South West property prices take a tumble, but Bournemouth still on the increase!

The Land Registry has today released the property price data from March, and it shows a surprising picture. As you know, March was the last month for investors to complete on purchases before the increase of Stamp Duty on the 1^st April. With this in mind, it was predicted to be a heated month of property transactions and inflated property prices – but what actually happened was transactions tumbled by over 5% and prices across the UK fell by 0.5% - the greatest tumble in over 6 months.

The South West, having seen a high annual growth of 6.7% as at the end of February, saw one of the biggest property price tumbles in the UK – a huge drop of -0.9% in monthly property prices. This however had no effect on the property prices in Bournemouth which has seen yet another month of consecutive property price increases, +0.7% on last month which continues to exceed property price forecasts made before the start of the year. This brings the average price of a property in Bournemouth to £196,262 which is an annual growth of 7.9% compared with March 2015.

As the property market slows down, Bournemouth Landlords realise the true cost of the Stamp Duty changes

From the 1^st April 2016, Stamp Duty has increased for the purchase of investment properties and additional homes. As many of you will know, this change has increased the cost of Stamp Duty by 3% of the overall purchase price of the property affecting tens of thousands of buyers. It’s no surprise then that we saw huge increases in volume of transactions in the months leading up to the change as investors looked to complete their purchases before the tax changes came into effect. But what is the true cost of this tax change? Is it still worthwhile investing in Bournemouth property?

I have been speaking to a number of buy to let landlords over the last few weeks about this very subject. Yes, many landlords have been put off by the recent tax attacks on landlords, not just the increase on Stamp Duty. Having said that, when you look a bit closer at the figures and work out the true cost of the changes, you might be just a little surprised. 

Dorset house prices dip, but Bournemouth continues to rise!

According to the Land Registry House Price Index, February saw a stutter in the overall property market. The UK as a whole dropped 0.2% in the month of February despite the increase in demand from private landlords looking to complete purchases before the Stamp Duty increase took effect. Despite the strong demand and historic price jumps month on month, even Dorset stumbled with a -0.1% drop in prices.

The South in particular, along with London, has seen huge increases in property prices over the last few years. So it’s interesting to see some areas dropped in value despite the increased demand to buy at the start of the year from property investors. But despite the average property price dropping in Dorset as a whole, Bournemouth has certainly continued strong, growing in value for another consecutive month at +0.5%

Bournemouth landlords - What group of tenants should you target?

When planning to invest in property, there are a number of considerations you need to make; where to invest, how much to invest, how the investment will be funded, expected return on investment etc. But really, all of things result from the number 1 question you should be asking – who is my target market.

When businesses are formed, it is best practice to write up a business plan. The business plan can vary greatly in what it contains, but in essence it states what the business does, how much it plans to make, and who is going to buy the product/service. For the majority of property investors, only the first two elements are focused on – what you do (let out a property or room) and how much you plan to make (working out the gross/net yield). Far too often, the final element is only focused on once the property has been purchased – who is going to buy (who is the tenant). By then it’s too late.

Is it time for Bournemouth landlords to sell up?

Since the budget two weeks ago I have had a number of blog readers call and message me regarding some of the changes and how they will affect them going forward. It’s great talking to you all, and please do continue to get in touch if there is something on your mind that you wish to discuss. I did want to share one of the big questions I have had asked quite a lot however, and that is whether it is time for Bournemouth landlords to hang up their boots and sell up.

Landlords have been coming under increasing attacks over the last few years, and the latest budget didn't fail to pack another few punches. The Stamp duty tax increase of 3%, the capital gains surcharge of 8%, the reduction interest you can offset against tax coming next year. It almost seems as if landlords are on par with bankers to be the most disliked group of people. But why is that?

Housing tops the investment Charts in 2015

Why Bournemouth housing beats any other types of investments

Housing tops the charts for the best annual return on investment in 2015 for the first time since the recession. It is the only investment in 2015 to beat inflation and has given over 8% of a better return than the next class which was Shares.

Housing has always been known as a great investment – ‘Safe as houses’ was a common description, and rightly so. It is always in demand, you can physically see it, and over time it would always go up in value. But according to data supplied by BullionVault, since the recession hit in 2008 housing has been consistently outperformed by Bonds, Shares, Gold and even lower than inflation in some years. However last year, the average return for the property investor hit 9.48% which is by far the best performing investment class, and indeed the only investment to beat inflation.

How the Budget 2016 affects Bournemouth Landlords

Stamp Duty 3% surcharge, Insurance Premium Tax increase, Income Tax Changes. Just another budget right? But how is this going to affect YOU - The property owners and investors of Bournemouth?

Hello everyone! My regular blog followers will notice this week’s article has been posted up quite late. It’s been a very busy month, and I wanted to write a special article following George Osbourne’s 2016 budget announcement. There are a number of huge announcements that will affect Bournemouth landlords that have been announced, from Stamp Duty changes to Income Tax changes, so I hope you find this article helpful.

What is your Bournemouth property investment yielding?

According to a recent survey, over 45% of landlords don’t know what their buy to let property is yielding for them. The majority of which state their main reason is due to their lettings agent who takes care of this, but they haven’t been communicated too! Around 20% of landlords do not know what their investment is yielding because they don’t know how to work it out. Maybe that is a reason for some of the 68% of landlords who didn't increase their rents last year despite the increasing costs.

As well as the number of professional landlords who invest in the Bournemouth area due to the great returns on investment and capital growth, there are a number of new investors and accidental landlords who have buy to let properties in the area. In fact, I have worked with a number of new investors recently all of which have huge amounts of energy, enthusiasm and high aspirations. Now that is all great and will really help them move forward and growing their portfolios, but what they don't have is knowledge and experience. Working with an experienced lettings specialist is vital, and a good one not only tells you what a good investment property will be, they educate you as to why it would be a good investment and how you can work it out for yourself. That is my aim at least.

Is this the end for first time buyers in Bournemouth?

The Bournemouth property market is at an all-time high. Coming out of January with the highest property growth of any UK town (2.9% growth compared to the UK average of 0.2%), and property transactions the highest they have been for many years. All the signs point to a great few years of investment and capital growth in and around Bournemouth. But is all of this growth pushing first time buyers out of the market?

I had the pleasure of meeting one of my younger readers of the blog, a university student studying multimedia who wanted to interview me for a TV news project he was doing. Talking about the local property market, in particular how it has changed over the last 20 years, Jack raised some very good questions. Yes, the market growth is certainly great for investors and home owners who have a growing asset, but what effect is this having on people looking to get on the property market – the first time buyers.

Bournemouth sees highest house price growth in the UK

You have probably seen in my articles over the last few months how well the Bournemouth property market is performing, and in particular how bright the next few years look for property owners and investors in this area. We are just a couple of months into the year, and already it looks like the market is going to far exceed every ones expectations.

In fact, Bournemouth has seen the sharpest increase in house prices in the whole of the UK over January, an increase of 2.9% making the average price for a house jump from £253,870 to £261,232. To put this growth in perspective, the rest of the UK has seen a growth of just 0.2% in January.