Should you keep your money in the bank or invest in property? It’s one of the oldest dilemmas for anyone with a chunk of cash hanging around. But with interest rates tipped to remain at 0.5% until 2012 and ISAs returning just 4%, there isn’t a lot of great news around for savers. But it’s a different story for property investors in Manchester.
In February we bucked the trend by predicting interest rates wouldn’t rise in the summer and in April we reported on how George Osborne had written a buy-to-let budget. Now we reveal the Manchester property investors who are getting 8% return on their investment – twice the return of the best-performing ISA. Is it finally time to ditch the piggy bank?
Neil Ryder,
Manager,
Philip James Students
“Last month we reported how the buy-to-let market has returned to Manchester, but our latest rental report from our Withington branch is even better news. 3-bedroom terraced houses in Heaton Chapel are particularly popular at the moment and we’re achieving healthy prices of up to £700pcm. With an average purchase price of £144,000 our landlords are seeing a superb 6% return on their rental investment. And on top of that we’re expecting a modest 2% capital growth by the summer of 2012, resulting in a Real Rate of Return of 8%.”
Property: 3-bed Terrace
Location: Heaton Chapel
Purchase price: £144,000
Rent: £700pcm
Rental Return: 6%
Capital Growth 2012: 2%
REAL RATE OF RETURN: 8%
Rob Cuffe
Director,
Philip James Manchester
“The Manchester city centre property sales market is quieter than our sister branches in South Manchester, but this is balanced out by the fastest-rising rental prices in a generation. For landlords who already own property in the city centre it’s a great time to own property, and for our clients who are about to dip their toe in the buy-to-let water for the first time, we’ve got some great deals. This 1-bed apartment in Leftbank comes with parking and a balcony and rents out for £775pcm. That’s a rental return of 5% with expected capital growth of 1% – equalling a 6% Real Rate of Return.”
Property: 1-bed Apartment
Location: Leftbank, Spinningfields
Purchase price: £170,000
Rent: £775pcm
Rental Return: 5%
Capital Growth 2012: 1%
REAL RATE OF RETURN: 6%
Mike Wilson,
Director,
Philip James Wilson
“As house prices rise in Didsbury, the neighbouring areas of Heaton Moor and Heaton Mersey are becoming more and more popular for private owners and buy-to-let investors. The 4% Rental Return isn’t as sparkling as Withington or the City Centre, but if you’re looking for capital growth to go hand-in-hand with your investment, then Heaton Mersey is a great option. In this subdued market we’re still expecting a 3% capital growth in the next 12-months, increasing the value of this Heaton Mersey house by £6,300 and producing a Real Rate of return of 7%.”
Property: 3-bed House
Location: Greenbank Avenue, Heaton Mersey
Purchase price: £210,000
Rent: £700pcm
Rental Return: 4%
Capital Growth 2012: 3%
REAL RATE OF RETURN: 7%
The Guardian newspaper calls it Generation Rent – and we can see why. While the best-performing cash ISAstruggles to return 4% on your investment, rental returns in Manchester are regularly hitting 5-6% and when you factor in a modest 1-3% rise in property values for 2012, our landlords are witnessing Real Rate of Returns of up to 8% – double the return they’ll achieve from an ISA. If you’d like to discuss some of our best-performing investment properties, contact Rob Cuffe today (0161) 828 8200 rob.cuffe@philipjames.co.uk