..........well it is according to the national newspapers! A few have covered a report done by the Office of National Statistics which announced that properties sell more quickly here than anywhere else. We took our link from the Daily Mail - http://dailym.ai/2nwH7J3 - so it must be true!
We know properties move fast. The only thing that stops them selling is vendors overpricing them, having been advised to by desperate estate agents who pay their staff for just getting the keys! But we don't know how the speed of OUR property market compares to other places in the UK - so a report like this is really interesting. There's loads of commentary about "the property market" in general but this really means the LONDON property market which is all the national media seems interested in (as no where else really exists). If you look at the URL at the top when you read the article, you'll see the bit the Mail are focusing on isn't that Northampton has the fastest market, but that Croydon is also showing a bit of form - which demonstrates the point I'm making.
So the report is useful and shows (independently) that the market in Northampton is as hot as anywhere in the UK. It says the average time for a sale to be agreed is 27 days - we actually work on 14 days in our office and find that most properties we get under £300,000 have gone in that time frame. Buy why is this? What's driving things in Northampton (apart from me!)?
At a basic level, it's SUPPLY AND DEMAND - and demand certainly exceeds supply. But whilst half our property woes as a nation stem from the fact that we don't build enough properties, I'm not sure that's the case in Northampton - there's loads been built in recent years, loads being built, and loads more planned for the next few years.
It's demand that's massive, and this is coming from investors and private purchasers. Investors haven't gone away - the government has tried to dampen their enthusiasm - but they remain just as active although the profile of 'type' of investor has probably changed. Increasingly people are TAKING MONEY FROM THEIR PENSION to buy property "because I'll get a 5% return in property vs 0% in the bank". They aren't wrong, and they seem to be buying in Northampton because it's still a place where they can afford a property and can rent it to a decent tenant in full time employment - they've been priced out of the market further south.
But there's demand from private purchasers too. Northampton grew massively in the 80s and 90s when people moved to the area and it's their kids that are now wanting a place of their own. Added to that, we've seen a huge amount of immigration over the last 10 years and those who came first - mainly Polish - now have aspirations of property ownership and are buying in their droves. The result is prices that continue to increase and I've got landlords who bought 2 years ago - and bought something that I didn't think was a particularly good deal - looking at a 20% profit if they chose to sell today. And prices are still rising!
So it's positive news if you're a property owner here, and the type of news that will only persuade more investors to come. To help them understand the area and the local property market better, they should start with a copy of our buy to let guide - http://bit.ly/2o5DKZV - which covers the basics on where to invest locally. And they should be prepared to make decisions quickly - as the article says, property sells faster here than anywhere else.
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| If the Northampton Property Market was an athlete...... |
So the report is useful and shows (independently) that the market in Northampton is as hot as anywhere in the UK. It says the average time for a sale to be agreed is 27 days - we actually work on 14 days in our office and find that most properties we get under £300,000 have gone in that time frame. Buy why is this? What's driving things in Northampton (apart from me!)?
At a basic level, it's SUPPLY AND DEMAND - and demand certainly exceeds supply. But whilst half our property woes as a nation stem from the fact that we don't build enough properties, I'm not sure that's the case in Northampton - there's loads been built in recent years, loads being built, and loads more planned for the next few years.
It's demand that's massive, and this is coming from investors and private purchasers. Investors haven't gone away - the government has tried to dampen their enthusiasm - but they remain just as active although the profile of 'type' of investor has probably changed. Increasingly people are TAKING MONEY FROM THEIR PENSION to buy property "because I'll get a 5% return in property vs 0% in the bank". They aren't wrong, and they seem to be buying in Northampton because it's still a place where they can afford a property and can rent it to a decent tenant in full time employment - they've been priced out of the market further south.
But there's demand from private purchasers too. Northampton grew massively in the 80s and 90s when people moved to the area and it's their kids that are now wanting a place of their own. Added to that, we've seen a huge amount of immigration over the last 10 years and those who came first - mainly Polish - now have aspirations of property ownership and are buying in their droves. The result is prices that continue to increase and I've got landlords who bought 2 years ago - and bought something that I didn't think was a particularly good deal - looking at a 20% profit if they chose to sell today. And prices are still rising!
So it's positive news if you're a property owner here, and the type of news that will only persuade more investors to come. To help them understand the area and the local property market better, they should start with a copy of our buy to let guide - http://bit.ly/2o5DKZV - which covers the basics on where to invest locally. And they should be prepared to make decisions quickly - as the article says, property sells faster here than anywhere else.
