£7,700 boost to Burgess Hill First time buyers.

There’s a whole legion of wannabe Burgess Hill first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder and they now have a 3% price advantage over the previously quicker responding army of Burgess Hill landlords with cash at the ready. Since the start of April, buy to let landlords have had to pay an additional 3% stamp duty so whilst demand from some Burgess Hill buy to let landlords has dropped away, in the interim, it offers Burgess Hill first time buyers (FTB’s) a chance to fill the vacuum with less competition from cash rich landlords (over two thirds of BTL properties were purchased without a mortgage in the last 7 years) who could bid more and complete quicker.

Looking at the average value of a terraced house in Burgess Hill currently standing at £257,400, that means if our Burgess Hill FTB went up against a Burgess Hill landlord, the landlord would have to pay an additional £7,722 in stamp duty. Early anecdotal evidence from fellow property professionals in the town is suggesting landlords are reducing their offers slightly on Burgess Hill properties to reflect the extra stamp duty.  

Whilst on the face of it, it appears landlords are being punished by No.11 Downing Street, I actually believe this increase in stamp duty for landlords is a good thing for the Burgess Hill property market as a whole.

Since 2011/12, the Burgess Hill property market has performed very well indeed. Over the last 12 months, £158,227,788 has been spent buying 516 Burgess Hill properties.  Figures from the Land Registry have just been released and month on month in our council area, property values are 1% higher, yet 9.3% higher year on year. These figures are nowhere near the heady days of 2003 (February to be exact), when Burgess Hill property prices rose by 23.6% in 12 months.

So as property values in Burgess Hill (and the UK as whole) start to stablise and come back to some kind of balance, I am beginning to see savvy landlords view the Burgess Hill property market in a different light. Even with the spring rush, gone are the days where you could make limitless money on anything that had a door, a few windows and roof.

This stamp duty change has made more and more landlords, after reading the Mid Sussex Property Market Blog http://midsussexproperty.blogspot.co.uk take advice on what or not to buy and what to pay; meaning Burgess Hill landlords are being more calculated with their Burgess Hill BTL purchases. I am also seeing a variance between relatively brisk current price momentum and softer expectations in terms of property value growth in Burgess Hill, this in part reflects amplified uncertainty about the short term economic outlook (eg. Brexit, Issues in the Middle East etc.).

Now I know a lot of landlords brought forward their BTL purchases to beat the stamp duty deadline. However, it is probable that hunger from Burgess Hill investors will return for the right Burgess Hill property later in the year, especially if it’s at the right price and offers a decent yield. However, in the meantime, Burgess Hill FTB’s could and should, in the short term, make hay whilst the sun shines plug the gap and grab a bargain!