It might surprise you that it isn’t always the poshest villages around Southampton or the swankiest Southampton streets where properties sell and let the quickest. Quite often, it’s the ones that have the best transport links. I mean, there is a reason why one of the most popular property programmes on television is called Location, Location, Location!
As an agent in Southampton, I am frequently confronted with
queries about the Southampton property market, and most days I am
asked, “What is the best part of Southampton and its villages to live in
these days?”, chiefly from new-comers. Now the answer is different for each person
– a lot depends on the demographics of their family, their age, schooling
requirements and interests etc. Nonetheless, one of the principal necessities
for most tenants and buyers is ease of access to transport links,
including public transport – of which the railways are very important.
Official
figures recently released state that, in total, 8,736 people jump on a train
each and every day from Southampton Central Train station. Of those, 2,690 are
season ticket holders. That’s a lot of money being spent when a season ticket,
standard class, to London is £5,424 a year.
So, if up to
£14.59m is being spent on rail season tickets each year from Southampton
Central, those commuters must have some impressive jobs and incomes to allow
them to afford that season ticket in the first place. That means demand for
middle to upper market properties remains strong in Southampton
and the surrounding area and so, in turn, these are the type of people whom are
happy to invest in the Southampton buy to let market – providing homes for the
tenants of Southampton…
The bottom line is that property values in Southampton would be much
lower, by at least 3% to 4%, if it wasn’t for the proximity of the railway
station and the people it serves in the city
And this isn’t a flash in the pan. Rail is becoming
increasingly important as the costs associated with car travel
continue to rise and roads are becoming more and more congested. This has
resulted in a huge surge in rail travel.
Overall usage
of the Central station at Southampton has increased over the last 20 years. In
1997, a total of 3,216,569 people went through the barriers or connected with
another train at the station in that 12-month period. However, in 2016, that
figure had risen to 6,359,692 people using the station (that’s 17,472 people a
day).
The juxtaposition of the property and the train station has
an important effect on the value and saleability of a Southampton property. It
is also significant for tenants - so if you are a Southampton buy to let investor
looking for a property - the distance to and from the railway station
can be extremely significant.
One of the first things house buyers and tenants do
when surfing the web for somewhere to live is find out the proximity of a
property to the train station. That is why Rightmove displays the distance
to the railway station alongside each and every property on their website.
If you are an existing landlord or someone thinking of become a first-time landlord looking for advice and opinion and what (or what not to buy in Southampton), one source of information is the Southampton Property Blog
If you are looking for an agent that is well established, professional andcommunicative, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.
Email me on brian.linehan@belvoirlettings.com or call on 023 8001 8222.
Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Southampton Property News.
Twitter, https://twitter.com/sotonbelvoir
LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianlinehan
LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianlinehan
Website, https://www.belvoir.co.uk/letting-agents-southampton
Your way to enlighten everything on this blog is actually pleasant, everyone manage to efficiently be familiar with it, Thanks a great deal.
ReplyDeletehttp://pier27condo.ca
I love all details that you give in your articles.
ReplyDeletehttp://sarahimmobilier.fr/