I was contacted recently by a landlord who was looking to purchase a
buy-to-let property and had stumbled upon a three-bedroom house in Lavant that he
felt fit the bill. He contacted me to see what I thought of the property and of
Lavant in general. This is what I found out for him…
There have only been 14 properties sold in Lavant in the past 12 months,
so valuing property there can be a bit of a minefield. It’s even tougher for
rental properties, where there is currently only one property to rent in the
whole of Lavant!
Not only does this make it difficult to value the property accurately so
as to maximise your return without encountering prolonged void periods, it also
suggests there’s not much of a rental market in Lavant.
This is backed-up by Census data from 2011, indicating just 6.5% of
residents in Lavant privately-rented their home (compared to a healthier 19.4%
in Chichester).
With its own primary school, rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted, Lavant is a
family-orientated area. This means the type of property the landlord was
looking at (a three-bed house) was a good fit for the area compared to, say, a
small flat.
This is also proven from a capital growth perspective in the long-term,
as flats in Lavant have increased in value an average of 15.2% in the past five
years and 256% in the past twenty years. This compares to houses in Lavant,
which have increased an even more impressive 18.2% and 288% in value in the
past five and twenty years respectively.
One dark cloud hanging over Lavant that could affect this positive
uptrend is the risk of an A27 bypass heading North (past Lavant). This would
bring with it both noise pollution and the loss of open space that could
de-value property in the area.
The three-bedroom house the landlord was interested in was priced at
£290,000. If it were to let for the anticipated rental figure of around
£1,000pcm, it would generate a 4.1% rental yield. This is a relatively low return
compared to many of the properties I feature as my “buy-to-let deal of the
week”.
I think there are better areas than Lavant in terms of a rental
investment, which could offer a better rate of return alongside a greater number
of prospective tenants wanting to rent the property (meaning fewer void
periods).
However, for owner-occupiers Lavant is not only a lovely place to live,
complete with its own well-regarded school, but has a history of good capital
growth.
If you wish to discuss the local property market or would like me to
take a look at a specific property you intend to buy for investment, please get
in touch.
(This article was featured in the Chichester Observer's property section
on 12th November 2015).
Clive Janes, CRJ Lettings.
www.crjlettings.co.uk
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If you are looking for an agent that is well-established, professional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.
E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.
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