The orthodox way of classifying property in the UK is to look at the number of bedrooms rather than its size in square metres (although now we are leaving the EU – I wonder if we can go back to feet and inches?). It seems that homeowners and tenants are happy to pay for more space. It’s quite obvious, the more bedrooms a house or apartment has, the bigger it is likely to be. The reason being not only the actual additional bedroom space, but the properties with more bedrooms tend to have larger / more reception (living) rooms. However, if you think about it, this isn’t so astonishing given that properties with more bedrooms would typically accommodate more people and therefore require larger reception rooms.
In today’s Lancaster property market, the Lancaster homeowners and Lancaster landlords I talk to are always asking me which attributes and features are likely to make their property comparatively more attractive and which ones may detract from the price. Over time, buyers’ and tenants’ wants and needs have changed. In Lancaster, location is still the No. 1 factor affecting the value of property, and a property in the best neighbourhoods, say Ellel or Aldcliffe can command a price nearly 50% higher than a similar house in an ‘average’ area. However, after location, the next characteristic that has a significant influence on the desirability, and thus price, of property is the number of bedrooms and the type (i.e. Detached/ Semi/Terraced/Flat).
In previous articles, I have analysed the Lancaster housing stock into bedrooms and type of property, but never before now have I cross-referenced type against bedrooms. These figures for the Lancaster City Council area make fascinating reading. It shows 83.8% of all properties in the area have 3 or more bedrooms
I was genuinely surprised at the low numbers of one and two bed properties, especially 2 bed semis detached houses, especially as many tenants like the smaller one and two bed properties in Lancaster. You see ,it might interest the homeowners and landlords of Lancaster, that there has been a change in the numbers of properties on the market and the split in bedrooms on the market over the last 12 months
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12 months ago, 44 one bed properties were for sale in Lancaster, today 42, a drop of 5%
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12 months ago, 215 two bed properties were for sale in Lancaster, today 202, a drop of 6%
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12 months ago, 257 three bed properties were for sale in Lancaster, today 248, a drop of 4%
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12 months ago, 83 four bed properties were for sale in Lancaster, today 111, a rise of 34%
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12 months ago, 32 five + bed properties were for sale in Lancaster, today 32, no change
For several years Lancaster buy-to-let investors have been the main buyers at the lower end (starter homes) of the market, as they have been enticed by high tenant demand and attractive returns. Some Lancaster landlords believe their window of opportunity has started to close with the new tax regime for landlords, whilst it already appears to be opening wider for first-time buyers. This is great news for first time buyers. However Lancaster landlords, all is not lost. Now interest rates have dropped again, buying property has become back appealing. You can still pick up bargains, you just need to be a lot more savvy and do your homework. You’ll find some great deals on our blog or alternatively call me in my Lancaster Office. You’ll find me at JDG on Market Street, Lancaster opposite Waterstones Book Shop.