Location of Buy to Let Properties Is Crucial – Savills

UK landlords, who have residential buy to let properties located near schools, are better off than others, research by Savills showed. According to the research, landlords, whose rental properties are located in close proximity to schools, enjoy greater demand from tenants and higher property values. Savills experts are determined that access to school is a very important factor that parents with school-age children take into consideration when choosing a rental property. Moreover, the price of houses located near 25 top-performing British schools are priced 16% higher than others; the figure is 3% up from 13% in 2007, which might be explained by increased demand for rental properties these days as many potential home buyers postponed the purchase of their own house due to financial circumstances. At the same time, houses located near poor-performing schools are worth ~10% less than country’s average. Houses located in areas, where there are several schools, both state and independent, are generally priced 2 or even 3 times higher than country’s average. Savills research showed that an interesting trend exists: houses located near 25 top-performing schools experienced a slight fall in value with the beginning of the economic downturn, while house located near poor-performing schools saw a 19% price decline. Experts at Savills, thus, concluded that location of a house can provide certain protection against recession. Mr. Lucian Cook, Savills Research director, said that although the differences seem minor, they are extremely significant. He admitted that the conclusion of the research should be taken critically as Savills experts found it hard to determine a direct cause and effect, yet, they made it clear that a certain relation between house location and its price exists. Moreover, Savills research helped compile a list of locations that provide access to at least 5 schools, with at least 1 of them being top-performing. The locations include Leatherhead, Winchester, Tunbridge Wells and Harrogate.