What’s the REAL price of property in Chichester?

Expensive! That would be most people’s response when talking about the price of property in Chichester. I like to get a little more technical than that though, so I thought I’d delve into some recent research from Zoopla that looked at the varying price per square foot of property around the country.

Comparing the price per square foot in such a way gives a good barometer across different towns and cities without being influenced by the overall size of the area’s average property.

Here in Chichester the average price per square foot of property is £356. This in itself doesn’t give away much, but when we consider that the average price per square foot of property throughout the UK is £211, we can see that Chichester is 69% more expensive than the national average.

The gap between the most expensive area in the country (London’s Kensington & Chelsea - £1,328 per square foot) and the least expensive (Blaenau Gwent in Wales - £79 per square foot) is even more staggering though; whole houses in Wales are literally selling for the price of a London bedroom!

It’s no surprise that prices in London have risen the most in the past five years (up 54%), followed by the East of England (+38%) and the South-East of England (+36%). The North-East of England saw the lowest growth in the past five years, with average prices rising just 3%.

Closer to home we can see that Chichester is also more expensive than its seaside neighbour Bognor Regis, where the average price of property is ‘just’ £277 per square foot. This still means Bognor Regis is more expensive than the UK average, but it suggests you can get around a third more ‘bricks for your buck’ in Bognor Regis than you can in Chichester.

Whilst this is all very interesting, calculating the price per square foot can also be very useful when looking at properties for sale to assess whether you’re getting decent value or not. Consider St. Agnes Place in Chichester, where there are two apartments for sale in the same block. Both are similar in specification and offer two double bedrooms, however one is priced at £365,000 and the other £340,000. The natural instinct therefore might be to plump for the ‘cheaper’ of the two apartments, however if you factor in their sizes we see the former is actually £381 per square foot whilst the latter is £386 per square feet. Of course, when you consider the average flat in Chichester is priced at £350 per square foot you may wonder whether either is the right pick!

If you’re looking at buy-to-let properties and would like someone impartial to crunch the numbers to ensure you’re getting the best value for money, please get in touch.

(This article was featured in the Chichester Observer's property section on 26th October 2017) 

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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Property values in Chichester rise £608 per week

I recently spoke to a pair of first-time landlords who asked me what and where they should buy locally to maximise future capital growth.

Whilst I can't predict the future, looking at historical price changes can give a good indication of where to buy.

Over the last 12 months, average property values in Chichester have risen from £391,854 to £423,480; an increase of £608 a week, which is more than the average local salary!

This compares favourably to both the UK average (up £189 per week) and other destinations in West Sussex and Hampshire, whereby Horsham is up £559 per week, Worthing £436 per week, Southampton £280 per week, Bognor Regis £251 per week and Portsmouth 'just' £185 per week.

In regards to what they should buy, I then looked at these 'average' increases by property type. Many buy-to-let investors favour flats and smaller terraced houses, whereas in fact it was the larger detached properties that showed the biggest weekly increase (up £647 per week).

It is common when an investor has a lump sum of money they wish to put into 'property' that they must decide whether to buy one larger property or several smaller ones.

Larger houses commonly achieve a lower rental return than several smaller ones, hence why the de facto choice for buy-to-let is to buy smaller units. It is also common perception that tenants are younger and therefore looking for 'starter' flats and houses to rent.

However, there are benefits in buying a larger property besides the fact that, in Chichester at least, it is these properties that are witnessing the strongest capital growth.

As is often noted in the national press, first-time buyers are getting older and there is an increase in those who actively choose to rent for lifestyle choices, particularly well-heeled tenants looking for more expensive homes.

It is also easier and generally cheaper to manage just the one property and set of tenants than several. Only having one set of rental payments to keep track of and one boiler to maintain can be a godsend to those with a busy schedule.

You do, however, run the risk of putting 'all your eggs in one basket' should you encounter a void period or a problematic tenant, whereas having several smaller units helps spread this risk.

One thing that is certain is that house price increases across the board have led to greater demand for rental property from good-quality tenants who want the benefits of living in Chichester but have been priced out of the local market.

Average rental yields of over 4% comfortably beat the rates available from any savings account. This, combined with the excellent increases in property values, could make it a good time to invest in Chichester for the long-term.

If you would like some advice about buy-to-let or need assistance letting your property, please get in touch.

(This article was featured in the Chichester Observer's property section on 16th June 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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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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