Over recent months, house prices in Far Cotton, NN4 seem to have risen faster than anywhere else in town - a top end 2 bed Victorian Terrace has moved from about £115,000 to about £140,000 - and prices still seem to be rising. Of course the market has risen generally, but not at these levels - so what's so special about Far Cotton?
The answer is Northampton University. The campus is currently a couple of miles north of the town centre, but will relocate in the next few years to a brownfield site in the town centre that borders Far Cotton. Many landlords are onto this, and have been buying up Victorian terraces in Far Cotton with the intention of converting them to multi-let in the coming years. Amazingly the one area of town that Northampton BC have not placed restrictions on regarding multi-let, is the one area of town where multi-let is most likely to happen - Far Cotton - but I guess that's Council logic.
So does this mean Far Cotton is a good buy? If you're an investor who fancies multi-let, only time will tell. You may have missed the boat! The University is certainly coming, but what effect that will have on the local property market (long term) remains to be seen - let's not forget there are hundreds of luxury modern student rooms popping up around town too. It's hard to see how Far Cotton could perform WORSE than other areas of Northampton though - simple supply / demand / incoming investment should mean this is an area on the rise, not on the fall.
So does this mean Far Cotton is a good buy? If you're an investor who fancies multi-let, only time will tell. You may have missed the boat! The University is certainly coming, but what effect that will have on the local property market (long term) remains to be seen - let's not forget there are hundreds of luxury modern student rooms popping up around town too. It's hard to see how Far Cotton could perform WORSE than other areas of Northampton though - simple supply / demand / incoming investment should mean this is an area on the rise, not on the fall.
