£4,200 boost to Melton Mowbray First time buyers

There’s a whole legion of wannabe Melton Mowbray first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder. Now have a 3% price advantage over the previously quicker responding army of Melton Mowbray 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 Melton Mowbray buy to let landlords has dropped away, in the interim, it offers Melton Mowbray 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 Melton Mowbray currently standing at £140,300, that means if our Melton Mowbray FTB went up against a Melton Mowbray landlord, the landlord would have to pay an additional £4,209 in stamp duty. Early anecdotal evidence from fellow property professionals in the town is suggesting landlords are reducing their offers slightly on Melton Mowbray properties to reflect the extra stamp duty.  

Since 2011/12, the Melton Mowbray property market has performed very well indeed. Over the last 12 months, £141,212,940 has been spent buying 660 Melton Mowbray properties.  Figures from the Land Registry have just been released and month on month in our council area, property values are 0.3% higher, yet 3.9% higher year on year. These figures are nowhere near the heady days of 2003 (February to be exact), when Melton Mowbray property prices rose by 30.2% in 12 months.

So as property values in Melton Mowbray (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 Melton Mowbray property market in a different light. This stamp duty change has made more and more landlords, after reading the Melton Mowbray Property Market Blog, take advice on what or not to buy and what to pay, meaning Melton Mowbray landlords are being more calculated with their Melton Mowbray BTL purchases.

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