Landlord Voice Magazine October 2015 - Brighton and Hove | Page 16

Property Research made simple biggest challenge for the business, said Barry. He added: “Some data does not distinguish between wholesale and retail, for example, so you may think you can pop down the road to the local bakery for fresh bread until you discover it’s an industrial unit or the head office for Hovis. “Our mapping database also uses activity listings, for example, to check whether the local tennis courts are public facilities or part of someone’s mansion.” Apart from the specifics of local knowledge you don’t run a property research tool for four years without learning a trick or two about the housing market and Barry believes there are ups and downs to most locations. He said: “There are some really obvious risk factors in a location such as the possible expansion of Gatwick or Heathrow airports, but these tend to be the known knowns. “What should be more pressing are the unknown unknowns - such as a school rated Outstanding up the road whose headteacher is about to retire – as these can have a material impact on house prices within the wider area.” “And you have to think about cities and towns where a large portion of the population is employed in a particular industry. If the local car plant drops 5,000 jobs there will be a drop in cash flow, affecting the affordability of rents in the area. “It is so important to do your research. There is a statistic which says that on a pound‐per‐minute 16 | LandlordVoice | October 2015 basis the average UK homebuyer spends 21,000 per cent less time researching a property purchase than a trivial Ebay purchase. “For landlords there is a real opportunity in being able to list the benefits of an area and this can have a positive effect on your rental yield. At the very least, research can help you avoid a nasty surprise” If you check the news regularly you may recognise Property Detective for its research around the most family‐friendly places to live in the country. It found the most popular, due to its schools, wealth of childcare, green space and support networks was Macclesfield, Cheshire. The data-based research is a reference point against which users can score an individual property based on whether or not it is a good place to start and raise a family. Barry says that increasingly, areas which have traditionally not been perceived as desirable are growing in popularity. He added: “Places like King’s Hill in Kent are ever more sought after as people are being priced out of London ‐ and a flood of investors are buying up the properties. “Wherever there is a disparity between the average property values of an area and the relative desirability of that location compared with the national average, house price growth will be aggressive because it presents an opportunity to invest in a more desirable area than the price might otherwise suggest.” “But most of the high‐ scoring places in terms of starting Trivia Time: Q4 - What names were given to the opposing youth subcultures which clashed during riots in Brighton during the 1960s? - See answer on back page a family were up north ‐ places like Bollington and Macclesfield in Cheshire.” Property Detective research is available as individual reports or via subscription. Users simply enter the property postcode and have a wealth of data delivered which can be downloaded as a PDF. Barry added: “It is amazing how many people think they know something about an area only to see their understanding be proven incorrect once they dig a little further. If you are thinking about viewing a property download our report and see if it tallies with your understanding. “It’s a really cheap and easy way to get a second opinion of an area.” To find out more about Property Detective email [email protected] or phone [phone]. Property Detective’s Family Friendliness Index looks at every property across England and you can view it by visiting www. propertydetective.com/family. October 2015 | Landl