When the bottom fell out of the property market a couple of years ago, most of us assumed that property prices all over the board would be affected and everything would become much more affordable.
But this has not happened and although property prices in the north are still falling, prices in the South East continue to rise, particularly at the more expensive end of the market, and many experts feel that the north-south divide will grow over the next few years. This is borne out by the predicted figures for the next five years: property prices in central London are expected to rise by 33% whereas prices in the North East are only predicted to rise by 1.7%.
How does this trend affect landlords?
Which such a disparity in the property market, it is now more important than ever that you choose your potential properties wisely. A few years ago you might have got away with buying pretty much anything and sitting back while it increased in value, but the good times are no more unless you can afford to buy a few luxury properties in central London—which I certainly can’t!
But although we can no longer expect to see massive returns on our property investments, at least the rental market continues to grow. The demand for rental properties is rising continually as more and more people choose to rent rather than buy and experts in the lettings industry believe that the rental sector of the property market will expand for at least another ten years, which is great news for landlords.
