With 3,118 people in Private Rented Properties in Burgess Hill - Should you still be investing in Burgess Hill Buy to Let?

If I were a buy to let landlord in Mid Sussex today, I might feel a little bruised by the assault made on my wallet after being (and continuing to be) ransacked over the last 12 months by HM Treasury’s tax changes on buy to let. To add insult to injury, Brexit has caused a tempering of the Mid Sussex property market with property prices not increasing by the levels we have seen in the last few years. I think we might even see a very slight drop in property prices this year and, if Mid Sussex property prices do drop, the downside to that is that first time buyers could be attracted back into the Mid Sussex property market; meaning less demand for renting (meaning rents will go down). Yet, before we all run for the hills, all these things could be serendipitous to every Mid Sussex landlord, almost a blessing in disguise.

Let’s look at Burgess Hill as an example. Burgess Hill has a population of 30,276, so when I looked at the number of people who lived in private rented accommodation, the numbers astounded me.

Yields will rise if Mid Sussex property prices fall, which will also make it easier to obtain a buy to let mortgage, as the income would cover more of the interest cost. If property values were to level off or come down that could help Mid Sussex landlords add to their portfolio. Rental demand in Mid Sussex is expected to stay solid and may even see an improvement if uncertainty is protracted. However, there is something even more important that Mid Sussex landlords should be aware of: the change in the anthropological nature of these 20 something potential first time buyers.

I got chatting to a couple in their mid/late twenties the other day at an exhibition I was attending. Both have decent jobs in Burgess Hill and they rent. Yet, here was the bombshell, they were planning to rent for the foreseeable future with no plans to even save for a deposit, let alone buy a property. I enquired why they weren’t planning to buy? The answers surprised me as a 40 something, and it will you. Firstly, they don’t want to put cash into property, they would rather spend it on living and socialising by going on nice holidays and buying the latest tech and gadgets. They want the flexibility to live where they choose and finally, they don’t like the idea of paying for repairs. All their friends feel the same. I was quite taken aback that buying a house is just not top of the list for these youngsters.

So, as 10.3% of Burgess Hill people are in rented accommodation and as that figure is set to grow over the next decade, now might just be a good time to buy property in Burgess Hill – because what else are you going to invest in?  The stock market?  At least with property – it’s something you can touch - there is nothing like bricks and mortar!