Where To Buy in Stoke on Trent

1. They desperately need 3 and 4 bed houses
2. Good decent accommodation
3. Close to a good school/transport links/amenities
4. A trustworthy landlord or agent

Some local facts:

1. A standard 2-bed terrace fetches on average £575 – 595 pcm rent (as of February 2023). You can buy one for £70-90,000. Typical gross rental yields 6-10% for unfurnished houses. 10-12% for houses in multiple occupancies or student lets which are furnished with bills included. However, the market is now inundated with furnished room lets. Our opinion is that the apparent high yields are not so high when void periods are factored in for houses in multiple occupation. Rooms are now sitting empty for a few weeks when 5 years ago there were virtually no void periods.
2. Capital growth was slow for 10 years but has accelerated during Covid-19. House prices doubled from 2000 – 2004 but when the recession hit in early 2008, capital growth slowed down. From October 2016 to July 2017, prices rose by 0.35% only according to the Land Registry data. The heady days of buying, re-mortgaging in 2 years to release equity to buy another house was over. Then Covid-19 hit and there was a shortage of houses on the market, when matched with high demand has brought house price growth of about 12 – 20% in 2020/2021 depending on the type of property. Terrace houses went up 12% in 12 months in 2020/21. Rental prices also went up, up to 22% for 3 bed houses in the 12 months of 2020/2021. Terrace houses that were £390pcm just 4 years ago would be marketed as of February 2023 at £595pcm, provided the houses are upkept to a good standard. That is a tremendous price growth which makes Stoke on Trent even more appealing to investors. The prognosis is for good steady growth for the next 5 years. Please see the graphs below showing the Stoke on Trent area prices and growth for Jan 2022 – Jan 2023.
3. Good rental income can be lost to high repair and maintenance costs that plague the aging housing stock. A high proportion of the housing stock are Victorian terraces built for the potbank workers in the late 1890s. These houses are almost 130 years old. So beware of rising damp, leaking roofs, single glazing, no central heating etc. Beware also of the government’s plans to introduce a minimum energy rating of C for rental houses. Most Victorian terraces are rated D or E, so these would need to be upgraded, such as putting in thermostatic controls on radiators, LED lighting and solar panels to bring them to a category C. Belvoir Stoke is working with solar panel installers to help landlords manage this new government regulation, to safeguard their investment for the future.

If and when you come to visit Stoke-on-Trent, do come to visit us, so we can discuss further. We have pay and display parking outside our office and tea and biscuits inside! Our office is just up from the Potteries Museum, on 8 Albion Street, postcode for satnav ST1 1QH.