Well as the nights draw in, if there is nothing on the telly, the significant other and myself like to play the board game Monopoly. The buying and renting of property, it’s like a busman’s holiday for me! Interestingly, the game was originally invented at the turn of the 20th Century (in 1903) and the game was initially called ‘The Landlord’s Game’! Anyway, after a few years in the wilderness, the current owners of the game renamed it in 1935 and so began Monopoly as we know it today.
So whether you are a homeowner or landlord in Newbury or Thatcham, what would a Monopoly board look like today in our town? Property prices over the last 80 years have certainly increased beyond all recognition, so looking at the original board, I have substituted some of the original streets with the most expensive and least expensive locations in Newbury today.
Initially, I have focused on the RG14 postcode only, looking at the Brown Squares on the board, the ‘new’ Old Kent Road in Newbury today would be Ashridge Court, with an average value £95000 (per property)(some have recently sold for under £60000) and Whitechapel Road would be Victoria Gardens, which would be worth £142,500. What about the posh dark blue squares of Park Lane and Mayfair? Again, looking at RG14, Park Lane would be Garden Close Lane at £854,100 and Mayfair would be Tydehams at £1,252,700. However, look a little further afield from the RG14 postcode, and such roads as Earlstone Common in Burghclere would claim the Mayfair card at £2,355,400! Also, I can’t forget the train stations (my favourite squares), and over the last 12 months, the average price that property within a quarter mile of the station sold for was £183,350.
So that got me thinking what you would have had to have paid for a property in Newbury back in 1935, when the game originally came out?
The average Newbury detached house today is worth £631,900 would have set you back 1,143 Pounds 5 shillings and 11 old pence.
The average Newbury semi detached house today is worth £358,950 would have set you back 649 Pounds 8 shillings and 11 old pence.
The average Newbury terraced / town house today is worth £286,930 would have set you back 519 Pounds 2 shillings and 10 old pence.
The average Newbury apartment today is worth £220,950 would have set you back 399 Pounds 15 shillings and 3 old pence.
If that sounds like another currency, you must be in your 20’s or 30’s, because it was back in February 1971, that Britain went decimal and hundreds of years of everyday currency was turned into history overnight. On 14th of February of that year, there were 12 pennies to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound. The following day all that was history and the pound was made up of 100 new pence.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this bit of fun, but underlying all this is one important fact. Property investing is a long game, which has seen impressive rises over the last 80 years. In my previous articles I have talked about what is happening on a month by month or year by year basis and if you are going to invest in the Newbury property market, you should consider the Newbury property you buy a medium to long term investment, because Buy to let is pretty much what it sounds like – you buy a property in order to rent it out to tenants.
As I reminded a soon to be first time landlord from Wash Common the other week, Buy to let in Newbury (as in other parts of the Country) is very different from owning your own home. When you become a Newbury landlord, you are in essence running a small business – one with important legal responsibilities. On that note, I want to remind landlords of the recent and future changes in legislation when it comes to buy to let. This year, rules have changed about tenant deposits, carbon monoxide detectors and early in the New Year, landlords will have responsibilities to do immigration checks on all their tenants. Failure to adhere to them will mean a minimum of heavy fines in the thousands or in some cases, prison … it’s a mine field! That’s why I write the Newbury Property Blog, it has an extensive library of articles like this one, where I talk about what is happening in the Newbury property market, what to buy (and sometimes not) in Newbury and everything else that is important to know as a Newbury landlord.
If you are an existing landlord in Newbury or Thatcham or thinking of becoming one, then a good source of information is the Newbury property blog. Although I operate Downer & Co Letting Agents in Newbury I am also a landlord myself and have over 15 Years experience buying, selling, letting and managing property in the local area. I am always happy to chat to you openly and honestly about any aspect of the local property market.
