Are London’s streets really paved with gold?

It is generally thought by the uninitiated that property investment in London will be the goose that laid the golden egg. The image of an endless supply of young movers and shakers looking for a place in town happily paying exorbitant rents is something that persists today. So too does the belief that the big capital gains will also be found in the metropolis.

Current data shows that this is most definitely not the case and in fact, going North can see some serious increases in property prices that, percentage wise, significantly outstrip London.

In addition, there is a real shift in the types of renters in London with a fast-rising trend of couples and other professionals opting to share accommodation with others and thus making huge savings on traditional one “household” tenancies. This is borne out by the 136% rise in enquiries from couples looking for one-bedroom agreements in shared properties between June 2019 and June 2020.

While it is a fact that demand in London for rental properties high and probably always will be, data shows that many are opting to move out of the city and commute. London saw a net loss of 93,992 people to other parts of the UK in 2019. Indeed, the pandemic has seen huge numbers of people either working exclusively from home or only visiting the office once or twice a week. The ONS reports ……… using APS data we see that prior to the pandemic in 2019, just 26.7% of the workforce on average during the year reported that they had done any work from home. LMS data told us that by April 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19, the proportion of people in employment who had done some work at home had increased to 46.6%.

The post Covid world is one where the location of your house does not necessarily dictate where you need to live and that alone, means that looking at other areas to invest in is not only possible but a savvy move. Investment in the “Powerhouses” means that historic manufacturing areas are becoming more viable for young professionals. Coupled with those departing London for a lower cost of living, the demand for property is rising exponentially in the north of England.

So, with capital growth and higher yield coupled with high demand and moreover the ability to access investment opportunity at a lower threshold take Warren Buffet’s advice and “Never depend on a single income, make an investment to create a second source.”

Call Casita Properties and talk about how you can make it happen.