Property Options’ Bristol Buy To Let Market Update

Here is the latest edition of the Property Options’ monthly update on the Bristol Buy To Let (BTL) market.

This update is by economist Chris Worthington, who is a regular speaker at our PIMs, including this month.

Bristol Market – Demand

Bristol’s reputation as a great place to live, work and visit continues to grow!

In January an article in the Bristol Post reported that on the Rightmove search engine, Bristol was the most searched for place outside of London, for both renters and buyers of property. York and Birmingham were in 2nd and 3rd place for buyer searches. For renter searches Birmingham was in 2nd place and Leeds was placed 3rd.

A recent article in the Times told a similar story in terms of the number of people actually relocating to Bristol.

The Office National Statistics recorded the number of people moving from London to other local authority areas from mid 2015 to mid 2016. Not surprisingly a large number of people, around 4000, moved to each of the local authorities just outside London, including Thurrock, Epping Forest, Medway and Dartford.

However about the same number of people moved from London to Bristol – suggesting that Bristol’s appeal in terms of lifestyle and job opportunities encourages people to move here, despite being further away from the capital.

Bristol is also performing well in attracting tourists and visitors. A report published by the New York Times included Bristol in the top 52 places to go in 2018. It described Bristol as “edgy, creative and a cultural powerhouse” – good news for investors in airbnb.

Sustainable Housing Trends

In recent articles we have given regular updates on new housing developments in Bristol and this month we decided to report on the growing trend for building more sustainable and eco- friendly housing.

London based Hadley Property Group have acquired a 1.18 acre site on the Bath Road and have submitted a planning application for 159 apartments with ground floor commercial space. The company specialise in sustainable housing and the development will regenerate a vacant site on the edge of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. It will be built using cross laminated timber, a construction material that is carbon neutral and completely sustainable in terms of supply.

Independent house builder Autograph Homes are also involved with sustainable housing development in Bristol. A 5 unit family housing scheme in Hambrook, North Bristol, has been completed and a 36 unit apartment project is under construction at Cheltenham Road. This company uses local labour and local materials and incorporates sustainable energy solutions within its homes.

Buy to let investors should be aware that many of their tenants will have an interest in sustainable development and the environment and quite rightly will expect their home to be eco-friendly and energy efficient.

Our Next Property Meeting

We will all be discussing the latest position on the property market in Bristol and across the UK at our next PIM on Thursday 22 February 2018 at Future Inn, Bristol, BS1 3EN.

We hope you will join us then.

For more info and to reserve your place Click Below