Month: October 2017

Letchworth Home Owners Are Only Moving Every 15.5 Years (Part 1)

As I mentioned in a previous article, the average house price in Letchworth is 10.1 times the average annual Letchworth salary. This is higher than the last peak of 2008, when the ratio was 8.18. A number of City commentators anticipated that in the ambiguity that trailed the Brexit vote, UK (and hence Letchworth) property prices might drop like a stone. The point is – they have not. Now it is true the market for Letchworth’s swankiest and poshest properties looks a little fragile (although they are selling if they are realistically priced)  and overall, Letchworth property price growth has slowed, but the lower to middle Letchworth property market appears to be quite strong. Scratch under the surface though, and a different long-term picture is emerging away from what is happening to property prices. Letchworth people are moving home less often than they once did. Data from the Office of National Statistics shows that the number of properties sold in

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Letchworth House Prices Outstrip Wage Growth by 21.13% since 2007

  I recently read a report by the Yorkshire Building Society that 54% of the country has seen wages (salaries) rise faster than property prices in the last 10 years. The report said that in the Midlands and North, salaries had outperformed property prices since 2007, whilst in other parts of the UK, especially in the South, the opposite has happened and property prices have outperformed salaries quite noticeably. As regular readers of my blog know, I always like to find out what has actually happened locally in Letchworth. To talk of North and South is not specific enough for me. Therefore, to start, I looked at what has happened to salaries locally since 2007. Looking at the Office of National Statistics (ONS) data for North Hertfordshire District Council, some interesting figures came out…         Salaries in North Hertfordshire have risen by 25.96% since 2007 (although it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride to get there!)

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Moving from a two bed Letchworth property to a four bed will cost you £1,135 pm

Moving to a bigger home is something Letchworth people with growing young families aspire to. Many people in two bedroom homes move to a threebedroom home and some even make the jump to a four bedroom home. Bigger homes, especially three bedroom Letchworth homes are much in demand and it can be a costly move. If you live in Letchworth in a two bedroom property and wish to move to a four bedroom house in Letchworth, you would need to spend an additional £287,288 (or £1,134.79 pm in mortgage payments (based on the UK Bank average standard variable rate)). However, going straight to a four bedroom from a two bedroom home is quite rare as most people jump from a two to three bedroom home, then later in life, from a three to four bedroom home. After being asked my thoughts on moving home in Letchworth by a friend recently, please find my analysis of the local property market and

read more Moving from a two bed Letchworth property to a four bed will cost you £1,135 pm

Letchworth Buy-to-Let Return / Yields – 1.8% to 6.9% a year

The mind-set and tactics you employ to buy your first Letchworth buy to let property needs to be different to the tactics and methodology of buying a home for yourself to live in. The main difference is when purchasing your own property, you may well pay a little more to get the home you (and your family) want, and are less likely to compromise. When buying for your own use, it is only human nature you will want the best, so that quite often it is at the top end of your budget (because as my parents always used to tell me – you get what you pay for in this world!). Yet with a buy to let property, if your goal is a higher rental return – a higher price doesn’t always equate to higher monthly returns – in fact quite the opposite. Inexpensive Letchworth properties can bring in bigger monthly returns. Most landlords use the phrase ‘yield’ instead

read more Letchworth Buy-to-Let Return / Yields – 1.8% to 6.9% a year