Best Locations For First Time Buyers
When discussing property portfolios, we often focus on the big ‘fancy-pants’ deals that make lots of money, but today we’re going to shine some light on the little ones. For people just starting, or wanting to get started, we can’t overstate the importance of cutting your teeth on smaller property deals. As well as the experience the quick cash flow from smaller deals will be invaluable to you when looking after your larger portfolio in the future. The inspiration for this appreciation piece comes from a recent ‘Times’ article on the most affordable locations for first time buyers. Their list ranks large towns/ cities by how cheap first-time property’s average asking prices are. However, it does also consider where you are most likely to be outbid which can show where demand is high but also where it may be hard to get started. So, the positives vs. negatives of each place are up to you to weigh up but let’s just quickly cover the list.
1. Liverpool – £123,000 – Liverpool has been featured in a lot of our recent news as a great place to invest. An influx of young professionals has meant that demand has increased recently.
2. Glasgow – £125,400 – Being such an old city means there are plenty of older/ period homes popular with first time buyers. Such cheap older builds clearly have great potential for price increases.
3. Newcastle – £128,200 – Although this city is clearly affordable this was one of least likely places buyers will be outbid (16%), suggesting demand is low. Recent reports also suggest many younger people are actually moving out of the centre as service charges on leasehold properties are particularly high in Newcastle.
4. Belfast – £135,400 – Another place popular with young professionals. The prices are generally a bit too steep in the centre but there is potential with properties in the suburbs and surrounding commuter towns.
5. Sheffield – £139,000 – Sheffield is the town where the highest proportion of people are outbid (35%) so demand is high. This is due to recent industrial developments making it popular with professionals and the large student community there.
6. Nottingham – £154,700 – If looking into towns in the East Midlands, Leicester and Nottingham both have the most popular markets but when it comes to affordability. Nottingham is significantly cheaper making it a great place to start out.
7. Birmingham – £154,700 – Many industries such as IT have been expanding in Birmingham recently meaning demand is high due to the influx of jobs. This is reflected by the fact that many first-time buyers are outbid (26%).
8. Leeds – £166,900 – This is another city where the prices can vary greatly so you will have to do your research. Reports suggest that popular places like Headingley and Chapel Allerton may be too expensive to be worthwhile, but more upcoming places like Holbeck may be more profitable.
9. Manchester – £170,300 – Similar with Liverpool, Manchester is popular with young professionals and has been mentioned a lot here recently. However, similar to places like Leeds, the city centre may be too expensive due to this extended period of high demand.
10. Cardiff – £209,800 – Recently we have mentioned that many cities in the south-west, like Bristol, have had an influx of young professionals and so demand is high. However, property is expensive there, so this article suggests Cardiff as a much more affordable alternative that you can still commute to places like Bristol from.
There you have it!
Obviously, this is just the start and a lot more research needs to be done but hopefully this has given those of you that are just starting some ideas. Even those with lots of experience might want to expand their tier one investments. Don’t forget though deals can be found anywhere so don’t limit yourself just to Liverpool because it’s on the top of this list. Next step for those who have been on the course is to do some comparisons of these locations using strategies like ‘pick a pair’. If you haven’t been on the courses yet, then come along to one of our seminars or 3-day events.
