Despite Government regulations that have been in place since the 26 March 2020, Newbury buy to let landlords have during that time been chomping at the bit to build their portfolio by looking at buying additional properties for their Newbury buy to let portfolio.
There are plenty of investors who think nothing of committing to buying a property ‘off plan’ before it’s built – yet over the last few weeks, it has become the norm in the second-hand Newbury property market and they have now stolen a march and bagged some property bargains.
Normally, the face-to-face viewing is step one of the second-hand house buying process … yet now it’s becoming the ‘new normal’ that some agents are carrying out semi-professional video viewings or 360-degree video tours. Yet the Government announced on Wednesday, 13th May 2020 that the Estate & Letting Agency industry could reopen meaning people could view houses, visit agents and move home, be they tenants, buyers, landlords or home sellers. This is all subject to general and specific social distancing rules, specific hygiene regulations and suitable PPE being used.
What has been happening in the last few weeks in the Newbury property market?
The average time between sale agreed and exchange/completion of contracts on a house is 17 to 19 weeks, which means buying today would mean you wouldn’t be getting your hands on the property until late September or October at the earliest. Spring is the time when most properties come onto the market, yet as one would expect, the number of Newbury properties coming onto the market has been somewhat reduced since lockdown as..
Only 8 Newbury properties have been put up for sale in the last month
This reduction in supply, combined with this pent-up demand from both Newbury landlords and the ‘Boris-Bounce’, could in fact be good news for the Newbury property market let me explain…
Rightmove stated that people going to their website initially dropped by 40% at the start of lockdown, yet now has recovered with a near doubling of people searching for properties with gardens (for both sales and renting). For many Newbury buy to let landlords (and in fact Newbury homebuyers), now is the very best time to do research into the Newbury property market. All the portals have access to 25 years of property sales with pictures, so you can compare and contrast what has happened to various different property types around Newbury to spot those bargains, meaning you can get moving quickly after lockdown.
One of the biggest barriers in April was mortgage lending. In the early days of the pandemic, most mortgage lenders removed many of their best deals and enormously restricted their capacity. Currently though, we are seeing a revitalisation in the mortgage market with many mortgage products becoming accessible again for borrowers, and with many mortgage companies integrating more digital processes, (including Virtual Surveyor Mortgage Valuations in some cases), the mortgage market now has plenty of options available to those who are keen to borrow.
There is no doubt the Newbury housing market got off to a sturdy start in 2020. With Brexit at least partly resolved, the ‘Boris-Bounce’ was starting to take off. With Newbury house prices being robust and rental demand was high, the Newbury property market was already in a good placed to deal with the subsequent Covid-19 issue.
I know there are a few doom mongers in the National Press spouting about a massive crash in the UK property market. There is a natural tendency for newspapers to latch onto the worst-case scenario in any economic forecast. Who can forget the country received similar projections in the lead-up to the 2016 Brexit vote with HMRC itself stating that UK house values would drop by at least 10% in the first 12 months should the UK vote for Brexit and 20% in two years!
With the rollercoaster of the stock market in recent months, investing one’s money into good old-fashioned bricks and mortar has started to seem a good place again.
Isn’t it funny the newspapers aren’t latching on to some reports to say the property market might go in the other direction? Remember – bad news sells newspapers!
Follow up with me next week when we look at when may be a good time to buy your next investment, and what may happen to the Newbury and UK Market.
Stay Safe Everyone .
