Is the Sheep Fair area a safe bet?

A friend of mine recently missed her chance to buy a three bed mid terraced house in the Highlands Road area as it sold pretty quickly.  We got chatting and wondered why it had sold so well so I did a bit of digging.

I have included Wool Grove, Bell Road, Highlands Road and Pen Close in my investigation.  The majority of the properties in this area were built in the 1960’s and have always been popular with local families as they offer good accommodation and are within walking distance of the town centre and good local schools.  Most are owner occupied with a few now being bought by buy-to-let investors as they make good solid investments.

Quite a few of the three beds have changed hands over the last couple of years and prices have risen very well.  Around two years ago you could pick up one of these for around £185,000 although you may have had to spend a few thousand on it to attract a good quality tenant.  You would have been looking at a rental value of around £825pcm giving a return of 5.4%.

Currently, these properties are changing hands for around £210,000 and are achieving rents of around £925pcm so currently giving a similar return of 5.3%.

This shows that while the return has remained pretty much the same there is a really healthy increase in value over a relatively short period of time.  However, remember, what’s gone up can also come down but even taking that into consideration, these properties or similar are a pretty safe bet.

If you would like any advice before purchasing a rental property, please pop in and ask.