Chichester Property News: bognor regis property

Showing posts with label bognor regis property. Show all posts

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Is Chichester or Bognor Regis best for buy-to-let?

I was recently called by a husband and wife who were considering buying a rental property for the first time. I was happy to give my thoughts on the market, for which one of the first things they asked was where they should buy.

Whilst my typical answer to this is “it depends”, it is true that I am an advocate of buying locally to where you live; for both ease of management and for being able to use your local knowledge of the property market to avoid buying a dud. With this in mind, their next question was which area was best locally; Chichester or Bognor Regis?

Whilst the average property in Chichester costs £472,708, in Bognor Regis the average home is a more ‘affordable’ £370,580. Isn’t it amazing that a fifteen-minute journey down the A259 could save you 22% off the price of a home!

With the average rent in Chichester standing at £1,295 per month, property is also more ‘affordable’ for tenants in Bognor Regis; which has an average rent of £1,100 per month.

The above figures translate into a projected average yield of 3.3% in Chichester and 3.6% in Bognor Regis. Both these figures seem rather low though, as rental properties tend to be purchased towards the lower end of the market, so you can expect a slightly higher return than this. The logic holds though: property in Bognor Regis will require less money upfront and provide a better rental return than property in Chichester. However, it’s not all about the yield when investing in property; next we should look at the increase in property prices over time from both areas.

In this case, Chichester was the winner up until the pandemic. Before then, whether it was in the short, medium or long-term, property prices in Chichester generally rose by a greater amount than in Bognor Regis.

That’s why I often say if you’re looking for consistently-proven strong capital growth, Chichester is great; whereas if you’re seeking income immediately from your property, it could be wise to look towards Bognor Regis.

As mentioned though, since the pandemic something strange has happened. Whilst property prices have increased a solid 23% in Chichester since March 2020, they have leapt by nearly a third in Bognor Regis! Could the tide be turning towards Bognor Regis, or have prices there got a little carried away since the ‘pandemic property boom’?

The above shows how important it is to consider all the facts and figures available to you when planning to invest in property. A key factor in deciding where to invest though will be what you want to achieve i.e. a better rental income now, or more proven capital growth in the long run (as sensible landlords know that, unfortunately, it’s rare to find both).

If you’re thinking of buying a rental property and would like some impartial advice as to which area and property might suit you best, please give me a call and I’ll be happy to give you a free initial buy-to-let investment consultation.

This article was featured in...

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.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

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Thursday, 4 August 2016

Chichester or Bognor Regis - where should you invest?

I’ve chatted to several first-time landlords recently about potentially investing in a buy-to-let property. One of the first things that gets discussed is where to buy.

I’m an advocate of buying locally to where you live; for both ease of management and for being able to use your local knowledge of the property market to avoid buying a dud. So, where is best locally - Chichester or Bognor Regis?

Whilst the average property in Chichester costs £412,871, in Bognor Regis the average home is a more affordable £282,429. Isn’t it amazing that a 15 minute journey down the A259 could save you 32% off the price of a home!

With the average rent in Chichester standing at £1,070 per month, property is also more affordable for tenants in Bognor Regis, which has an average rent of £850 per month.

The above figures translate into an average yield of 3.1% in Chichester and 3.6% in Bognor Regis. Both these figures seem rather low though, as rental properties tend to be purchased at the cheaper-than-average end of the market, so you can expect a slightly higher return than this. The logic holds though: property in Bognor Regis provides a better rental return than property in Chichester. However, it’s not all about the yield when investing in property; next we should look at the increase in property prices over time from both areas.

In this case, Chichester is the clear winner; be it in the short-term (Chichester property prices are up 4.8% in a year compared to Bognor Regis’, which have increased just 0.9%) or longer-term (in the past decade, property prices in Chichester have risen 34.7% compared to 19.9% in Bognor Regis).

This actually means that Chichester would have provided the strongest overall return, which would have been magnified further if you were borrowing money to leverage your property investment.

So, it’s important to consider all the facts and to acknowledge that a key ingredient of deciding where to invest will be what you want to achieve i.e. better rental income now or stronger capital growth in the long run (sensible landlords know it’s rare to find both).

(This article was featured in the Chichester Observer's property section on 4th August 2016)

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.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

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

Chichester Property Market LinkedIn Page for Clive Janes

CRJ Letting Agents Chichester Facebook Page

CRJ Letting Agents Chichester Twitter Page

Chichester Investment Property Management Specialist CRJ Letting Agents Website

c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP

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Thursday, 18 February 2016

Are yields really just 3.2% in Chichester?

I met with a landlord this week who has properties in both Chichester and Bognor Regis. We were comparing the rents he achieves against the properties current values when he said it seems property in Bognor Regis provides a better return than in Chichester.

On the face of it, he’s right. The average property in Chichester is worth £390,411 compared to an average rent in the city of £1,048pcm. Buying and letting out the ‘average’ property at these prices would give a lowly 3.2% yield.

When you compare that to Bognor Regis’ average 4.1% rental yield (based on an average value of £274,643 and average rent of £942pcm) it would seem clear as to where the best place to invest is.

This ignores two very important issues though. ‘Average’ isn’t necessarily reflective of what a landlord will purchase as a buy-to-let. Most often a landlord will buy a two or three bedroom house or a two bed flat; all of which can be bought for less than the ‘average’ property.

Put it this way, whilst the ‘average’ property for sale in Chichester has 2.7 bedrooms, the ‘average’ rental property has a more moderate 2.5 bedrooms.

When you focus on Chichester’s two bedroom flats (available for an average of £259,613 and renting for an average of £951pcm), the yield jumps to a more respectable, if unspectacular, 4.4%.

My five most recent Chichester ‘buy-to-let deals of the week’ (as featured at www.chipropertynews.co.uk) offered yields of between 4.7% and 6.3%.

The headline averages also ignores the fact that capital growth is often the component of property investment that provides the greatest return over the long term. Many also prefer to invest in property for capital growth rather than immediate rental returns for tax purposes.

This is where Chichester really out-trumps Bognor Regis; posting a 6.1% gain in the past year, compared to Bognor Regis’ 5.6% increase. Longer-term, this is compounded further as data shows prices have risen 34.4% in Chichester over the past ten years, compared to ‘just’ 25.7% in Bognor Regis.

For those looking to take on more risk (and workload) there are also two fundamental ways to increase your rental yield. The first is to reduce your initial spend e.g. transform a run-down property or buy ‘below market value’. The second is to increase the rent you receive e.g. rent to students or create a HMO (House of Multiple Occupation).

If you are considering investing in property and would like a free consultation as to what particular strategy and location would suit you best, please get in touch.

(This article was featured in the Chichester Observer's property section

on 18th February 2016).

Clive Janes, CRJ Lettings.

www.crjlettings.co.uk

___________________________________

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.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

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

Chichester Property Market LinkedIn Page for Clive Janes

CRJ Letting Agents Chichester Facebook Page

CRJ Letting Agents Chichester Twitter Page

Chichester Investment Property Management Specialist CRJ Letting Agents Website

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