Aspen Woolf looks at the most expensive versus the cheapest property in Leeds

Posted on 16th May 201821st May 2018 by Author

16 May

The North of England is having a resurgence in terms of regeneration, property development and a growing job market. There are more reasons than ever to invest in property in cities such as Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, led by the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Particularly since the vote to leave the European Union in June 2016, property investment across the UK has experienced a sea change. More and more investors are turning away from London and the South East as economic and political uncertainty shake a previously unwavering property market and setting their sights further up north.

Property hotspot

Leeds has become a prime property hotspot, thanks to a steady stream of city-centre regeneration and funding, along with a solid and thriving job market. Add in a bustling city centre packed with all the amenities young professionals look for, and a strong student population, it’s not surprising that investment in Leeds is constantly increasing.

At Aspen Woolf, we keep an eye on all the property investment news across cities including Leeds and have examined recent sales to get a picture of the kinds of prices people can expect.

Variety of property

The cheapest residential property that completed in March this year sold for just £36,500. At the other end of the scale, the buyers of the most expensive property sold in March paid more than 26 times this price.

This shows the sheer variety of options for people looking for property in Leeds. Whether investors are searching for the perfect buy-to-let property, or families are looking to move into a larger house, there is a scale of pricing available that isn’t seen in regions further south.Land Registry figures

The figures from HM Land Registry for March 2018 show that some property investors paid a lot of money for truly stunning properties situated in the city’s suburbs, while other people sought out and found bargains closer to the city centre.

The most expensive home sold in March was a detached house in the Boston Spa area of Leeds. It was sold for an impressive £975,000, providing a stark contrast with the cheapest flat sold for just £36,500.

UK-wide, across the same period, more than 90,000 homes were sold. The most expensive residential property on record sold for £15 million and is located in the London suburb of Barnet. The cheapest of all went for £20,000 in County Durham. This provides a good scale to measure Leeds prices by.

Detached properties

A closer look at what buyers in Leeds secured for their money can be seen by detailing some of the sales below. As mentioned, the most expensive property was located in Boston Spa. For £975,000 the buyer enjoyed a five-bedroom detached house in this leafy suburb of Leeds. Next on the list was another five-bed detached property in Foxhill Drive, Leeds, which sold for £747,000.

Another five-bed detached family home, this time in the Adel area of Leeds, sold for £650,000 and a four-bed detached home in Boston Spa went for £521,555. A lovely four-bed home in the outlying Leeds village of Shadwell sold for £515,000 and another Adel four-bed detached went for £499,995.

Bargain buys

Turning towards the cheaper end of the market, the biggest bargain was the flat sold for £36,500 in the Hunslet area of Leeds. Another flat in Lower Wortley sold for £37,250 and a terraced two-bed home for £40,000 in Lascelles Place.

No matter what kind of property buyers are looking for, Leeds is a good place to look. From apartments close to the always improving city centre amenities, to large detached homes in green suburbs, the variety available is comparable to that in the South East, but for much more affordable prices.

Aspen Woolf On Why Property Investment In The North-West Has Doubled

Posted on 10th May 2018 by Author

10 May

There has been a huge rise in commercial property investment in the north-west of England. Investors have increasingly come to realise the value of some of the key areas in the north, including Liverpool.

Thanks to this awareness and understanding, along with the benefits from the Northern Powerhouse initiative, investors have increased their interest to a record high.

Figures Increased

During Q1 2018, the volumes of investment in cities like Liverpool has leapt to £965 million according to figures released by UK Investment Transactions. This is more than twice the amount achieved in Q1 2017, which peaked at £440 million.

This is a phenomenal start to the year in terms of property investment and is thanks largely to two main deals. The first came when L&G bought Liverpool’s India Buildings for £125 million, and the second with Aviva’s acquisition of 2 New Bailey in the Salford area of Manchester. The latter deal was worth £113 million, and both Liverpool and Manchester have contributed to this huge boost in investment.

Office Space

The top investment in the north-west region’s commercial property sector was office space. This accounted for 41% of all transactions in the first quarter of 2018. The retail sector continues to fall slightly behind, which is something mirrored across the whole of the UK as customer attention continues to shift online.

While retail is likely to continue to be more subdued, there seems no stopping the rest of the commercial sector in Liverpool and Manchester, as well as surrounding areas.

Build-to-rent Investment

We’ve also seen a significant increase in build-to-rent investment deals in the north-west. This was again boosted by a major deal in Liverpool. This was to create 383 build-to-rent unites and the development has been financed by forward-funding by Invesco and Manchester arena.

Both Liverpool and Manchester have enjoyed major advances in their build-to-rent market over the last year or so, and industry experts expect this to continue as an investment trend.

Comparatively strong

Overall, the north-west continues to perform strongly and this is shown clearly when figures are compared with the rest of the country’s data. A broad rage of investors, from the UK and overseas, are continuing to show real interest in investing in the region.

As we head towards Brexit and the uncertainty it brings, more investors are turning away from London and looking around at other viable investment hotspots in the UK. Liverpool and Manchester are continually surprising the market with excellent figures and its’ likely that this strong start to the year will continue throughout the rest of 2018.

Buy-To-Let Market Buoyed By Low Rates And More

Posted on 30th June 201526th October 2015 by Alexander Pooley

30 Jun

The latest facts and figures on buy-to-let properties show that things are once again on the up for this ever-popular investment option. With recent changes to mortgage legislation and remarkably low rates, many experts are speculating that this is a great time to get into the buy-to-let market.

So, with this in mind, let’s take a closer look at a few of the reasons why buy-to-let looks set to boom yet again.

Lower Fixed Rate Buy-to-Let Mortgages

Photo Credit: Simon Cunningham via Flickr

There has never been a better opportunity to get into the market with a fixed low rate mortgage. Lower rates have recently become more tempting for new investors, with five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgages available for as low as 3.29%. Two-year fixed rates are even lower; the best offers at present starting at just 2.09%.

It is worth looking out for the best available deals on a fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage as the number of offers for this type of mortgage has shot up rapidly in the past couple of years. According to Moneyfacts, there are now 83 different fixed-rate deals available for buy-to-let, compared to only 5 that were available just two years ago.

Higher Returns on Property Investment

Photo Credit: Jeff Djevdet via Flickr

Another good reason to invest is that the average rented property is now producing almost as much annual return as the average salary in the UK. The average buy-to-let property is returning £24,221 in capital gains and annual income, while the average British salary is around £25,000.

Return on investment in UK property is still on the rise too. Last year the total value of owned property in the UK stood at £990.7 billion, with an estimated total of annual return on property investments standing at £111.5 billion. This is an increase of 12.2% from 2000 and it means that the value of the property retail sector is now equal to almost half the value of the UK stock market.

In the longer term, there has been no better investment than property. Every £1,000 invested in 1996 was worth £14,897 by the end of 2014. This means that some landlords have seen a return of around 1400% in less than 20 years.

More Lenient Mortgage Lenders

Photo Credit: Diana Parkhouse via Flickr

The Financial Ombudsman found HSBC guilty of discrimination in a recent case after the bank turned down a mortgage application solely because of the applicant’s age.

The bank refused the application because one partner would have reached the age of 65 before the end of the mortgage term, but the FOS ruled that their decision relied upon untested assumptions, stereotypes and generalizations.

Lenders are therefore more willing now to accept mortgage applicants at any reasonable age. The maximum mortgage term is 35 years, but that length of term is still only likely to be offered to younger applicants.

Greater Demand Means Higher Rents

Photo Credit: Emma Brabrook via Flickr

There have always been good reasons to become a landlord, but there are even more now due to the significant growth in demand for properties to rent across the UK. Over the past year, 150,000 more households entered the private rental sector, increasing the market by £5.8 billion.

At present there are around 4.8 million properties being rented out, and it has been estimated that by 2020 the number of households living in rented accommodation will be 5.5 million.

As the demand for rented property has increased over the past 5 years, rents have also gone up rapidly. There was a rise of 3.7% between May 2014 and April 2015 with an overall increase of 15% since May 2010.

With demand and yields in the private rental sector being driven up by current economic conditions and banks becoming more lenient, it is easy to see why so many are choosing to enter into the property market with a low fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage.

If you liked this blog post then perhaps you would like to read our guide on how to buy a home?

Feature image credit: Flickr