Member Article

Invest in Sheffield’s historic industrial birthplace says expert

HISTORIC Kelham Island has been hailed as Sheffield’s most popular property hotspot.

Harriet Cooke, of city estate agency Martin & Co, says the city is fast becoming a property investor’s dream - and she cites one of the most important growth areas as the celebrated birthplace of Sheffield’s industrial heritage.

Dating back to Sheffield’s medieval dawn, Kelham Island developed into a thriving industrial area from the late 18th century onwards, its factories producing steel and cutlery for a world market until the area began to suffer economic decline in the 1980s.

Today the area has been completely reborn as an increasingly desirable location for apartments - both new builds and industrial building conversions - bars, restaurants and other small businesses.

“Sheffield is fast becoming an investors dream, home to two of the UK’s largest universities, with five NHS Teaching Hospitals creating an influx of multinational students and professionals alike,” Harriet explained.

“It is a busy city and in turn is creating a large amount of investment opportunity.

“If we take Kelham Island as an example, there have been a number of new builds in the area and many more are in the pipeline.

“In fact, from November 2015 to October 2016, 23 per cent of the property sold in Kelham Island was new build - sold at an average price of £173,653.

“Compare that with second hand sales in the area at an average price of £117,216 and you’ll see why the apartment business is still very much a growth area for Sheffield.

“If we look over the last year, the value of apartments in the area has increased by up to 11 per cent.”

Harriet added that the best investment for a capital return could be to buy existing houses where new developments are being planned.

Looking at the same period, existing semi-detached and terraced houses have risen by an impressive 35 per cent.

“The canny investor is always keeping an eye on the local planning applications,” she said.

“Overall, the property market in Sheffield for investors is looking very strong and according to property analysis website Hometrack, Sheffield has now recovered the losses from the property crash in 2008 and has seen a five per cent growth in the past 12 months.

“As the London property market inevitably slows, focus will move onto the regions that typically lag behind the London property cycle.

“Bristol for example is already seeing a 15 per cent plus rise in property prices in the last year and cities such as Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham are set to follow.”

Harriet also pointed out that rents in Sheffield remained strong and were currently at 25 per cent of a tenant’s income, with the potential to increase to 33 per cent, which is generally accepted as the upper limit of rental affordability.

“From a landlord’s perspective, this means that tenants can absorb rental increases, which is good news in light of the extra costs and tax burdens recently added by the Government changes in legislation, which - as in Scotland - inevitably leads to increased rents,” she said.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Highfield .