Has owning a home become an unattainable dream for the 702 Maidenhead 28 year olds

My parents bought their first house in the 1960’s, they were in their early 20’s. Interestingly, looking at some research by the Post Office from a few years ago, in the 1960’s the average age people bought their first house was 23. By the early 1970s, it had reached 27, rising to 28 in the early 1980’s.

This year alone, 702 people in Maidenhead will turn 28 and 666 in 2017 .. and dare I say 594 in 2018 .. year in year out the conveyor belt carries on .. where are the Maidenhead youngsters going to live?

Ask a Maidenhead ‘twenty something’ and they will say they do not expect to buy until they are in their mid thirties - seven years later than the 1980’s. Some people even say they will never be able to buy a property and the newspapers have labeled them ‘Generation Rent’ as they are people born in the 1980s who have no hope of getting on the property ladder. One of the major problems facing young Maidenhead people is the large deposit needed to get a mortgage .. or is it?

The average price paid for an apartment in Maidenhead over the last 12 months has been £286,300 meaning our first time buyer would need to save £14,315 as a deposit (as 95% mortgages have been available to first time buyers since 2010) plus a couple of thousand for solicitors and survey costs. A lot of money, but people don’t think anything today of spending a couple of thousand pounds to go on holiday; the latest iPhone upgrade or the latest 4K HD television. That amount could soon be saved if these ‘luxuries’ were withheld over a couple of years but attitudes have changed.

Official figures, from the Office for National Statistics, show the average male in Windsor and Maidenhead with a full-time job earns £831.30 per week whilst the average female salary is £595.30 a week they would still comfortably be able to get a mortgage for an apartment.

I was reading a report/survey commissioned by Paragon Mortgages from the autumn of last year. The thing that struck me was that when tenants were asked about their long term housing plans, some 35% of participating tenants intend to remain within the rental sector and 24% intended to buy a house in the future, with the proportion of respondents citing the “unaffordability” of housing as the reason for renting privately increasing from 69% to 74%.

However, time and time again, in the starter home category of property (ie apartments), nine times out of ten the mortgage payments to buy a Maidenhead property are cheaper than having to rent in Maidenhead. It is the tenant’s perception that they believe they can’t buy, so choose not to. Renting is now a choice. Tenants can upgrade to bigger and better properties and move up the property ladder quicker than their parents or grand parents (albeit they don’t own the property). Over the last decade, culturally in the UK, there has been a change in the attitude to renting so, unless that attitude changes, I expect that the private rental sector in Maidenhead (and the UK as a whole) is likely to remain a popular choice for the next twenty plus years. With demand for Maidenhead rental property unlikely to slow and newly formed households continuing to choose the rental market instead of purchasing a property. I also forecast that renting will continue to offer good value for money for tenants and recommend landlords pursue professional advice and adopt a realistic approach to rental increases to ensure that they are in line with inflation and any void periods are curtailed. One such place for advice, comment and opinion is the Maidenhead Property Blog

Bissley Drive, Maidenhead - 3 Bedroom Semi - Lowbrook Academy Catchment

Good Morning, this place has just come to the market in the Lowbrook Academy catchement area, in this neck of the words you can always expect year on year capital appreciation in the region of 10%. If you factor in the possibility of further extending this property then this may well be an attractive proposition...? Its on the market with Andrew Milsom for £440K so give the guys a call and get a viewing booked!


http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40564855

Florence Avenue, Maidenhead - 3 Bedroom - Scope for Improvement

Good Morning. This place has just come on the market with Roger Platt for just under £500K. It requires some work here and there but from the pics it doesn't look to daunting. All spruced up you could be expecting to achieve a monthly rental income of around £1,500.... and given its close location the train this should be a good earner in terms of capital appreciation. 

Click on the link below for more details:

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40477658

Maidenhead’s ‘Generation Rent’ to grow by 749 households by 2021

The growth of the private rented sector, and the arrival of an investor class of buy to let landlords within it, is an issue that won’t be going away anytime soon, no matter what you read in the Daily Mail, I said, as I chatted over a coffee with a landlord client of mine at Palmieri’s Coffee Shop on the Furze Platt Road. Whether you are a landlord of mine (or not as the case maybe), I am always happy to look over any properties you are thinking of buying for buy to let purposes and more so over a coffee!

Some commentators are saying buy to let is about to die, with the new stamp duty changes and how mortgage tax relief will be calculated. Some say 500,000 rental properties will flood the market nationally in the next 12 months as landlords leave the rental market. Have you heard the phrase ‘Bad news sells newspapers’? Let me explain why buy to let in Maidenhead is only going in one direction – and not the direction the papers say they are going.

According to Sheffield University, buy to let landlords will continue fuelling the growth of the private rented sector in the coming decades. By their estimates (and they are considered a centre of excellence on the topic), the rate of homeownership nationally will fall to 50% (today it is 70.7% in Maidenhead) by 2032, while the rate of private sector renting will increase to 35% (interestingly, in Maidenhead it stands at 14.4% today).

Therefore, the demand for rental accommodation in Maidenhead will grow by 749 households in the next five years ... and these are the reasons why, irrespective of the distractions set out in the newspapers

Maidenhead property values over the last six years have risen a lot more than average wages/salaries, meaning as homeownership and mortgage availability is dependent on your ability to pay has served to push home ownership further out of reach for many, at a time when the stock of council houses has actually withered. (Nationally, the number of council houses in the last ten years has dropped from 3.16m to 2.18m households - a drop of 31.1%).

Now it’s true the Tory’s efforts to fix the deficiency of affordable housing have focused on those who want to buy a home, ranging from Help to Buy and their much vaunted Help to Buy Isa, and Starter Homes Scheme, an initiative offering a 20% discount for first time buyers … but if you are unable to save for the deposit ... none of this means anything to the ‘20 something’s’ of Maidenhead ... and they still need a roof over their heads!

Currently, 9,102 people live in private rented accommodation in Maidenhead

These are big numbers and a sizeable chunk of the electorate. So whilst it appears Maidenhead “Generation Rent” youngsters will continue to rent and not buy for the reasons set out above, Maidenhead buy-to-let landlords will be lifted by the projections of greater rental demand. Maidenhead and the area around it still offers the prospect of strong economic growth forecasts and has a reputation as a lively and desirable place to live. You see, with the new rules on tax, more and more landlords will be looking to move away from the previous honeypot of central London, because its higher prices meant lower rental yields. With the new tax rules and central London’s cooling of house price inflation, more and more landlords will look further afield, including Maidenhead (interestingly, I have already been chatting to a few central London landlords after they read the Maidenhead Property Blog).

So, by 2021, the number of rental properties in Maidenhead will rise to 5,149

This prediction in growth of the Maidenhead rental market is even on the back of the government clamping down on tax reliefs for landlords. The point is this, gone are the days of making guaranteed returns on BTL property. For the last 20 to 30 years, irrespective of which property you bought, making decent money on buy to let property was like shooting fish in a barrel – anyone could do it  - but not now. You must take a more considered approach to your existing and future portfolio, especially in Maidenhead. The balance of capital growth and yield, especially in this low interest rate world we live in, means Maidenhead landlords need to do more homework to ensure the investment in property gives the desired returns. One place for Maidenhead landlords and homeowners to visit for such information is the Maidenhead Property Market Blog 

Only 711 Council Houses in the Windsor and Maidenhead area left – opportunity or problem?

The ‘Right to Buy’ scheme was a policy introduced by Maggie Thatcher in 1980 which gave secure council tenants the legal right to buy the Council home they were living in with huge discounts. The heyday of Council ‘Right To Buys’ was in the 80’s and 90’s, when 1,719,368 homes in the country were sold in this manner between October 1980 and April 1998. However, in 1997, Tony Blair reduced the discount available to tenants of council houses and the numbers of properties being bought under the Right to Buy declined.

So what does this mean for Maidenhead homeowners and landlords? Well quite a lot in fact!

Looking at the overall figures, 9,232 Council properties were bought by council tenants in the Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council area between 1980 and 1998. Big numbers by any measure and even more important to the whole Maidenhead property market (i.e. every Maidenhead homeowner, Maidenhead landlord and even Maidenhead aspiring first time buyers) when you consider these 9,232 properties make up a colossal 23.2% of all the privately owned properties in our area (because in the local authority area, there are only 39,676 privately owned properties).

Maidenhead first time buyers and landlords can now buy these ex-council properties second hand (or the PC brigade like to call them ‘pre-loved ex–local authority dwellings’) as those original 80’s and 90’s tenants (now homeowners) have more than passed the time of any claw back of the discount they received (council discount was repayable if the first owner sold within a stipulated time period - usually 5 years).

Now let us all be honest, some (not all), but some ex-council properties lack the vital KSA that some landlords crave. The new homes builders know all about KSA (or Kerb-Side-Appeal) as they dress up the exteriors of their new homes to make them more appealing to buyers ... and if you don’t believe me ... why do Show homes exist? Going on the exterior looks of a modern property might be a theoretically good way of choosing a Maidenhead buy-to-let property, but in a challenging market, some Maidenhead investors are finding a more no-nonsense down to earth approach brings the largest returns.

Yes, the modern stuff being built in Maidenhead is lovely, but too many landlords purchase buy to let property solely based on where they would choose to live themselves, instead of choosing with a business head and choosing where a tenant would want to live ... because remember the first rule of buy to let property … you aren’t going to live in the property yourself. What an ex-council property lack in terms of KSA, they more than make up for in other ways.  Tenants more worried about how close the property is to a particular school or family members for child care matter to them far more than the look of a property.

Whilst ex-council properties tend to increase in value at a slower rate than more modern properties, that is more than made up in the much higher yields – and those built between the wars or just after are really well built. Tenant demand for such properties is good since Maidenhead property values are so expensive, a lot of people can’t get mortgages to buy, so they will reconcile themselves to renting, meaning there is a good demand for that sort of property to rent. Also, the very fact the council were forced to sell these Maidenhead properties in the 80’s and 90’s, means that today’s younger generation who would have normally got a council house to live in themselves, now can’t as many were sold ten or twenty years ago.

So to Maidenhead landlords I say this … don’t dismiss ex-council houses and apartments – but remember the 1st rule of buy to let (see above). However, those very same Maidenhead landlords should go in with their eyes open and take lots of advice. Not all ex-council properties are the same and even though they have good demand and high yields, they can also give you other headaches and issues when it comes to the running of the rental property. One source of advice is the Maidenhead Property Blog http://maidenheadpropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk ... that just leaves the 711 council houses still owned by the local authority to be sold to their tenants in the coming years!

Whyteladyes Lane, Cookham - 3 bed semi -

Hello property fans.... just seen this come to the market with Andrew Milsom for £480K. No doubt this needs some attention in terms of getting this suitable for prospective tenants.... or with the usual planning permission this could well be one to extend and get back on the sales market. If you can get this at the right price this could be well be an opportunity whatever you decide...?

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40431263

Photos of Langworthy End, Holyport - 5 Bed Detached - Top End Investment Opportunity!

Good morning everyone. Ive just seen this property come to the market with Chancellors for £850K..... No pics of the inside yet, but my guess is this will need a bit of work and therefore good well be an ideal project either as an investment to flip back on the market or setting up as a family home. 

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40420479

Upcoming investment opportunity in Taplow Village!

There is an upcoming investment /development opportunity in Taplow village. 

The property is set in c.1 acre of land and requires full modernisation and updating. The price of this property would be in the region of £1m. Please contact me on either duncan.price@primequarters.co.uk or on 077869 82997 if you would like to discuss this further. 

Brilliant day filming with Location, Location, Location & Phil Spencer

What a great experience working with the team from Location, Location, Location filming one our properties in Holyport for the upcoming series!

Maidenhead’s ‘Generation Rent’ to grow by 749 households by 2021

“The growth of the private rented sector, and the arrival of an investor class of buy to let landlords within it, is an issue that won’t be going away anytime soon, no matter what you read in the Daily Mail”, I said, as I chatted over a coffee with a landlord client of mine at Palmieri’s Coffee Shop on the Furze Platt Road. Whether you are a landlord of mine (or not as the case maybe), I am always happy to look over any properties you are thinking of buying for buy to let purposes and more so over a coffee!

Some commentators are saying buy to let is about to die, with the new stamp duty changes and how mortgage tax relief will be calculated. Some say 500,000 rental properties will flood the market nationally in the next 12 months as landlords leave the rental market. Have you heard the phrase ‘Bad news sells newspapers’? Let me explain why buy to let in Maidenhead is only going in one direction – and not the direction the papers say they are going.

According to Sheffield University, buy to let landlords will continue fuelling the growth of the private rented sector in the coming decades. By their estimates (and they are considered a centre of excellence on the topic), the rate of homeownership nationally will fall to 50% (today it is 70.7% in Maidenhead) by 2032, while the rate of private sector renting will increase to 35% (interestingly, in Maidenhead it stands at 14.4% today).

Therefore, the demand for rental accommodation in Maidenhead will grow by 749 households in the next five years ... and these are the reasons why, irrespective of the distractions set out in the newspapers

Maidenhead property values over the last six years have risen a lot more than average wages/salaries, meaning as homeownership and mortgage availability is dependent on your ability to pay has served to push home ownership further out of reach for many, at a time when the stock of council houses has actually withered. (Nationally, the number of council houses in the last ten years has dropped from 3.16m to 2.18m households - a drop of 31.1%).

Now it’s true the Tory’s efforts to fix the deficiency of affordable housing have focused on those who want to buy a home, ranging from Help to Buy and their much vaunted Help to Buy Isa, and Starter Homes Scheme, an initiative offering a 20% discount for first time buyers … but if you are unable to save for the deposit ... none of this means anything to the ‘20 something’s’ of Maidenhead ... and they still need a roof over their heads!

Currently, 9,102 people live in private rented accommodation in Maidenhead

These are big numbers and a sizeable chunk of the electorate. So whilst it appears Maidenhead “Generation Rent” youngsters will continue to rent and not buy for the reasons set out above, Maidenhead buy-to-let landlords will be lifted by the projections of greater rental demand. Maidenhead and the area around it still offers the prospect of strong economic growth forecasts and has a reputation as a lively and desirable place to live. You see, with the new rules on tax, more and more landlords will be looking to move away from the previous honeypot of central London, because its higher prices meant lower rental yields. With the new tax rules and central London’s cooling of house price inflation, more and more landlords will look further afield, including Maidenhead (interestingly, I have already been chatting to a few central London landlords after they read the Maidenhead Property Blog).

So, by 2021, the number of rental properties in Maidenhead will rise to 5,149

This prediction in growth of the Maidenhead rental market is even on the back of the government clamping down on tax reliefs for landlords. The point is this, gone are the days of making guaranteed returns on BTL property. For the last 20 to 30 years, irrespective of which property you bought, making decent money on buy to let property was like shooting fish in a barrel – anyone could do it  - but not now. You must take a more considered approach to your existing and future portfolio, especially in Maidenhead. The balance of capital growth and yield, especially in this low interest rate world we live in, means Maidenhead landlords need to do more homework to ensure the investment in property gives the desired returns. One place for Maidenhead landlords and homeowners to visit for such information is the Maidenhead Property Market Blog.