A couple of weeks ago I focused on the Dunstable rental market from 2012-2016 and showed studio rental prices had risen 25%, 2 bed houses and apartment rents had risen 20% and 3 bed semi-detached house rental prices had risen by 30%.
 
Following this a landlord with a mixture of properties in Leighton Buzzard called me to ask why he had not seen the same growth for a couple of studio apartments he has in Leighton Buzzard ? He had other larger properties where he had seen the rents rise over the years, but the studios were performing poorly when compared to these.
 
With a bit of research I was able to produce this table which backed up what he had suggested about the studio apartments. From 2012 to 2016 studio apartments in Leighton Buzzard had only seen a very small increase in rental value of about 6% compared to 25% in Dunstable. 2 bedroom apartments and houses were closer to the growth figure we found in Dunstable seeing growth of 22% but not as well as Dunstable which had seen 25% growth. However the 3 bedroom semi-detached houses told a different story with rents in Leighton Buzzard increasing by 35% outstripping Dunstable’s 30% rise in the same period.
 
The reason for the big difference between the price rises in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard is easy to understand. With the large growing workforce in companies such as Amazon, Superdrug distribution and Signature Flatbreads in Dunstable there are a large number of single or young couples from the EU moving to the area for work. They all live and work locally and many are looking for Studios and 1 bedroom apartments. Amazon are about to open another very large warehouse in Dunstable and this is bringing even more workers to the area.
 
Although we have seen many families requiring 3 bedroom family homes moving from London to Dunstable there is obviously an attraction for these families to move to Leighton Buzzard with its train links to London should they still be working there. This has pushed up the demand for family homes in the area which is why we can see a 35% increase in the rental figure.
 
Although this landlord had managed to buy his studios for a very good price at the time the demand from tenants for this type of property in Leighton Buzzard is very low. He hasn’t seen the rents or the value increase by very much in the last 4 years and it is difficult to find new tenants leading to void periods.
 
This just shows that when investing in property no matter how good a purchase might seem at the time you need to carry out due diligence to make sure you are buying the right property in the right area so that you will see growth in both rental yield and capital yield. Luckily for this landlord his other properties have performed well but he now has to decide if the studios are a worthwhile long term investment.

As a property investor how do you build relationships with agents for better deals and access all the money you could ever need? Find out more at the September Luton Property Investors Network (Luton PIN) with this FREE invite.
 
For advice and a wealth of knowledge from other landlords and investors this FREE invitation (at the bottom) to the Luton Property Investors Network could give you access to the help and advice you need.
 
At Septembers meeting on Tuesday 27th September Ben Hollingsworth will explain how to build relationships with agents for better deals and Kevin Whelan will explain how you can access all the money you could ever need for all the property you would ever want.
Kevin Whelan will:
•    Share his comprehensive blueprint for creating complete financial independence
•    Reveal the 7 sources of capital every Property Professional should know
•    Explain how you can use your pension to acquire property
•    Show the hidden win-win in other people’s pensions
•    Build the confidence to attract Joint Venture partners
•    Share his formula for ensuring the success of any Property JV.
 
Do you know anyone that would like to get better deals from agents? Ben Hollingsworth aims to deliver a content rich presentation based upon personal experience on how to get the most out of agents by developing personal relationships with the key staff. Dispelling myths and somewhat challenging technology, the benefits of direct contact will be demonstrated by the results.
 
To use this code for your FREE entry it must be your first time attending a PIN meeting. You can also pass it on to other people who might be interested.

• Go to: www.lutonpin.co.uk
• Click “Book using a voucher code”
• Insert you contact details
• Enter “belvoirluton” into voucher code box and click apply voucher button
• Click, “Click Here to book your place now” - A email confirmation will be sent

Earlier this week one of our overseas landlords with a portfolio of properties in various areas of the UK called in to my shop in Dunstable. He is looking for further properties to buy as some of his investments are maturing and he has decided that property continues to be a good choice based on the returns he is currently receiving.

We discussed how the rental prices of all property types in Dunstable and Houghton Regis have increased substantially in the last 12 months and I carried out some research for him to show how his various properties had performed which also seemed to be a good opportunity to carry out an assessment of the most popular and in demand property types.

The graph shown and the figures in the table show that prices had been fairly steady until 2014 when they began to increase and have in the last year shown a marked jump in asking rents. Over the time from 2014 to 2016 most property had seen their asking rents increase by 25%, but 3 bedroom semi-detached houses have seen an increase of nearly 30%.

Having looked deeper into the number of properties available for rent each year and my experience and knowledge from talking to tenants it became obvious that there are a number of key factors:

• The number of available properties has decreased whilst the number of renters has increased. In 2012 there were 94 two bedroom terraced houses on the market but in 2015 there were only 42, half the number. For 3 bedroom semi-detached houses there were 58 available in 2012 but only 38 in 2015.
• There are more renters from London and towns such as St Albans and Hemel Hempstead moving to Dunstable as it is more affordable.
• Big companies such as Amazon who have chosen to locate in Dunstable have put more demand on rental properties as they attract more workers to the area.
• More tenants are staying in their properties for longer. The total number of rental properties will have increased but instead of moving after 12-18 months it is not unusual for tenants to stay in their properties for up to 3 years.
• Many families are now in a 2nd relationship meaning there is more need for a bigger property for children from both sides of previous relationships to stay.
• And obviously as demand from London buyers pushes up the house prices in the local area less are able to afford to buy the property they want, decide they would rather rent which is seen as acceptable choice today or don’t wish to commit to an area when their work choices in the future might require them to relocate.

Having taken a walk around the town to show him the number of shops that had opened recently, the businesses now in the White Lion Retail Park and the Woodside Industrial Estate he then insisted on a bus ride into Luton on the Busway to see how quick the connection was to Luton and the airport. He was interested to see how feasible it was for a London commuter to live in Dunstable however we have found recently that the local workforce has grown as companies locate or grow their existing premises.

Like most of our landlords he believes in providing good quality well maintained rental accommodation and is now looking to add to his portfolio in Dunstable or Houghton Regis. Having been impressed by what he had seen I am now tasked with finding his next investment purchases that will attract good quality reliable tenants who will also care for the accommodation he is providing.

You can’t have missed the scaffolding and hoarding that has appeared in front of the old Woolworths store on High Street South a few weeks ago. This store has been empty for a number of years and located in an area where there were a number of empty shops it is a welcome sight to see work start at last.
 
Whilst it might look like not much has happened since if you take a look from the rear of the store you will see that most of it has now been demolished.

With our office and car parking backing onto the site I am in regular contact with the developers and builders who are very confident in Dunstable as a town which is now showing growth with a number of large companies now choosing to invest in the area.
 
They expect the development to be complete in 12-18 months and like other housebuilders and developers who have planning permission in the Dunstable and Houghton Regis they will be providing much needed housing for the growing local workforce as well as the families looking to relocate to the area from London