.9%. Looking at the most recent set of data from the Land Registry, property values in Stoke-on-Trent are 0.11% down month on month (and the month before that, they had decreased by 0.88%) – so is this the time to panic and run for the hills?

 Doom and Gloom then? Well, let me consider the other side of the coin.

As I have spoken about many times in my blog, it is dangerous to look at short term. I have mentioned in several recent articles, the heady days of the Stoke-on-Trent property prices rising quicker than a thermometer in the desert sun between the years 2011 and late 2016 are long gone – and good riddance. Yet it might surprise you during those impressive years of house price growth, the growth wasn’t smooth and all upward. Stoke-on-Trent property values dropped by an eye watering 1.97% in February 2012 and 1.34% in September 2014 – and no one batted an eyelid then.

You see, property values in Stoke-on-Trent are still 3.84% higher than a year ago, meaning the average value of a Stoke-on-Trent property today is £139,750. Even the shares of those new home builders Barratt have increased by 43.3% since early July and Taylor Wimpey’s have increased by 37.3%. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government Spending Watchdog, recently revised down its forecast for house-price growth in the coming years - but only slightly.

 The Stoke-on-Trent housing market has been steadfast partly because, so far at least, the wider economy has performed better than expected since Brexit. There is a robust link between the unemployment rate and property prices, and a flimsier one with wage growth. Unemployment in the Stoke-on-Trent City Council area stands at 7,400 people (6.3%), which is considerably better than a few years ago in 2013 when there were 11,700 people unemployed (10%) in the same council area.

However, inflation is the only thing that does worry me. Looking at all the pundits, it will get to at least 3% (if not more) in the latter part of 2017 as the drop in Sterling in late 2016 renders our imports with higher prices. If that transpires then the Bank of England, whose target for inflation is 2%, may raise interest rates from 0.25% to 2%+. However, that won’t be so much of an issue as 81.6% of new mortgages in the UK in the last two years have been fixed-rate and who amongst us can remember 1992 with Interest rates of 15%!

Forget Brexit and yes inflation will be a thorn in the side – but the greatest risk to the Stoke-on-Trent (and British) property market is that there are simply not enough properties being built thus keeping house prices artificially high. Good news for those on the property ladder, but not for those first-time buyers that aren’t! In the coming weeks in my articles on the Stoke-on-Trent Property Market, I will discuss this matter further!