Daventry Market Updates

A Service from James Fielding & 1st Choice Property Management

March 2008

What really winds me up is the amount of doom and gloom being prophesised about crashing house prices and imminent recession. Not only does it put people off buying houses (yes, of course I’m annoyed if it costs me clients) but it is simply thoroughly depressing. Every day, I’m asked “What’s the market going to do, James?” My normal response is “Where’s my crystal ball?” In short, nobody can predict the future. However, chances of recession are certainly minimal – last time we had horrendous interest rates (today, they are still historically very low and seem inclined to fall further) and phenomenal levels of unemployment. There is no major economic reason why this should happen. Do not panic! As long as you remember this is a mid to long term investment, you’ll be fine.

The only good thing about the doom-mongering is that whilst some nervous investors and first time buyers are sitting on their wallets and slowing down the housing market, the shrewd investors are getting lower offers accepted and picking up some bargains – scruffy houses that are even cheaper in the current climate, where value can be added straight away with paint, carpets and a white bathroom suite..

These bargains, by the way, do not qualify as the “15% Below Market Value” that everyone who has listened to some shady “property guru” bangs on about. (More hype not to believe) They are a few grand off their true value and excellent for renting. Any “property guru” who tells you that they can walk down any High Street and find a couple of BMV’s every day of the week is either lying to you or the market in their area is in freefall, which means it’s not BMV at all. Yes, they do exist, but they are nowhere near as common as you might believe – knowing every estate agent in my area on first name terms, advertising and also promoting the services through word of mouth doesn’t bring in any more than one genuine BMV every few weeks. Should I be inclined to do so, I could manipulate most properties to look like they are BMV, but unlike a number of other people in this game, I’ve got some morals and don’t like stitching people up. Because of the scarcity of a true BMV, these tend to go to existing clients as a “thank you” for their loyalty and past business.

So my advice to you is this – go and buy some solid, traditional properties in an area of good growth and proven tenant demand. Get them for a good price, but don’t be too greedy. Make them look nice and they will let all year round. Expect to pay a 15% deposit, but sit back and relax knowing your money is safe and you’ve got a good house.

And if you aren’t comfortable doing this, please give me a call and I’ll do it for you. Right property, right area, right price.

February 2008

According to my friends the estate agents, there is a lot of activity but few deals being done. Many people want to move, but virtually all of them have a property they need to sell first. Some have become despondent, others accept low offers to get a sale, others stay put and build an extension instead. So where have all the buyers gone? Well, the majority of people wanting to sell are going to be involved in a chain – it’s most unusual for first time buyers and investors to part with their cash for a four bed detached, so the owners of said properties will need to flog them to the owners of three bed semi’s looking to move up, who in turn may need to flog theirs to the owners of a two bed terrace. And the two bed terrace is ideal for FTB’s and investors. The former seem to have been scared off by the bad press the market has received and decided to live at home for a while longer. The latter are content to remain holding the folding until there is a clear indication of what the market is going to do (Like they can see the future? Yeah, right!) or they can get a cheeky offer accepted. Both, I believe, are delaying unnecessarily. FTB’s need to be educated that property ownership isn’t as scary as they might think and investors need to start making more offers – neither of them are going to lose money unless they try to do something too clever.



The other theory I’m working on? We need Polish mortgages. Or some form of making home ownership more easily available to foreign nationals. If some clever lender can organise and promote a campaign aimed at helping the Polish, Czech, African, Bulgarian, Slovakian and Portuguese onto the property ladder, they would no doubt make a killing and the housing market would kick off again. From what I know from the numerous foreign tenants I deal with in Daventry, Billy Poland and his friends earn more than the British do in the same job because of the amount of over-time they put in and their fantastic work ethic. To date (touch wood) I have never had to chase a Polish tenant for rent as they all seem to have several thousand in their bank accounts. Many of them have now been in the UK for several years and so have developed excellent UK credit histories and could access sizeable deposits if required. If they were to start buying houses and paying mortgages instead of rent, the market would move and the prices would rise…. Anyway, just a thought. I’d be interested to hear any other comments on this.

March 07

It never fails to amaze me… We still have 100% occupancy of all rental properties in the area and more tenants than you can shake a stick at. We currently have over 20 acquisitions proceeding for clients just now and we have already lined up tenants for around 50% of them. Tenants acquired prior to ownership…. Quite pleased with this!

The expansion plans continue, as does the regeneration and the town centre redevelopment. Don’t just take my word for this – check it out yourself using a search engine. Google “Daventry”, “Regeneration”, “Expansion” and “Town Centre Vision” and have a look at the results you get.

Prices have continued to rise, with a noticeable jump in value compared to the start of the year. My clients have a substantial stronghold in all three of the council estates and have seen some great capital growth as a result.

If you are serious about buying an investment property, why not visit for a day? I am more than happy to show you round. Let me know if you are interested.

Feb 2007

It seems that this town will just keep going and going…. Several properties bought in the last two weeks for investors, some already have tenants lined up even though they are still a month away from completion! If you have bought the right thing, void periods remain at virtually zero.

Ex-council stock is still the most sought-after, with it taking around 48 hours to get a tenant application on these properties. It is still possible to buy ex-council houses for under the stamp duty threshold but this will become significantly harder in 8 months or so as prices keep rising due to the ongoing investment in the town. The general message is, if you haven’t bought yet do it now before you have to start paying an extra 1% to the government!

A number of investors have asked what the prices are like round here for ex-council stock. To give you a very general overview of the three Daventry council estates:



The Grange 3 bed house £110 - £125k £525 – 560 PCM



Southbrook 3 bed house £105 - £120k £500 - £525 PCM



Headlands 2 bed house £115 - £122k £500 - £515 PCM



Headlands 3 bed house £125 - £150k £565 - £600 PCM



These prices are increasing by the month! Properties on the Grange and Headlands have let to professional tenants in under a week, properties on Southbrook can take a little longer but may offer a better. A suitable property in any of these areas can normally be sourced in under two weeks. As usual, we will guide you through the sale and project-manage any required refurbishment before letting and managing the property through 1st Choice Property Management.

Jan/Feb 2007

I won’t dwell on this for too long as I keep extolling the merits of this fast growing market town to you… In the last few weeks I have bought a load more properties for clients, most of them have already got tenants lined up (even though they haven’t completed) and are gaining in value quite nicely. If you want to enjoy the same, please email me or call 07979 591002.



Daventry Town Development - http://www.daventrydc.gov.uk/atoz/daventrydevelopment/index.shtml

Increase in Tenant Demand in Midlands (I told you so!) http://www.rics.org/Property/Residentialproperty/Residentialpropertymarket/wmpressrelease291106.html

Jan 2007

An excellent few weeks, since my last newsletter to you. My own portfolio continues to enjoy 100% occupancy and has shown growth of around 15% over 2006. All properties bought for clients have been successfully rented within 5 days of completion, with many being let prior to the landlord even taking ownership!

With the district and borough councils continuing to pump money into Daventry to finance the ongoing expansion of the town, along with the regeneration of many parts of it, capital growth is virtually guaranteed.

The rental market is also fantastic – the supposed “quiet period” between Christmas and New Year did not happen, with properties being let at the rate of one a day.

The beauty of Daventry is, although it won’t make you a millionaire overnight, it will provide you with steady capital growth and virtually zero void periods.

I can also email you a document showing how past acquisitions for clients have performed, if you would like to have a better idea of the figures. Email WhyIsDaventryPropertySoFantastic@james-fielding.com .

Oct 2006

Daventry is still proving a splendid investment – house prices are continuing to rise and void periods are virtually nil. The last three properties that I let had tenant applications in for two weeks prior to them coming available. You can buy perfectly respectable buy-to-let’s for under the stamp duty bracket that will pull in £500 - £550 a month and even (just!) buy a one bedroom house on a private estate for under £100k.

I had a meeting with the Executive Director of Daventry Council last month, who confirmed to me the expansion and regeneration plans in place for the town, which are obviously having a very positive effect on house prices. Also, I mentioned that I understood there to be a backlog of over 3,500 social housing cases – this was not disputed and I was told that the council are streamlining their benefits system to attract more private landlords. Tenants on tap! (This is in addition to the 1,500 or so foreign workers who are coming here and need a home)

It’s affordable, the prices are rising, there is a massive tenant demand – I believe that this makes it a hot spot?? If you don’t already own property here, you really should buy some quickly.