£9,100 boost to Maidenhead First time buyers

There’s a whole legion of wannabe Maidenhead first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder and they now have a 3% price advantage over the previously quicker responding army of Maidenhead landlords with cash at the ready. Since the start of April, buy to let landlords have had to pay an additional 3% stamp duty so whilst demand from some Maidenhead buy to let landlords has dropped away, in the interim, it offers Maidenhead first time buyers (FTB’s) a chance to fill the vacuum with less competition from cash rich landlords (over two thirds of BTL properties were purchased without a mortgage in the last 7 years) who could bid more and complete quicker.

Looking at the average value of an apartment in Maidenhead currently standing at £304,400, that means if our Maidenhead FTB went up against a Maidenhead landlord, the landlord would have to pay an additional £9,132 in stamp duty. Early anecdotal evidence from fellow property professionals in the town is suggesting landlords are reducing their offers slightly on Maidenhead properties to reflect the extra stamp duty.  

Whilst on the face of it, it appears landlords are being punished by No.11 Downing Street, I actually believe this increase in stamp duty for landlords is a good thing for the Maidenhead property market as a whole.

Since 2011/12, the Maidenhead property market has performed very well indeed. Over the last 12 months, £535,341,400 has been spent buying 1,075 Maidenhead properties.  Recent figures from the Land Registry have just been released and month on month in our council area, property values are 0.6% higher, yet 9.2% higher year on year. These figures are nowhere near the heady days of 2000 (June to be exact), when Maidenhead property prices rose by 25.5% in 12 months….. and given the current economic and political climate all the indicators suggest prices have now flat lined and will continue in that fashion for the foreseeable future.

So as property values in Maidenhead (and the UK as whole) start to stablise and come back to some kind of balance, I am beginning to see savvy landlords view the Maidenhead property market in a different light. Even with the Spring rush, gone are the days where you could make limitless money on anything that had a door, a few windows and roof. This stamp duty change has made more and more landlords, after reading the Maidenhead Property Market Blog http://maidenheadpropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk take advice on what or not to buy and what to pay, meaning Maidenhead landlords are being more calculated with their Maidenhead BTL purchases.

Now I know a lot of Maidenhead landlords brought forward their BTL purchases to beat the stamp duty deadline. However, it is probable that hunger from Maidenhead investors will return for the right Maidenhead property later in the year, especially if it’s at the right price and offers a decent yield. However, in the meantime, Maidenhead FTB’s could and should, in the short term, make hay whilst the sun shines plug the gap and try and grab a bargain!