Property Advice

Friday 31 March 2017

Hampstead Buy to Let sees returns of 7.95 % in 2016

Well, as the spring begins I remembered that a few days ago, I got chatting with one of my out of town landlords who was back in Hampstead visiting his family.  Brought up in Hampstead, he went to the Hampstead School for Boys back in the 1970’s and is now a University Lecturer in central London.  To enhance his retirement, he has a small portfolio of four properties in the suburb and wanted my advice on where to buy the next property in Hampstead (as he lives in a college owned flat and anyway, would never dream of buying where he lives in Kensington (where the average value of a flat is £1.62m and a house £4.1m.  Eye-watering to say the least!!).

Before I could advise him, I reminded him that the most important thing when considering investing in property is finding one with decent rental yields for income returns, yet at the same time, it must have the potential for capital growth from rising house prices over time.  Going into 2017, Hampstead landlords will be under more pressure to find the best permutation of yields and capital growth, as extra stamp duty charges for buying properties and a squeeze on mortgage interest relief will raise their costs.


However, (you knew there would be a however) before we look at yield and capital growth, one important consideration that often many landlords tend to overlook, is the propensity of how likely the rent will increase.  Interestingly, the average rent of a Hampstead property currently stands at £3,398 per month, which is a fall of 7.5% compared to twelve months ago (although it must be noted this fall in rents is for new tenancies and not existing tenants). See the graph below that illustrates this trend - (Source ONS ~ Office of National Statistics)
Anyway, back to yield and capital growth, the average value of an average Hampstead property currently stands £1,541,700 meaning the average yield stands at 2.2 % per annum, which on the face of it, many landlords would find disappointing. That is the problem with averages, so if I were to look at say just apartments in Hampstead which are the sort of properties a lot of landlords buy, in Hampstead over the last 12 months, according to the Land Registry, the average value achieved for all of the apartments in the area is £885,000 whilst the average rent for all apartments is £3,326 per month (remembering these are still averages), giving an average yield of 3.75 %. However, if that wasn’t high enough, there are landlords in Hampstead who own some specialist properties that are achieving even higher than that (e.g. Student or Houses under Multiple Occupancy) – again it comes down to your attitude to risk and reward (give me a tinkle if you wanted a chat about those sorts of properties – although they can be fun and games!)

Ultimately investors want to be making gains from both rent and house price growth.   When combined, the rental yield and capital growth gives you the return on investment, and that is what I told our University friend from Kensington. Return on investment is everything. So, looking at property values in Hampstead have risen in the last year by 4.2% …. Which means the current annual return on investment in Hampstead for a typical apartment is 7.95 % a year.... not bad.

Whether you are a soon to be new landlord or existing seasoned landlord in Hampstead, you might be interested in a blog about the Hampstead Property market, where you will find similar articles to this one about what is happening in the Hampstead Property market .... The web address is www.nw3propertyblog.com  .... and to answer the question on what he should buy, well on the same blog, once or twice a week, I post what I consider to be the best buy to let deals in Hampstead, irrespective of which agent it is being marketed with.   

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 me 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 at Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. There is plenty of parking and the kettle is always on.

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


Monday 27 March 2017

Studio flat for Buy to let Investment - College Crescent NW3

I've just spotted this cracking studio flat that is just a stones throw from Swiss Cottage Tube making for a great location. Its much larger than average and a couple would comfortably live there. Its in a block with lift and communal heating.

The rent for this flat will be coming in at £1300 per calendar month and it will rent pretty quickly too. Based on the asking price it will give you a gross yield of 3.9 % Its in pretty decent condition, it may just need a coat of paint and new carpets to freshen it up, but not much else. There is always good call for this type of flat and the market could do with more of these.

If you're interested, I'd be quick, this one wont hang around for long.

On the market with Greene & Co in Belsize Park

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43071470



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 me 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 at Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. There is plenty of parking and the kettle is always on.

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

Friday 24 March 2017

Private Renting in Hampstead increases by 466.71% in 20 years

You find me in a reflective mood today as I want to talk about the future of investing in property in Hampstead. The truth is that we have got fat and lethargic, with many people having mistaken the ever rising Hampstead (and in fact the whole of the UK) property market since the 1960’s as the eternal gift that kept giving as property prices constantly rose and doubled every five to seven years.

The days of making money from property as easy
as falling off a log, like taking candy from a baby are sadly
over my Hampstead Property Blog reading friends

Whilst the current Chancellor, Philip Hammond is carrying out the policies rolled out by his predecessor, it was decided that now is the time to milk the ‘Golden Cow’ of UK’s private landlords. With changes in taxation for buy to let property, many pundits are predicting the end of buy to let as we know it. However, it is still possible to make a reasonable, profitable and safe return on property with these changes. You see, I have always seen investing in the Hampstead buy to let market (as I would anywhere in the UK), as I might see mother nature, creating some truly wonderful stunning warm weather but at the same time, she will bite, creating catastrophic situations such as snowstorms and hurricanes. You need to study the market, take advice and opinions from many people and then decide what the proverbial property weather will be … remember, tenants will always want a roof over their head and I don’t see the HM Government building the millions of houses required to house them.


Nobody knows the future, and yes people can predict but I wouldn’t be afraid of this change .. because as a famous French proverb says, (I told you I was a reflective mood today), ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’.  I mean, who could have predicted how the property market has changed in Hampstead over the last couple of decades? Looking specifically at what was Hampstead and Highgate but is now the Hampstead and Kilburn Parliamentary Constituency, twenty years ago, 18,405 households (meaning 39.85% of property) was owned and only 2,940 households were privately rented (meaning 6.37% of property was rented out by private landlords). Roll the clocks on twenty years and the change has been seismic …. Now 18,096 of properties in the Constituency are home-owners (a drop to only 38.17% being owner occupied) and the jump in private renting has been out of this world, as 21,066 properties are now privately rented, proportionally 45.6%). (NB Neighbouring Constituencies show similar changes as well). 

(Source~ Office of National Statistics- ONS)

Also, if you had asked someone in 1996 to predict what would happen to property values over the proceeding 20 years (ie between 1996 and 2016), they might have predicted similar growth to the growth experienced over the previous 20 years (ie between 1976 and 1996), which was a very impressive 351.55%. Yes, property values in Hampstead have increased over the last 20 years (between 1996 and 2016), by an even more impressive 609.3% (and most of that can be attributed to house price growth between 2000 and 2007.) 

See the graph below that illustrates this trend. (Source- Land Registry)



The property market is constantly changing and buy to let for too long has been heavily dependent solely on house price growth, where yield has been almost forgotten. I see the changes in tax and landlord and tenant law in a different perspective to the doom-mongers and see it as bringing many opportunities. You might need to change your buy-to-let benchmarks, your approach to financing or even consider places other than Hampstead in which to invest your money. This will shine a light on investing in properties with healthier yields and create more realistic long term buy to let opportunities, instead of short term growth bets and wagers.

The advice I give to my landlords, and you my blog reading friends is this; these changes will make some landlords panic, meaning competition for decent Hampstead buy to let bargains will reduce as fear of change kicks in and amateur investors flee the market. These opportunities will provide a more stable platform for knowledgeable and wise Hampstead buy to let landlords to thrive in. 

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 me 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 at Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. There is plenty of parking and the kettle is always on.

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

Thursday 23 March 2017

Buy to let Investment - Belsize Grove NW3

Ive been searching though the market again this morning checking out the investment opportunities and came across this great studio. Its just round the corner from Belsize Park Tube and local shops so it has a cracking location and therefore a great place to be. The flat is very good all round condition and ready to be let. 

The block has a lift, day porter and communal heating/hot water, so check out the service charge and there's no mention of the lease length, so two important things to ask. There is always good call for these flats and the local rentals market could do with more of them. Expect to achieve £1215 per calendar month for such an example and based on the asking price of £360,000 that will give you a gross yield of 3.95 %. 

By the way, it was listed on 5th Jan and has remained unsold, (though not overpriced in my humble opinion) , the vendor may be up for a haggle...............

On the market with our friends Goldschmidt and Howland 

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43243342

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 me 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 at Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. There is plenty of parking and the kettle is always on.

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


Monday 20 March 2017

Buy to let Investment - Mansfield Road NW3

One of my landlords came in to the office see me this morning about some tenancy documentation and we got chatting about the local property market, as he was keen to add to his portfolio as he has recently come in to some inheritance. 

We were trawling through the portals and I spotted this great little self contained studio that caught my eye. Located on Mansfield Road just a short walk from the Heath, local shops and the Tube at Belsize Park, its a good place to be. 

Looking at the details this flat is in great all round condition and letting ready, its even got a bit of outside space. There's always good call for these as they tend to rent fast. For this example, you can expect to achieve a rental of £1150 per calendar month and based on the asking price that will give you a Gross Yield of 4.38%. Its on the market with our friends at Day Morris with an asking price of £299, 950. No mention about the lease length , so its the first question to ask the agent, just in case there are any expensive surprises! 

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43291636



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 me 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 at Ashmore Residential, Suite 7, 25-27 Heath Street, London, NW3 6TR. There is plenty of free parking and the kettle is always on.

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




Friday 17 March 2017

Private Landlords buy 14,271 Camden Homes in the last 20 years – Is this the end for first time buyers in Hampstead?

There I was, out with the family at Golders Hill Park last weekend, when a smart gentleman approached me. ‘Hello’, he said, ‘You are the person writes that Property Blog aren’t you? We have met before at that Business Networking event in Hampstead a few months ago’. I did then recognise him and, whilst I won’t mention his name, he runs a small but perfectly formed well known independent retailers in the area ... It’s amazing who you see when out walking! Anyway, I was at a loose end for five or ten minutes as the other half was sorting things with the family, so we had a chat.

He wanted to know my thoughts on the future of the Hampstead property market, and I would now like to share with you that conversation. People are always going to need a roof over their heads and somewhere to live will never go out of fashion – it’s a necessity for every single person. The 22 to 30 year olds of the suburb have a choice to what type of roof they have ... they rent from the Council, they can rent from a private landlord or finally they can get a mortgage and buy one. In the 1970’s/80’s and 90’s, the expected thing was to save like mad for two years for the deposit (going without luxuries) whilst living at home or renting a cheap two up two down, then buy your first house. However, more recently fewer Hampstead youngsters have been buying, choosing to rent instead – mainly from private landlords (as Councils have been selling off council housing on the Right to Buy Schemes). The numbers are truly staggering ... and I want to share them with you.

Roll the clock back 20 years and Hampstead was a different place. There were 89,533 households in the Camden area and 27,052 of those were owner occupied. Move to the present, and with all the building in the Borough, the total number of households has increased by 8.98% to 97,576 and quite surprising (to me at least), the number of owner-occupiers has increased to 31,343 (although as a proportion, it is only 32.1% compared to 30.2% twenty years ago).


However, it’s the rented sector that is truly fascinating … twenty years ago; only 17,148 properties were privately rented in Camden ... and now its 31,419, a rise of 14,271.(Source - Office of National Statistics- ONS)


The twentysomethings of Hampstead housing difficulties haven’t been helped by the local authority selling off council housing, with the number of council houses dropping from 27,218 to 22,517 over the same twenty-year period. Demand for decent rented property remains high, as the Conservative Party’s much vaunted house building program is years away and has decades of under investment to catch up on before it starts to affect demand. Even with the Buy to Let tax rule changes being phased in as early as next month (which will see the maximum tax relief available to landlords drop from 45% to 20%), private landlords still have an important role to play in housing the people of Hampstead and those who educate themselves and treat it as a business will survive and prosper.

The best way Hampstead landlords can protect their income from property (and mitigate the affects of the tax rises) is to keep the homes they let out in Grade A condition. I have found, especially over the last three or four years, Hampstead tenants have ever growing demands from their rental property, but many are prepared to pay ‘top dollar‘ for houses and apartments that meet their high expectations. You must not forget, letting property in Hampstead (in fact anywhere) is a business, so all private landlords should also seek the advice, opinion and commentary of property professionals.

... And just as the other half had sorted the family, he asked ‘What of the news of Stamp Duty changes that were introduced last year for Landlords?’ My thoughts are with falling supply (i.e. numbers of property for sale) and relatively high demand, the proportion of owner occupiers should increase slightly compared to buy-to- let landlords in the coming decade as the the housing market should return to balance.





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.



Tuesday 14 March 2017

Fellows Road NW3 - Self contained studio

Ive just spotted this self contained studio located on the 20th floor in a large purpose built block. This is on the southern slopes of the Belsize Park area and as its so  close to Swiss Cottage Tube and the main shopping on Finchley Road its a good place to be and invest.

This has just come on the market with Prime Metro Properties with a guide price of £325,000 and is in good all round condition. There is good call for these in the local area and you can expect to achieve a rental of around £1200 pcm.

For full details click on the link below.

 http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/4322125







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.


Friday 10 March 2017

Hampstead Property Market: Values Still Holding Strong

Hampstead’s continuing housing shortage is putting the suburb’s (and the Country’s) repute as a nation of homeowners ‘under threat’, as the number of houses being built continues to be woefully inadequate in meeting the ever demanding needs of the growing population in the area.  In fact, I was talking to some friends the other day at an evening dinner together; the subject of the Hampstead Property market came up in the conversation (as I am sure it does at many parties in Hampstead) after the weather and politics. My friends said it used to be that if you went out to work and did the right thing, you would expect that relatively quickly over the course of your career you would be buying a house, you would go on holiday every year and you would save for a pension. However, over recent years, things seem to have changed.

Back in the Autumn, Philip Hammond, used the Autumn Statement to double the housing budget to £2bn a year from April 2018 in an attempt to increase supply and deliver 200,000 new homes each year until 2020.  The Chancellor also highlighted the series of initiatives introduced by his predecessor (George Osborne) to help get first time buyers on the housing ladder; including the contentious Help to Buy Scheme and extending Right to Buy from not just Council tenants, but to Housing Association tenants as well.

Now that does all sound rather good, but the Country is only building 140,660 properties a year that were actually completed (split down 114,650 built by private builders, 23,930 built by Housing Associations and and a paltry 2,080 council houses). If you look at the graph (courtesy of ONS), you will see nationally, the last time the country was building 230,000 houses a year was in the 1960’s.



How Philip Hammond is going to almost double house building overnight, I don’t know, because using the analogy of a greengrocers; if people want to buy more apples (i.e. houses)  giving them more money (i.e. with the Help to Buy scheme) when there's not enough apples in the first place doesn't really help.

Looking at the Hampstead house building figures, in the local authority area as a whole, only 400 properties were built in the last 12 months, split down into 380 privately built properties, 10 Housing Association and 10 local authority being built.   This is simply not enough and the shortage of supply has meant Hampstead property values have continued to rise, meaning they are still  1.5% higher than 12 months ago (seasonally adjusted)

At school (all those years ago!), I was taught that this economics game is all about supply and demand. The demand for Hampstead property was particularly strong for properties in the good areas of the town, though the number of overall sales over the last two quarters has fallen. This ,coupled with the fact that there are also fewer properties being introduced to the market has resulted in a slight fall in values over the first quarter of 2017 to the tune of 2.77%. (Source Land Registry)


Moreover, of supply, well we have spoken about the lack of new building in the town holding things back, but there is another issue relating to supply.   Of the existing properties already built, the concern is the number of properties on the market and for sale.   The number of properties for sale last month in Hampstead was 780, whilst two and a half years ago, that figure was 900, and just over four years ago it stood at 990… quite a drop! 
(Source - Land Registry)


The overall state of the Hampstead property market remains a mixed bag - minimal new homes being built and less properties coming onto the market and fewer properties sold has resulted in a slight fall in average prices. This is against the outlook for the economy , Stamp Duty revisions, first time buyer affordability and stricter lending criteria for larger mortgages.  The cautious behavior of vendors and purchasers has caused a bit of wobble, though values are holding their own, albeit by a small margin.



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.



Thursday 9 March 2017

1 bedroom ex local authority flat for Investment - Waxham, Mansfield Rd NW3

I've been on the look out for 1 bedroom flats that are suitable for investment and ive spotted this one which is a cracking opportunity. Its a 1 bedroom ex local authority  flat on the 2nd floor of a popular and well located block thats close to the Heath, local shops and Belszie Park Tube.

The flat is in good all round condition and apart from a few small cosmetic details and compliance, its letting ready. 

So lets look at some figures........  In today's market, this flat will let for £1280 pcm and based on the asking price, this will give you a gross yield of 4.04% , outperforming the area average of 3.8%. Its got a long lease and its chain free, so get that viewing booked, though do check on those service charges! 

Its on the market with out friends at Day Morris for £360,000 







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.


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