Some of my landlords invest for
yield, some invest for capital growth (however, it’s very difficult to get both
in this market). Everyone is different; if you are a landlord in Canterbury,
who invests for capital growth as opposed to yield, it is crucial to look to
build in capital growth in a property by getting a property at a discount or by
finding a way to add value.
So, how can you get a discount in
this property market, with Canterbury property values alight and property being
snapped up over night? Achieving capital growth in Canterbury is going to be
tough over the coming few years isn’t it? Well yes and no. Looking at the
headline figures, of the 517 properties available for sale today in Canterbury,
254 of them are sold subject to contract, an impressive 49.1% which is
obviously a sign of a runaway Canterbury property market? Well, no it isn’t.
Don’t get me wrong it is a lot better than it was a few years ago, but there
are still good property deals to be had.
We asked Rightmove for all of the
properties that had come on to the market in the last 28 days (122 to be
precise), after one month, how many of those 122 had found buyers .. just over
one in five (28 to be precise or 22.9%). Look at the last 56 days (2 months)
and of the 229 properties that have come on to the market in Canterbury, only 75
have a sale agreed on them (or 32.7%) .. the property market is good but it’s
not a runaway train, is it?
The main thing is that landlords
must take as much advice as possible. They will need to take a long and serious
look at any existing properties or new ones to make sure they can achieve
capital growth and that this increases in line with inflation. I have a great technique for finding
properties that have been on the market for sale over three months or more. You
don’t need any special software. All you need to do is ask Rightmove to list
your search results (when searching), with the most recent first. The ones on
the last few pages are by definition, the ones that have been on the market
longest and potentially ready to do a deal .. simple but effective.
We are able to look at the whole
of the Canterbury property market. In
all three towns, there are good agents and bad ones, but one thing is always
the same, they are all paid by a vendor
to sell you a property, not paid by you to help you buy. Therefore, when they
show you that bargain, don’t get pressured into buying a property until you
have a good feel for the market. We have many landlords who send me a web link
of any Canterbury properties they are interested in and I always give my honest
opinion. (It might not be what you want to hear, but it will always be what you
need to hear!).
So why do we do that? Well, we
are a Lettings Agency. Once you’ve bought the property, we would very much like
to manage it for you or help with just finding you a tenant. If we give our
opinion, at no cost or obligation, then we start to build a relationship, you
may just start to trust us and as we will be giving you great customer service,
which at the end of the day, is what landlords want from their letting agent
and you might end up asking us to be your agent in the future (but of course
there is no obligation to do so). With that considered, it’s very much in our
interests that you buy something that’s sensible and lettable – we don’t want
you buying a dud, or something where the figures don’t stack up!
If you would like to discuss my
thoughts on the rental markets Canterbury, feel free to pop into our offices on
Watling Street, or email me on david.anthony@martinco.com
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