Tuesday 6 June 2017

Wirral Property News - Election Special

Falling Down
Reading all the current property trends online, landlords and homeowners alike are holding back on selling, buying and renting due to waiting for the outcome of the election or Brexit negotiations before doing anything! And as an estate agent I have visions of the 1993 movie starring Michael Douglas 'Falling Down' as the general uncertainty and lack of action impacts the market.

"Falling down is an accident, staying down is a choice"

Don't wait! According to Robert Garner, Nationwide's Chief Economist 'History suggests that an upcoming election is not the foremost in either a buyer or a sellers mind when buying or selling a property. Trends tend to remain consistent before during and after general elections'
Although according to landlordnews.co.uk UK house prices have fallen for the 3rd consecutive month the first time since 2009 and house price growth slid to 2.1% the weakest in nearly 4 years.
Mr Garner adds 'Broader economic trends appear to dominate any immediate election-related impacts. It is too early to conclude whether the slow down in house price growth is merely a blip, a reflection of the impact of the squeeze on household budgets . This, together with mounting housing affordability pressures, is likely to exert drag on activity and house price in the quarters ahead' 
As an agent I would suggest now is the time whilst the competition wait!

Part of Bailey and Staples Recommended Trades

Rental trends
Latest Rental Index from Homelet
Generally across the UK rental prices on new tenancies have reduced by 0.3% on the same month of 2016 to £901 per month. London has reported a 3% reduction on rents since May 2016 to an average £1502 per month. Luckily North West hasn't followed this trend with rents rising by 2.2% on May 2016 from £664 to £679 per calendar month. Source Landlordnews.co.uk
Propertywire.com named Liverpool as the top spot for buy-to-let rental yields in the UK and stated that 'Landlords have been achieving an 8% rental yield once mortgage costs are taken into account'. they also go on to say 'As housing and mortgage costs are the biggest influence on yields in the current market, the city takes the top spot as it has a combination of low average house prices at just £122,283 and strong rents at £1,021 per month.
Location is everything when considering a buy-to-let to ensure optimisation of rental yields and long term investment for capitol gain. Strong rental demand is the key and this tends to be better in larger cities and university towns. With restrictions on tax relief on mortgage interest, mortgage costs need to be kept low. Lower mortgage rates are available to landlords and an independent mortgage advisor may be able to offer products to help with the most affordable available option. Sean Church, director of Finance 
We have access to excellent independent mortgage and insurance brokers available to suit your needs and ensure your monthly outgoings are kept to a minimum, please ask for more details.

Part of Bailey and Staples Recommended Trades

 Wirral buy-to-let market 
With the publication of Liverpool being named as the top spot this will filter down to the Wirral area as we too have some of the most affordable housing and the rental market is still strong in the area. With regular bus links to the City there's no reason why this positive headline won't directly influence the popularity of this smaller slightly less well known neighbour The Wirral, often mistaken for Liverpool anyway!
Desirable investment property available on Hamilton Square, Birkenhead only 10 minute train journey to Liverpool Centre. Please email: info@baileyandstaples.co.uk for a viewing.
Bailey and Staples - Hamilton Square apartment for sale


Search Facebook for the local support group: “Wirral Property Investors & Landlords Support Group” or https://www.facebook.com/groups/1079126728851319/



Deals for readers:-
  • Property Management Switching Service - 2 months management fee free and no sign up deals
  • June Deal - Fully managed deal reduced to only 7% for our readers!
  • Sales - Sell your home for only £500 flat fee on completion!


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Thursday 19 January 2017

Wirral Property News - January Blues


Wirral Property News
 I was wondering what to write for my January property blog after the Christmas hype, thinking what would Wirral residents interested in property want to read about on these cold dark days, I wanted to cheer everyone up with some happy inspiring news about the great Wirral area.  I have to admit I struggled to find the inspiration, then it came to me after a meeting with an interesting investor in Birkenhead I found myself driving through Hamilton Square a place where I passed every day for a number of years whilst working in various jobs. I've always enjoyed the surroundings of the Famous Georgian Square but felt I wanted to know more about the history of how this delightful Wirral Landmark came to be.
Hamilton Square was designed by Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham and has the most Grade 1 Listed buildings outside London (after Trafalgar Square). It is named after the family of the wife of the Scottish ship builder William Laird whose maiden name was Hamilton. The town hall opened in 1887 and was designed by local architect Charles Ellison. Built from Scottish granite and sandstone from the local quarry at Storeton. The upper part of the clock tower was rebuilt in 1901 following a fire. Number 63 Hamilton Square was the former home of John Laird, Birkenhead's first member of parliament and is grade 1 listed along with 1-18, 35-50 and 58-62. (Wikipedia.org)



 Hamilton Square has recently undergone several redevelopment schemes including a 4-million-pound train station revamp and through various other developers to improve the residential side of the square into luxury, high quality apartments and offices. The improvements have proved successful in bringing professional renters, investors and buyers to the area. Landlords can achieve rents of around £650 for a 2 bed 1st floor apartment and around £525-£550 for a 1 bed basement flat. If you look at surrounding areas that adds around a £200 per month premium on the achievable rent for similar size properties based purely on the location.



Wirral has become an interesting area to investors and visitors alike, there are other large developments in the pipeline including Wirral Waters described as "The largest and most exciting regeneration project in the UK" wirralwaters.co.uk. Wirral Waters has been proposed by the Peel group and is the sister programme of the Liverpool waters project. A large scale 4.5-billion-pound development project looking to transform over 500 acres of Birkenhead docklands. Peel purchased Cammell Laird shipyard in January 2007 to facilitate the development, Wirral Waters is considered to be one of the UK's biggest developments over the next decade. Wikipedia.org




Birkenhead also has further regeneration plans in place to greatly improve the Europa pools centre. Although Neptune's plans for a 30-Million-pound revamp of the centre have been scrapped , it seems there are "more ambitious" development opportunities on the table. Neptune who carried out the New Brighton Marine Point development are still in active discussions with the council in regards to the regeneration of Birkenhead. (wirralglobe.co.uk/news) Watch this space!

 

Artist impression

With this historic world famous grade 1 listed Georgian Square and excellent train services (although the Liverpool loop is undergoing refurbishment which will lead to temporary delays in the service more details can be obtained through the following link http://www.liverpoolexpress.co.uk/information-wirral-loop-line-track-renewal/ ) through to Liverpool and Chester, fabulous Liverpool skyline views, various colleges and several multi million pound regeneration schemes. We will see an increase in business space, jobs and luxury accommodation and in turn more housing. The proposed changes will no doubt increase demand and desirability resulting in pushing the prices up in Birkenhead and surrounding areas.

For the opportunity to purchase a lovely family home in the Birkenhead area please click the link below and I can support you through the whole process

http://baileyandstaples.co.uk/property.htm?id=22&propInd=S



Other Property News


It seems 2017 is the year for 1st time buyers.
According to Rightmove there has been a steady start to 2017 with 0.4% (+£1,086) rise in the price of property coming to market, very similar to the 0.5% rise recorded in January 2016.
Encouraging early signs of home-mover activity, with visits to Rightmove since Boxing Day up by 5% even when compared to last year’s buy-to-let surge
Window of opportunity for first-time buyers this new year with more choice and negotiating power:
- Available stock for sale of two beds or fewer currently up 1.9% versus previous year
 - Fewer buy-to-let investors to compete against and sellers more open to lower offers as sales agreed in this sector down 13.2% in December 2016 compared to previous year (Rightmove, house price index).
Rental News
In 2017 Rightmove forecasts asking rent rises of 4% outside London, driven by less availability of rental stock resulting in upwards price pressure for tenants.
With margins under pressure due to imminent tax changes, buy-to-let investors could look to towns in Merseyside and Lancashire which dominate the best yields currently on offer.

   Upcoming Events
       We are looking to start our very own Wirral property support group meet up every month for anyone and everyone who has an interest in property related issues on the Wirral. for more information please visit and join our new Facebook group:
Final Thought
If you have any interesting Wirral property stories or wish your property to be featured in the next edition of Wirral Property News please email me at info@baileyandstaples.co.uk or contact me directly on 0151 364 5652