Why should you consider buying to let in Falkirk?

We have mentioned in previous articles about the difference between Falkirk and the surround towns, such as Larbert and Linlithgow, this always gets a response from people asking me lots of questions. This time, I wanted to highlight, why you should be looking at buying a property to let in Falkirk. 

Many people in our part of Forth Valley, over the last few years, have seen the buy to let market become all about nest egg investment. It has been fuelled by pitiful interest rates on building society savings and reflects the fact that building society savings accounts are paying half a per cent interest and pension returns are struggling to match expectations, turning more and more people into landlords to secure their future. 

So what can you expect from your rental property investment? In the short term, rental yields are important, and in Falkirk, the average annual yield is in the order of 5.5% per year. However, that is based on averages, and as most landlords in Falkirk tend to buy starter home homes, apartments and terraced houses, the majority of which are achieving 6% to 8% per year depending on location and price in the town.

In the long term though, the question of capital growth is as important, if not more important (because if you have great short term yields, but the value of the property doesn't keep up with the rest of the market, you will have an asset that in real terms is dropping). Average property values in Falkirk currently stand at £133,816. On the other hand, property investment is a long term game, so I wanted to share with you the research I did for a couple of Falkirk landlords. Property values in Falkirk have risen by 11.1% in the last 5 years. Roll the clock back 20 years to 1995 and property values have increased by 257% since then when.

So, not only can you get a better return on your investment with regards to the annual yield compared to savings accounts at the moment, you also have got the additional capital growth with a property. Falkirk is also still developing, with more properties being built and business opening and expanding. This, along with Falkirk’s close proximity to Edinburgh and Glasgow should make for a stable market, bringing new people to the area. This will also keep the demand for property high, which will maintain and grow the property prices further.

If you would like some advice about buying to let, whether you are a landlord with an existing portfolio or someone thinking of investing in the Falkirk rental market for the first time, call us on 01324 649840, email us on falkirk@thekeyplace.co.uk or visit our office at 6 Vicar Street, Falkirk for further details. The kettle is always on and we are always excited to get stuck into finding new Buy to Let deals in and around Falkirk. Let us take the stress away from you.

Don't forget to visit www.thefalkirkpropertyblog.co.uk to view back dated articles and deals from The Falkirk Property Blog.