The smart money is near Hampstead Heath- Agincourt Road NW3

I've been trawling through the market this morning and have come across another flat close to Hampstead Heath, shops, mainline station and the tube at Belsize Park, located on Agincourt Road.This little pocket of NW3 on the borders with Gospel Oak is rising in popularity, with plenty of converted flats around here, its a stomping ground for first time buyers looking to get into the area, prospective tenants and buy-to-let investors who are looking for reasonable yield and high capital gains in the long term.

Hampstead Buy To Let – Demand and Supply

Following on from my recent article about the state of the Hampstead property market and in particular what had happened to the rents Hampstead tenants have had to pay since the Credit Crunch, if you recall, I said rents in Hampstead are 21.49% higher than they were in 2008. A Hampstead landlord has since rung me after reading the Hampstead Property Blog, wanting to know more of the story of what was happening to current rents in the area. The reason he asked was that his current agent hadn’t increased his rent for a number of years and was concerned if he was getting the best return from his buy to let investment.

The Hampstead rental market is all about supply and demand (isn’t it so in all parts of the economy?). On the supply side, 652 rental properties have come up for let in the last 31 days in Hampstead. It sounds a lot until you consider there are 20,276 rental properties in Hampstead, that means only 3.21% of the rental stock of properties in Hampstead are coming onto the market each month (it is normally around 5%).  One reason for this lack of new rental properties coming on the market is the fact that tenants seem to be staying in properties longer.

With this lack of supply, newer tenants have to pay more to secure the property they want. And this is the crux of the matter ...properties they want. Older properties in Hampstead, that haven’t been maintained, still retain their wood chip wallpaper from the 1970’s and thread bare carpets have seen their rents drop. Tenants want either modern properties with all the mod cons or older style properties that have been presented to an exceptional standard – and they are prepared to pay for the privilege. Rents for top quality properties in Hampstead have risen by 2.3% in the last month. Any properties, old or modern, put on the market in good or excellent condition will rent in a matter of days.   

Interestingly, looking at Hampstead property values, the Land Registry have just released their latest set of data on property values. Throughout April 2015 (the latest set of data), property values fell in Hampstead by 0.2%, however, they are still 10.2% higher than they were a year ago.  When one looks at the regional picture, the Greater London average property values rose by 2.3% in the last month. The difference doesn’t concern me, as the regional and local property values always even themselves out over the months. 

Looking forward, after considering all the statistics and talking to other property professionals, I expect property values in Hampstead to rise by 3% to 5% over the coming 12 months, following the Conservative party’s election victory.  In a forthcoming article, I will discuss how the number of properties changing hands each month has dropped considerably in the last 10 to 15 years in the area. 

 

...And so back to our landlord. Each property is unique and so as his tenancy agreement allows him to inspect the property with notice to the tenant, we will be visiting the property next week. 

Be you an experienced investor or first time landlord/vendor (you are all welcome at ours) feel free to visit the office on Heath Street just 50 meters from Hampstead Tube or if time is precious drop me a line chris@ashmoreresidential.com.For more in depth thoughts and opinions like this on the Hampstead Property market ...visit the Hampstead Property Blog www.NW3propertyblog.com   

How Much Is Your Property Worth? Click Here To Find Out For FREE

If you are looking for an agent with experience that can help you find the right tenant for your property, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property. Email me on chris@ashmoreresidential.com or give me a call on 020 7435 0420. Pop in for a chat – we are based on Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. The kettle is always on.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Hampstead Property News.

Follow The Buy-To-Let Property Investment Market in Hampstead

Hampstead Property Market LinkedIn Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Facebook Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Twitter Page

Hampstead Investment Property Specialist Ashmore Residential Website

Mansfield Road NW3- 3 bedroom maisonette

Recently I've noticed that there appears to be quite a lot of activity in the pocket of roads surrounding South End Green on the borders of  Hampstead and Gospel Oak .  As i mentioned the other day this part of Hampstead is rising in popularity and a prices here are good value compared to other roads in and around the Village and Belsize Park. 

1 bedroom flat on Fleet Road NW3 -Buy to Let Opportunity

The pocket of roads surrounding South End Road are increasing in popularity and on its way to becoming micro-market in its own right. Today's pick is a one bedroom flat on Fleet Road which is right in the heart of the action. The location offers easy access to everything in Hampstead with The Heath, tube and mainline stations as well as local shops just a short stroll away. 

One bedroom flat Buy-to-let Investment - Hillside Court, Finchley Road NW3

A landlord popped in to the office yesterday to sign some tenancy agreements and we got chatting about the local property market. We let and manage a couple of his flats here in Hampstead and he tells me that he has recently had some inheritance money that he was keen to invest and wanted know where would be a good place to do so.

Hampstead: Fewer people are moving house

Now  the dust has settled and the General Election seems a distant memory, we can get back to a more normal property market, or that is what the London based ‘Fleet Street’ journalists would lead you to believe. You see, I have been talking to many fellow property professionals in Hampstead (solicitors, conveyancers and one the best sources of info – the chap who puts all the estate agent and letting boards up in Hampstead, and all of them, every last one of them, told me they didn’t see any change over April in business, compared to any other month on the lead up to the Election itself.

In a nutshell, the General Election in Hampstead didn’t really have any impact on people’s confidence to buy property.  As I write this article, of 379 properties that have come on to the market in Hampstead  since the 2^nd of April,  69 of them have a buyer and are sold subject to contract, that’s nearly one in five (18.21% to be precise).

I think that things are starting to change in the way people in Hampstead (in fact the whole of the country as I talk to other agents around the UK) buy and sell property.  Back in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, the norm was to buy a terraced house as soon as you left home and do it up. Meanwhile, property prices had gone up, so you traded up to a 2 bed apartment, then a 3 bed apartment and repeated the process, until you found yourself in  large 4 bed  house with a large mortgage.

Looking into this a little deeper like I have said in previous articles Hampstead people’s attitude to homeownership itself has changed over the last ten years.  The pressure for youngsters to buy when young has gone as renting, not buying, is considered the norm for 20 something’s. This isn’t just a Hampstead thing, but, a national thing, as I have noticed that people buy property by trading up (or down) because they need to, not because ‘it’s what people do’.  This does means there are a lot less properties on the market compared to the last decade.

A by-product of less people moving is less people selling their property. My research shows there are a lot fewer properties each month selling in Hampstead compared to the last decade.  For example, in February 2015, only 54 properties were sold in Hampstead. Compare this to February 2002, and 86 properties sold and the same month in 2003, 81 properties.  I repeated the exercise on different sets of years, (comparing the same month to allow for seasonal variations) and the results were identical if not greater.  

So what does this all mean?  Demand for Hampstead property isn’t flying away, but with fewer properties for sale, it means property prices are proving reasonably stable too. Stable, consistent and steady growth of property values in Hampstead, year on year, without the massive peaks and troughs we saw in the late 1980’s and mid/late2000’s might just be the thing that the Hampstead property market needs in the long term.

How Much Is Your Property Worth? Click Here To Find Out For FREE

If you are looking for an agent with experience that can help you find the right tenant for your property, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property. Email me on chris@ashmoreresidential.com or give me a call on 020 7435 0420. Pop in for a chat – we are based on Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. The kettle is always on.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Hampstead Property News.

Follow The Buy-To-Let Property Investment Market in Hampstead

Hampstead Property Market LinkedIn Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Facebook Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Twitter Page

Hampstead Investment Property Specialist Ashmore Residential Website

Buy to let investment opportunity at Center Heights- Finchley Road NW3

The new development next to Swiss Cottage tube called Center Heights has got about 35 or so units up for sale most of which are studios and one bedroom flats.This one bedroom located on the second floor is on the market for £450,000 and would make for an ideal buy-to-let as its brand new and has a town center location. All the usual practical benefits of being in a block, lift, porter and 24 hour security are included in the package.

2 bedroom flat -Studholme Court, Finchley Road NW3

Hello to all and hope your enjoying the sunny weather,

A couple of weeks ago, I put out a studio flat in Studholme Court with potential to be a 1 bedroom with added value in the deal, plus a decent yield for the location. Now, a two bedroom has just come to the market in the same block and its white hot!

Center Heights 1 bedroom flat Finchley Road NW3

Good morning property hunters,

I've been keeping a close eye on a new development called Center Heights just next door to Swiss Cottage Tube and this, my good friend,s is next Buy-To-Let hot spot in NW3. This cracking one bedroom 3rd floor flat caught my eye and thought it worth while to put out there. The flats have just the right specification for this local market and are ready for immediate occupation. The location is great being in commuter haven,right next door to the tube with all the other local amenities on the door step, this will appeal to either a single person or a couple. All the usual benefits of being in a block are also on offer in terms of lift, concierge and 24 hour security on site.

Heathway, West Heath Road NW3 1 bedroom flat in block

Good afternoon,

There have been quite a few flats offered for sale in this block of late, which overall is pretty good value for money.The block known as Heathway is located at the bottom of West Heath Road on the borders with Golders Green, hence this pocket being good value for the NW3 area.

Hampstead Buy To Let – Should you look further afield?

I was at a recent business networking event in Hampstead, when a landlord (who it transpired had a couple of Buy to let properties) bent my ear on where the next hot spot town or city is to invest his money in and where the best rental yields are. Now, it can be tempting to just look at Hampstead when growing a buy to let property portfolio, but there can be big differences in the amount of rental income you receive and how much your property will appreciate by considering other locations in the country.

Now regular readers of my articles of the Hampstead Property Blog know of my love of the ‘buy to let seesaw’. On one side of the seesaw is yield and the other capital growth. Landlords should be looking for a high rental yield so that they can comfortably cover any mortgage payments and make some profit from the income return, but you also want the property to rise in value over time so you can get some capital growth when you come to sell. However, high yielding property in say such areas as Maitland Park on the edge of Hampstead, (so the seesaw arm with yield on it goes up on one side), will suffer from low capital growth (so the other arm with capital growth on the seesaw goes down).  The relationship works in reverse as well, so in such upmarket pockets as the West Heath or Redington Road areas, properties offer good capital growth, but at the expense of a decent yield.

The North East and North West of the UK are landlord magnets for great yields. The average yield in Hampstead today is 2.86%, which when you compare with say Hartlepool in the North East, which achieves 7.73% or  9.43% in the Anfield area of Liverpool, doesn’t look too healthy. Now of course, these are only averages and some of my Hampstead landlords are achieving 3.5% to 4.5% on some of their Hampstead properties, but at the expense of capital growth. Anyway, after wasting a tank full of petrol up the A1 to Teeside or the M1 to Home of the ‘The Reds’,  that Liverpool property, would have dropped in value by 2.2% in the last 12 months and the Hartlepool property would have dropped by 1.4%.

When you compare the long term house price growth, it gets even worse. Looking at the graph, Since 1995, property values in Hampstead have risen by 592.86%,compared with Hartlepool at 21.02% and Liverpool  at 90.11% – it just shows you shouldn’t always chase the yield because of the poor increases in property values in those two places. As I always like to explain to landlords when they either email me, pick up the phone or pop into my offices for a coffee (both my own and even landlords who use other agents (you are all welcome at ours), together with soon to be FTL’s (first time landlords)), a decent yield is important, but when you come to sell your buy to let property it would also be nice to make a decent profit.

At the end of the day, as a Hampstead landlord, you want to be making gains from both your rent and house price growth, particularly when you want to sell, because when combined, the rental yield and capital growth, that gives you the real return on your investment. For impartial advice about investing in the Hampstead property market your welcome to pop in to the office on Heath Street  for a chat over coffee or visit the NW3 property blog www.NW3propertyblog.com  or if time is precious, drop me a line chris@ashmoreresidential.com

Buy to let opportunity just by The Heath- Mansfield Road NW3

Good morning property hunters, 

trawling through the market today, i came across this cracking one bedroom flat on Mansfield Road and its in great condition throughout, with much time, money and thought put into it by the current owner. Inside its been renovated and offered in a contemporary style and nothing required to prepare it for letting. 

Gilling Court, Belsize Grove NW3 buy to let studio flat with great capital gains

Good afternoon,

I've been keeping a close eye on whats been happening in a popular block just round the corner from Belsize Park Tube station and this neat little studio has been sticking around for a longer then usual amount of time. The condition is pretty good and ready for letting, the only thing that springs to mind here is the asking price, which, in my opinion is a little optimistic as most studio flats in the block have sold for around the £300,000 level. The tenure is share of freehold, so no leases to sort out, there is a lift and resident porter.

"The profit is in the purchase" - 1 bedroom flat on Hampstead High Street NW3

Hello deal hunters, 

There's been quite a few small units,(studio and 1 bedroom flats) being offered at auction of late and here's another opportunity that's right on my doorstop on Hampstead High Street. This is a 1 bedroom flat above shops offered in a dilapidated condition with a guide price of £430,000, via Savills auctions.

Now, we don't know what will happen when it goes to the room on June 22nd, though i would suggest that if the bidding gets above £500,000, then we are in 4% stamp duty and the price achieved might get silly!  you would be looking at spending around £30,000 on renovations to bring it up to the expected standard for the local market.So,if this was to be a holding, your rent on this flat would be £2060 per calender month, giving you a net yield of 4.4% after all the expenses. That will bring the total value of the investment to around £560,000. 

Here's the details from the link below...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50340460.html

Here's the interesting bit though, if you are thinking of turning it around and selling to an end user, there's a comparable flat just a few doors down , that's been renovated and on the market with Knight Frank for £665,000, now even after taxes and the usual selling expenses, that will still leave you a tidy sum for a few months work,  see the link of the comparable flat below for the full details.  

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50299420.html

As ever, should you need advice about buy to let in Hampstead and Belsize Park or are considering a purchase in the NW3 area, pop in to the office on Heath Street for a coffee and informal chat. If time is precious, drop me a line chris@ashmoreresidential.com 

How Much Is Your Property Worth? Click Here To Find Out For FREE

If you are looking for an agent with experience that can help you find the right tenant for your property, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property. Email me on chris@ashmoreresidential.com or give me a call on 020 7435 0420. Pop in for a chat – we are based on Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. The kettle is always on.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Hampstead Property News.

Follow The Buy-To-Let Property Investment Market in Hampstead

Hampstead Property Market LinkedIn Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Facebook Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Twitter Page

Hampstead Investment Property Specialist Ashmore Residential Website

  

Hampstead Property Market – Post Election Blues?

With the election now over and the stability of Downing Street secure, with David Cameron and his Blue Tories as the largest party in Westminster, in Hampstead (as in the rest of the UK) average wages are beginning to grow faster than inflation. This is good news for the Hampstead housing market, as some buyers may be willing or able to pay higher prices given the more certain political outlook and attractive inexpensive mortgage rates. However, sellers who think they have the upper hand due to the lack of property for sale should be aware that we should start to see an increase in the number of people putting their properties on to the market in Hampstead giving buyers some extra negotiating power.

At the last election in May 2010, there were 954 properties for sale in Hampstead and by October 2010, this had risen to 1,176, an impressive rise of 23% in five months. An increase in the supply of properties coming on to the market could tip the balance in the demand and supply economics seesaw, thus potentially denting prices. However, as most sellers are buyers and confidence is high, this means there will be good levels of property and buyers, well into the summer, as demand will continue to slightly outstrip supply.

Just before we leave the run up to the election, it is important to consider what the uncertainty in April did to the Hampstead property market. I mentioned a few weeks ago that property values (ie what properties were actually selling for) had risen by 0.8% in March 2015. Now new data has been released from Rightmove about April’s asking prices of property in Hampstead. It shows that pre-election nerves finally came home to roost in the final weeks of electioneering, with the average price of property coming to market decreasing by a very modest 2.3% (April is normally one of the best months of the year for house price growth).

I am sure our local MP, Tulip Siddiq, would agree that the biggest issue is the lack of new properties being built in Hampstead. The Conservative manifesto pledged to build 200,000 discounted starter homes for first-time buyers in the next five years. For Hampstead to gets its share, that would mean only 177 such properties being built in Hampstead each year for the next five years, not much when you consider there are 97,534 properties in Hampstead.

Housing is not a big issue for Conservative voters and because London is an increasingly Labour city where the biggest housing issues are found by a country mile, so will it remain on the ‘to do list’ but won’t get recognition it deserves. Until another political party gets back into power, nothing will seismically change in the property market, thus demand for housing will continue to outstrip supply, meaning property values will increase (good news for landlords). However, rents tend to go up and down with tenant wages in the long term. Rents in the area are 21.49% higher than they were in 2008, but broken down, that has only been a modest rise of 3.07% a year ... so with renting everyone wins!

Should you need advice about investing in the NW3 area, feel free to pop in to my office on Heath Street, just 50 meters from Hampstead Tube, or if time is precious, drop me a line chris@ashmoreresidential.com 

How Much Is Your Property Worth? Click Here To Find Out For FREE

If you are looking for an agent with experience that can help you find the right tenant for your property, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property. Email me on chris@ashmoreresidential.com or give me a call on 020 7435 0420. Pop in for a chat – we are based on Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. The kettle is always on.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Hampstead Property News.

Follow The Buy-To-Let Property Investment Market in Hampstead

Hampstead Property Market LinkedIn Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Facebook Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Twitter Page

Hampstead Investment Property Specialist Ashmore Residential Website

Size Matters ! 3 bedroom maisonette on Maitland Park Road NW3

Good morning property hunters ! 

trawling through the offerings of the NW3 market  this morning , I've picked out this three bedroom maisonette in a purpose built block. Something a little different from the the usual stuff that we talk about though square footage is crucial in the London market and these larger properties can appeal to either small groups of  professionals who are looking to groom their careers or young families who are city dwellers.

Room at the top - Unique 1 bedroom flat on Lyndhurst Road NW3

Trawling through the offerings in the local market today, i have spotted this little cracker and its location is great. Just in between Hampstead village, The Heath and Belsize Park there are shops, tubes and trains in each direction. 

Looking around inside, this flat has its fair share of quirks that makes for an interesting property and giving it a unique feel. I rarely see this sort of layout in a flat, but it seems to work pretty well and these a good amount of living space too. This type of flat will appeal to an established tenant who is likely to live in it long term, so that will have a strengthening effect on your yield. "And what about the yield"? i hear you ask. Well, i would suggest that a realistic rent here will be coming in at £1950 per calender month and based on the asking price that will give you a net yield of 4.51%, not bad for starters. The overall condition is good, though i'd lose the cork tiles on the bathroom and kitchen floor and replace with something more up to date, so only minor cosmetic work needed to get it ready for letting.  

Its on the market with our good friends and neighbours at Hamptons on Heath Street. For something a little different like this , I'd get a wriggle on down to the agent and be first in the queue as it will go pretty quickly. Click on the link below for the full low down on this flat.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36979731

How Much Is Your Property Worth? Click Here To Find Out For FREE

If you are looking for an agent with experience that can help you find the right tenant for your property, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property. Email me on chris@ashmoreresidential.com or give me a call on 020 7435 0420. Pop in for a chat – we are based on Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. The kettle is always on.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Hampstead Property News.

Follow The Buy-To-Let Property Investment Market in Hampstead

Hampstead Property Market LinkedIn Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Facebook Page

Ashmore Residential Hampstead Twitter Page

Hampstead Investment Property Specialist Ashmore Residential Website