If I were a buy to let landlord in Huddersfield today, I might feel a
little bruised by the assault made on my wallet after being (and continuing to
be) ransacked over the last 12 months by HM Treasury’s tax changes on buy to
let. To add insult to injury, Brexit has caused a tempering of the Huddersfield
property market with property prices not increasing by the levels we have seen in
the last few years. I think we might even see a very slight drop in property
prices this year and, if Huddersfield property prices do drop, the downside to
that is that first time buyers could be attracted back into the Huddersfield
property market; meaning less demand for renting (meaning rents will go down). Yet,
before we all run for the hills, all these things could be serendipitous to
every Huddersfield landlord, almost a blessing in disguise.
Huddersfield has a population of 160,399 , so when I looked at the
number of people who lived in private rented accommodation, the numbers
astounded me …
|
Huddersfield - Accommodation Type and
the Number of Occupiers
|
|||||
|
Owned outright - Huddersfield
|
Owned with a mortgage - Huddersfield
|
Shared ownership (part owned and part
rented) - Huddersfield
|
Social rented (aka Council Housing)
- Huddersfield
|
Private rented - Huddersfield
|
Living rent free - Huddersfield
|
|
42,825
|
64,832
|
546
|
21,633
|
28,364
|
2,199
|
|
26.7%
|
40.4%
|
0.3%
|
13.5%
|
17.7%
|
1.4%
|
Yields will rise if Huddersfield property prices fall, which
will also make it easier to obtain a buy to let mortgage, as the income would
cover more of the interest cost. If property values were to level off or come
down that could help Huddersfield landlords add to their portfolio. Rental
demand in Huddersfield is expected to stay solid and may even see an improvement
if uncertainty is protracted. However, there is something even more important
that Huddersfield landlords should be aware of: the change in the anthropological
nature of these 20 something potential first time buyers.
I have just come back from a visit to my wife’s relations after a family get together. I got chatting
with my wife’s nephew and his
partner. Both are in their mid/late
twenties, both have decent jobs in Huddersfield and they rent. Yet, here was
the bombshell, they were planning to rent for the foreseeable future with no
plans to even save for a deposit, let alone buy a property. I enquired why they
weren’t planning to buy? The answers surprised me as a 40 something, and it will you. Firstly, they don’t
want to put cash into property, they would rather spend it on living and
socialising by going on nice holidays and buying the latest tech and gadgets.
They want the flexibility to live where they choose and finally, they don’t
like the idea of paying for repairs. All their friends feel the same. I was
quite taken aback that buying a house is just not top of the list for these
youngsters.
So, as 17.7% of Huddersfield people are in rented accommodation and as
that figure is set to grow over the next decade, now might just be a good time
to buy property in Huddersfield – because what else are you going to invest in?
Give your money to the stock market run
by sharp suited city whizz kids – because at least with property – it’s
something you can touch - there is nothing like bricks and mortar!
For more views and opinions on the Huddersfield Property Market –
visit the Huddersfield Property Market Blog https://huddersfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk/
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