Are you thinking of investing in UK property? Well you may want to take a look at Chester Square in London’s Belgravia. This is the second year in-a-row that it has topped the list of the ‘most expensive UK streets to buy a home on’.
Chester Square
In the past 12 months, as prices have been up and down like a yo-yo, Chester Square prices have rocketed by £400,000 to an average of £6.6 million. Many notable residents including the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich have houses here. If you want a discount property investment, then this street may not be ideal for you!
Discount property
The price of houses in the UK has been unstable over the past 18 months and this has attracted overseas buyers into the market. The weakening of the pound in the past three years, which has seen a drop of around 25%, is the main allure of the British housing market and it is an excellent call for overseas buyers to start investing in UK property; with the exception of property in Chester Square.
Wales anyone?
Recent house sales in Chester Square have seen houses go for more than £7m and the estate agents, Savills, currently has a six-bedroom home on its books for £15.8m. For discount property investment, but still on the richest street in their area, you may want to take your money over the Severn Bridge and into Wales. They were holding up the list of the top 10 streets to live in within the UK with an average price of a mere £676,320 per home.
Chester Square may be the most expensive street to buy but discount property investment opportunities are still available in the UK and London.You may not be in the market for a multi-million pound home b
Cheap properties for sale? New figures show the net balance of rising house prices has risen to 32%; up from 30% in 2009. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has just released their findings in their annual UK Housing Market Survey for January 2010 and there were some fascinating findings. Figures show that the net balance of agreed sales fell to -15% from +19% last year and the amount of new buyer enquiries also dropped to -20% from +18%.
The cold weather at the start of 2010 has had an impact of the housing market as both supply and demand numbers have been affected; mainly due to people in the UK halted in their travel plans. Anyone searching for BMV properties or a house to buy in a different area were put off from leaving the house to explore the market but a spokesperson for RICS announced the company expects the market to enjoy an increase as spring approaches and the weather warms up. Cheap properties for sale can be found online with experts forecasting that house prices are likely to rise in the coming months; many people may want to spend the coming weeks searching for a good deal.
Other figures brought about from the research data include proof that the south west, south east and London are the areas that have enjoyed the highest price increases and in comparison Yorkshire, Wales and the north of England have endured a continuing downward trend with house prices continuing to fall. BMV properties are the way forward in 2010 as many more people become aware of the great deals that can be had in a UK property market that RICS predicts is likely to fall again after a brief rise in prices during the springtime.
There is always much hype regarding house prices and many things have an impact on the market from the weather to political stability and with an election on its way what affect will this have on the housing market. Will the bmv property market continue to perform well for investors?
If you are looking at purchasing a below market value property you may want to check out an auction. They can be found all over the country and all major towns and cities have auctions selling discount property. Buying a house this way can be done within 28 days, which is the primary draw of buying below market value property this way.
Research, research, research… - You can get a list of properties that will be coming up for auction at your local auction house. However, the discount property may not well be all that it seems so it is a good idea to give yourself plenty of time to research all the ins and outs of the property you are looking at buying.
What happens? - It is then a simple case of turning up on the right auction day and placing your bid, and hope that no one else is looking at the same building as you! You will often get people at auctions who want a house and are willing to pay whatever it costs, which means the property will likely sell for way above BMV status.
How do I pay? - The other important factor about buying a below market value property from an auction is the payment procedure. From the time that the auctioneer drops his gravel the purchaser of the discount property has 28 days to sort out payment or face paying severe monetary penalties. The majority of mortgage lenders will ask you to stump up 15% of the price so be prepared.
For more information on how a below market value property can benefit you, contact Property Banker and see how they can help.
2009 was a great year to make use of cheap buy to let properties according to figures. Official British Government stats show the price of the average UK house rose by 3% in the 12 months leading to the end of December 2009. This bought the cost of a house to a little over £200,000 and it was the eighth month in a row that house prices had risen. Last year saw many below market value houses on the market as people were forced into selling homes because of job losses and banks repossessed others and then put them up for sale to cover the debts that they were owed.
England, Scotland and Wales all saw a rise in the cost of houses but Northern Ireland saw house prices drop by a whopping 6% on the previous year. It will also come as no surprise that the area that boasted the highest rise in the average price of a house is London, with a rise of 4.9% throughout 2009. The prices have continued to rise going into this year, but some fear that prices could all drop again as the world comes to grips with the continuing effects of the recession. Last year was a good time for people to look into cheap buy to let properties as a way of earning money.
Other experts in the property industry claim that the increase in house prices is a short-term fad and that by 2011, the UK housing market will again fall into chaos due to the mortgage lenders needing to pay back the £300b they borrowed to keep the mortgage economy going. They say this will restrict the amount of money that lenders can offer buyers, thus forcing prices back down and into the hands of the would-be purchaser with below market value houses dominating the market.
You are a budding below market value property investor with money to spend. But where do you start? As you maybe aware bmv property provides you with the opportunity to source property, which is up to 30% below the open market price.
Before you can do this though, you have to be aware of the basics. Here’s quick guide for all you beginners out there or a recap for all the veterans.
Get your objectives in check. Make sure you know why you want to invest. Do you want a pension fund, build a large portfolio or sell after a couple of years. Once these goals have been set you can plan accordingly.
Start with the numbers. It doesn’t matter whether you are sourcing below market value property or just an average buy to let, the numbers must stack up. Make sure you have your finances arranged before you start to look. Estate agents will take you far more seriously.
In today’s market if you can cover at least 125% of your monthly repayments you are in a good position. However, if you purchase a bmv property through Property Banker we can usually offer you properties with a very low initial deposit and great rental returns.
It’s important to do your research especially when the market is not as strong as it used to be. I suggest you look at recent property price movements, local rental prices and other socio economic factors. You can use sites such as nethouseprices, upmystreet and findaproperty to help you with your research. If you can also find information about future local transport links or rejuvenation, this can greatly affect future potential.
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