I regularly read reports on what’s happening in the property market ‘on average’. The media love to tell us about prices going up or down, or how extortionate rents are and how much they are ‘sky rocketing’. However, I also know that these reports rarely reflect what’s really going on in our local, Leamington Spa property market.
This is because the last thing our area is, is ‘average’. Most of the figures we hear about in the main media are either based on what’s happening in the UK, which includes information about London, our capital city or areas such as Northern Ireland or Wales – all miles away from where we live and work.
For example, one of the first things to be aware of with Leamington Spa is that our average wage is quite a bit higher than the national. Currently the average household earns £41,271 in Warwick and Leamington while nationally it’s less at £35,608. From an unemployment rate perspective the area does really well too, with just 3% of people out of work, versus the UK and England which is higher at 4.4%.
This means we are living in an area where for some, affording a home to buy or rent isn’t that difficult, whereas for others, either not earning or only on a low wage, they are likely to be keen to find somewhere affordable to live.
As far as what drives our local economy, historically it’s been retailing, leisure and bordering onto areas like Coventry and Warwick, we have the prodigious Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin companies, coupled with TATA and the National Grid, all situated in close proximity to our town and transport links.
With strong academic links, although making some nervous of the growth in student numbers, these UK & overseas students who often live in our town have brought an additional economic impact on Leamington Spa alone in 2016 of £84m. https://warwick.ac.uk/about/visiting/region/leamington/
On top of this, we are earning a reputation as a ‘silicon town’, aptly named ‘Silicon Spa’ which in a recent report by the Guardian suggests there are over 40 video gaming companies in the area. These types of industries typically attract people that rent rather than buy, meaning we have plenty of demand, but are short of properties to let – good news for landlords, but only as long as you know what these tenants want and where they want to live.
In addition, thanks to the Chiltern Line reducing rail commute times, people can even commute to London in a very ‘doable’ journey in just over an hour. Add to this the likelihood of being linked to London and the rest of the UK via HS2 in the future, although controversial at a local level, these transport changes and our economic diversity makes Leamington Spa an extremely interesting and diverse place for property investors to operate and homeowners to live in.
If you are investing or buying to let in Leamington Spa or are considering selling or letting your existing home, them do come and talk to me. I know the area incredibly well and the unique niche property markets, so can help source investments for you or ensure we maximise your property returns from your own home, be it via selling or letting.
