Letting agents in Nottingham, Slater & Brandley, have created a series of Investor Spotlight articles specifically aimed to provide professional landlords with ‘off-market’ information on rental yields, capital growth, tenant demographics and property investment best practice. These articles are based on 20+ years of first hand Nottingham based property experience.

The Meadows is on the up!

The Meadows – or “South Bridgford” as some have recently coined it (!) remains an area of the City with a long and very interesting history. Located south of the City Centre, it’s name originated from a sudden change in direction of the river Trent in the early 1900s – the result being a flat watery meadow which historians subsequently deemed to be the south boundary of the City. Times have since changed and the area now occupies around 9000 people in a mixture of pre 1919 terraced housing, 1970’s built ‘Radburn’ style property and, more recently, a number of new build eco-homes and apartments located on the fringes of the river banks – a sure sign that things are on the up!

The Victoria Embankment with its stunning promenade, outdoor swimming pool, multitude of sports fields and the annual ‘Riverside Festival’ remains a popular location within walking distance of the Meadows and as such is visited regularly by people from all over Nottingham. The area also benefits from two tram routes and a number of bus services providing quick and easy access to the Nottingham City Centre. As a result, many letting agents in Nottingham have been reporting increased numbers of enquiries from landlords looking at The Meadows.

But how do things look for property investors?

A Historic photo of the Victoria Embankment, now also home to Nottingham’s famous Riverside Festival.

Not surprisingly, most of the sales in the Meadows over the past year were terraced properties which on average sold for £129,547. Semi-detached properties had an average sold price of £133,656 and flats averaged at £117,611.

An overall average sale price of £132,401 was cheaper than The Park (£345,968), Wilford (£201,695) and Lenton (£155,074) but it’s important to bear in mind that these areas have a much higher percentage of detached properties and therefore will sell for higher figures.
In the past year house prices in the Meadows were a staggering 14% up on the year before and 21% up on 2010 when they averaged at only £109,057 – these are some of the best growth increases in the whole of Nottingham in recent times. (Source: Rightmove)
So what does this mean for investors?

An overall average rental figure of £748pcm for NG2 (according to home.co.uk) would provide an average gross yield of 6.7% but it’s important to be aware that higher value properties in the likes of West Bridgford will have skewed those figures somewhat. As letting agents in Nottingham our experience in the Meadows leads us to knock around £100 – £150 pcm off that figure as an average which would provide average gross yields of 5.3% – 5.8%. Still good when you also factor in the general house price growth.

Computer generated imagery of a sustainable housing development recently built on Green Street in the Meadows (Source:BBC.co.uk)

Originally known to some for having problems with anti-social behavior, a neighbourhood transformation plan was commissioned in 2009 to pave the way for a better, safer living environment. This, alongside with the ever increasing costs of living in neighbouring areas such as West Bridgford has provided the catalyst for a new wave of homebuyers and investors to enter the area pushing up house prices in the process.

It would appear that the jury’s out for many people thinking of investing in the Meadows, but one thing’s for sure and that’s the figures. Provided you’re careful with exactly where you buy and who you let to, we’d say there’s a good opportunity to benefit from an increasing property market and a good return on your capital.

Are you thinking of investing in Nottingham? Do you want some advice on a potential purchase? Do your current letting agents in Nottingham really understand your investment goals?

If you think you could be missing a trick, give us a call on 0115 981 9651 to see if we can help.

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