Perthshire Property Market: 2016 Overview
As we move into a new year and our 8th year of trading, we thought we would take a look back at how the property market and PPP performed during 2016.
Lettings
We have had a fantastic year on the lettings front:
Our unrivalled knowledge of the local market helped us achieve a 25% increase in the number of new properties we took on between 2015 and 2016.
As our reputation grew, we took on properties in the Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife and Glasgow areas and we attracted the attention of several private landlords looking to invest in the area.
Despite changes to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBBT), which imposes an additional 3% tax on additional properties purchased costing above £40,000, low interest rates continued to attract buy-to-let investment. We now act for several private investors who rely on our expertise to guide their investment decisions and manage their property portfolios and, last year, we oversaw several renovation projects to prepare properties for the lettings market.
Demand for rental properties continued to outstrip supply:
In 2016, our average time to let was 2 weeks, however, there was such huge demand for some properties, that we let them within a few days and even hours of going to market.
We could have let certain properties immediately, however, our rigorous tenant vetting process takes a little longer!
We have seen a marked increase in demand for 3 and 4 bedroom houses:
Growing families who entered the private rental market a few years ago are still unable to get onto the property ladder. The average property price in Perth and Kinross (£191,370) is now 7 times more than the average full time salary in the area*. This underlines the fact that renting is now seen as more of an alternative to home ownership, rather than a temporary solution. Owning a home of your own is still the number one lifestyle ambition for most, but other factors contribute to whether, and when, this is possible.
This is having a positive effect on rent prices :
We have seen rents increase across the board. This is supported by statistics issued by the Scottish Government. During 2016, rents in the Perth and Kinross area increased across all property types (1 bedroom + 1.4%, 2 bedroom +2.1%, 3 bedroom +2.9% and 4 bedroom + 2.6%). In fact, of the 18 regions in Scotland, the Perth and Kinross area was 7th in terms of average annual rent increase for 4 bedroom properties and 10th for 3 bedroom properties.
So, all in all, a fantastic year for lettings. What about property sales?
Property Sales
Against a turbulent political and economic background, we experienced significant growth in the property sales side of the business.
In 2016, we achieved 4 times the number of new instructions we secured in 2015:
Official 2016 statistics for Perth and Kinross are available up until September**. Sales volume during the first 3 quarters of the year was up compared with the same period the year before, although average price was slightly down. During the first 6 months there was a significant increase in the volume of flats and terraced houses sold (between 20-30% each quarter), with the average price of terraced houses increasing by 11% during Jan-Mar. The surge in sales between Jan-Mar was no doubt linked to buyers looking to avoid the 3% surcharge on second homes.
The number of properties PPP sold during Jul-Sep was up by nearly 90% compared with the same period the year before:
In Perth and Kinross, both sales volume (+1.6%) and average price (+0.4%) were up during Jul-Sep. It seems that Brexit had a limited immediate impact on the market, albeit the longer term effects have still to be felt.
Our average time to sell in 2016 was 2.5 weeks:
However, we sold some properties extremely quickly with one going under offer within 24 hours! Our network of investor landlords means that we can sell certain properties, which are right for the buy-to-let market, very quickly .
Our success in property sales has continued into 2017, with 2 properties and a plot of land going under offer within the first week of 2017.
Why let/sell with PPP?
- Owner-led agency: we work harder to provide a premier service to our clients
- Unrivalled local knowledge and first-hand experience of property buying/selling/renting: over 20 years’ experience
- Low estate agency fees (0.5%)
- Network of landlords, investors, buyers and sellers
- Out of Hours viewings and valuations: available whenever our clients are
- Extensive marketing: website, social media channels, national property portals
- 24 hour maintenance portal for tenants to report repairs
- Accredited Letting Agent (Landlord Accreditation Scotland)
- Member of the Property Ombudsmen
- Fantastic customer service – see our CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
To arrange a no obligation valuation or if you need some advice on the local property market, please get in touch:
Tel: 01738 44 22 55
email: info@premierpropertiesperth.co.uk
* Registers of Scotland, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2015
** Registers of Scotland, 2016
