Latona Road in Peckham - now let at £3150pcm. How are your returns?

Here's a little video walkthrough of my latest completed projected. I managed to let this property at a rent of £3150pcm, which translates to a yield of 8.4% as the property was revalued at £450,000.

watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8w3aAVXe2s&t=13s

If you like this video please like, comment and share and join the Clapham Property Blog community on Facebook, LinkedIn and Youtube. If you prefer old fashioned email just drop me a line or come and meet me in person at the Clapham Property Meet!

Video tips series - Video 19/30 - Little known research tools to aid your property investing

Ever wondered about how property investors do their research? Due diligence? Working out raw data to see if investments stack up?

In this video I give away some of the tools I use:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTGk8JeBoIE&t=10s


I hope you enjoyed my video. Do let me know if you are looking to invest and you could use a hand. if you are a ready and able investor why not sign up to my list that will bring packaged deals to your inbox? Sign up here. I'd love to meet you in person at this month's Clapham Property Mee, so do come along. Click here for tickets and more info.

Acquisition in Peckham - time to show you around!

Here's a quick update video on my latest acquisition in Peckham. I purchased this property together with a joint venture partner who is also looking to expand his portfolio and we will be offering, once again, much needed high quality accomodation to the Private Rental Sector.


Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBiwFbETQVY

If you are interested in seeing properties that I have sourced and negotiated a super purchase price on, be it on or off market, then sign up here. As always if you'd like to come and have a look at one of my projects just drop me a line and let's start the conversation. Or allow me to answer your questions in person at the next Clapham Property Meet!

Another acquisition in Peckham - walkthrough

Not content with just a few projects on the go I'm keen to demonstrate that there are still fabulous investments to be snapped up in South London.

Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSgy6OoCMZc

If you like this video please like, comment and share and join the Clapham Property Blog community on Facebook, LinkedIn and Youtube. If you prefer old fashioned email just drop me a line or come and meet me in person at the Clapham Property Meet!

Video 20/30 - How to automate getting and booking viewings (if you want to do them yourself of course)

I find that one of the most annoying things about booking viewings is the constant to-ing and fro-ing with applicants about the date and time. What if you can automate that whole process? Well now you can thanks to my helpful video:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDhpOLbGPq4&t=7s

Clapham Property Market – Which Houses are Actually Selling?

Beast from the East, Russia, Facebook, Brexit, Trump, House prices up, House prices down ... the Press is full of column inches on Brit’s favourite subjects of politics, scandal, weather and not forgetting (and I appreciate the irony of this!) the property market. As an agent belonging a national group of letting and estate agents, talking to my fellow property professionals from around the UK, the one thing that is immediately apparent is the UK does not have one property market. It is a hodgepodge patchwork (almost like a fly’s eye) of lots of small property markets all performing in different ways.

… And that made me think … is there just one Clapham Property Market or many?

I like to keep an eye on the property market in Clapham on a daily basis because it enables me to give the best advice and opinion on what (or not) to buy in Clapham, be that a buy-to-let property for a Clapham landlord or an owner occupier house for a home owner. So, I thought, how could I scientifically split the Clapham housing market into segments, so I could see which part of the market was performing the best and the worst.

I decided the best way was to split the Clapham property market into four equal size price bands (into terms of households for sale). Each price band would have around 25% of the property in Clapham, from the lowest in value (the Lowest Quartile or 25%) all the way through to the highest 25% in terms of value, the Upper Quartile. Looking at the market, I have calculated that these are the price bands in Clapham are as follows:

• Lowest Quartile (lowest 25% in terms of value) … Up to £500,000
• Lower/Middle Quartile (25% to 50% Quartile in terms of value) ... £500,000 to £650,000
• Middle/Upper Quartile (50% to 75% Quartile in terms of value) ... £650,000 to £900,000
• Upper Quartile (highest 25% in terms of value) ... £900,000 Upwards

So, having split the Clapham Property Market approximately into four equal sizes, the results in terms what price band has sold (subject to contract or stc) the most is quite enlightening -

The best performing price range in Clapham is the lower market. Interestingly for Clapham landlords, the lower end of the middle market is also selling well, meaning there must be plenty of Clapham landlords buying properties to add to their buy to let portfolios. As I would expect, the two upper quartiles (the top 50%) is finding things a little tougher. Even though the number of first time buyers did increase in 2017, it was from a low base and the vast majority of 20 something’s cannot buy, so need a roof over their head (hence the need to rent somewhere).

It is a fact that British (and Clapham’s) housing markets have ridden the storms of Oil crisis in the 1970’s, the 1980’s depression, Black Monday in the 1990’s, and latterly the Credit Crunch together with the various house price crashes of 1973, 1987 and 2008. No matter what happens to us Brexit or anything else ... unless the Government starts to build hundreds of thousands extra houses each year, demand will always outstrip supply … so maybe a time for Clapham landlord investors to bag a bargain?

Want to know where those Clapham buy to let bargains are? Follow my Clapham Property Blog or drop me an email because irrespective of which agent you use, myself or any of the other excellent agents in Clapham, many local landlords ask me my thoughts, opinion and advice on what (and not) to buy locally … and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on those thoughts ... would you?

I hope you enjoyed reading. If you are keen to take things further, be it to start from scratch, or do something a bit more interesting with your current portfolio... Start the conversation on email. I'd love to meet you in person of course at this month's Clapham Property Meet, so do come along. Click here for tickets and more info.

8% More Clapham Home Owners Wanting to Move Than 12 Months Ago

As I have mentioned a number times in my local property market blog, with not enough new-build properties being built in Clapham and the surrounding area to keep up with demand for homes to live in (be that tenants or homebuyers), it’s good to know more Clapham home sellers are putting their properties on to the market than a year ago.

At the start of 2007 there were 1,098 properties for sale in Clapham but by March 2008, when the credit crunch was really beginning to bite, that number had risen to 2,138 properties on the market at a time when demand was at an all-time low, thus creating an imbalance in the local property market.

Basic economics dictates that if there is too much supply of something and demand is poor (which it was in the Credit Crunch years of 2008/9) … prices will drop. In fact, house prices dropped between 15% and 20% depending on the type of Clapham property between the end of 2007 and Spring 2009.

However, over the last five years, we have seen a steady decrease in supply of properties coming onto the market for sale and steady demand, meaning Clapham property prices have remained robust. A stable housing market is one of the foundations of a successful British economy, as it’s all about getting the healthy balance of buyer demand with a good supply of properties. Nevertheless, if you had asked me a couple of years ago, I would have said we were beginning to see there was in fact NOT enough properties coming on to the market for sale … meaning in certain sectors of the Clapham property market, house prices were overheating because of this lack of supply.

So, it is pleasing to note, looking at the recent numbers …

There are 8% more properties for sale in Clapham today than a year ago

There were 812 properties for sale 12 months ago, and today that stands at 878. It doesn’t sound a lot, yet this is a small step in the right direction to a more stable property market.

Even better news, since the Chancellor announced the stamp duty rule changes for first time buyers (FTB), my fellow agents in Clapham say that the number of FTB’s registering on the majority of agent’s books has increased year on year. That has still to follow through into more FTB’s buying their first home, however, with the heightened levels of confidence being demonstrated by both Clapham house sellers and potential house buyers, I do foresee the Clapham Property Market will show steady yet sustained improvement during the first half of 2018.

What does this mean for Clapham landlords or those considering dipping their toe into the buy to let market for the first time? Landlords will need to keep improving their properties to ensure they get the best tenants. It is true that demand amongst FTB’s is increasing, albeit from a low base. Even with the new landlord tax rules, buy to let in Clapham still looks a good investment, providing Clapham landlords with a good income at a time of low interest rates and a roller coaster stock market.

If you are thinking of investing in bricks and mortar in Clapham, it is important to do things correctly as making money won’t be as easy as it has been over the last twenty years. With a greater number of properties on the market .. comes greater choice. Don’t buy the first thing you see, buy with your head as well as your heart … and don’t forget the first rule of Buy To Let Investment …

I will tell you that 1st rule in a couple of weeks!

I hope you enjoyed reading. If you are keen to take things further, be it to start from scratch, or do something a bit more interesting with your current portfolio... Start the conversation on email. I'd love to meet you in person of course at this month's Clapham Property Meet, so do come along. Click here for tickets and more info.