Landlords in York
York is a serendipitous place to call home, with its elegant city walls outstretching to capture the winding medieval streets, crumbling castles, and collection of independent shops that lend a unique beauty to the historic city. This draws in the type of nest-makers that seek a calm beauty in their abode, yet still crave charming delicatessens, butchers and traditional public houses during city rambles.
These assets of York have contributed to its mothering region – Yorkshire – demonstrating the biggest increase in property prices outside the South of England in 2015, with the average cost of a home in the region being £174,000. In York specifically, prices are even greater, with the overall average price at £339,000 according to Rightmove. Terraced properties are the biggest sellers in the region, on average selling for £226,000, semi-detached at £226,000, and detached at £339,000. This makes house prices in York up 8% on the previous year, and 14% up on 2013 – rendering the town a burgeoning hotspot celebrating significant capital growth. In turn, this sees landlords benefiting from fantastic rental yield year-on-year.
New residents to the beautiful historic town also benefit from its fast train links to London, taking just a fraction over 2 hours to reach Kings Cross. In addition to this, the stellar redbrick university sees the city bursting with students during term-time; many arriving with a pretty penny to spend on the most gorgeous accommodation during their stay. This can span vast apartments in modern purpose builds, to shared accommodation in period property oozing charm and character that matches the picturesque quality of the surrounding area. Young professionals and small families in particular also make for likely tenants, who are often drawn to the easy access of York racecourse, the theatres, and private schools including The Mount, Bootham and St Peters.
It is therefore essential for landlords to tailor the interior of their property for rent in York to the tastes of these demographics – especially when considering the competitive nature of the letting market in this location. Ample property let in York offers excellent value for money through high specification finishes and significant space offered throughout. This sees a number of landlords converting 3 bed properties into 2 bed, allowing them to create an extra shared living area which can attract more high-spending tenants as opposed to 3 low-spending. Location is also worth considering when deciding which demographic to target – a short commute to university campuses calls for the creation of a fresh, youthful living space attractive to students, while situation in the catchment area of a top-performing school generally sees landlords targeting middle class families.
Given the sensitive nature of the property market in York and surrounding areas, it is always worth speaking to a representative of our leading, independently owned branch to discuss a property’s letting potential. New landlords coming on board with Hunters will see the team get to work securing the most competitive rates from only the most well-presented tenants through the deployment of a cutting edge marketing strategy.