London for less: Property investors flock to Harrow to pick up buy-to-let bargains
- Asking prices in Harrow up 15% (Home.co.uk)
- Private rented sector to account for 24% of households by 2019 (Savills)
- Harrow property investment from £210k (Property Frontiers)
Nestled to the north west of London is the large, family-oriented area of Harrow. Comprising South Harrow, West Harrow, North Harrow and Harrow on the Hill, this green, spacious urban village is packed full of family homes and leading schools.
A shifting landscape
Harrow is also home to a growing body of young professionals, who are demanding a new kind of accommodation in the area. Ray Withers, Chief Executive of specialist property investment company Property Frontiers, which has just launched an exclusive new development in Harrow, Carnegie House, explains,
“Harrow’s young professionals are changing the face of accommodation in the area. Many are choosing to rent rather than buy, in order to have a more flexible lifestyle and avoid the commitments and expense that home ownership entails. They want to rent high spec apartments in convenient locations and being only 16 minutes from London Marylebone, Harrow is just that.”
Prices that pack a punch
Harrow is attractive to property investors as well as to families and young professionals. Asking prices there have risen by 15% in the year to November 2014, according to Home.co.uk, while the average rent stands at £1,374 pcm. With strong demand for rented accommodation (Savills’ most recent report has identified the private rented sector as likely to account for 24% of households by 2019), investors are looking to Harrow as a means of generating solid yields while growing their capital.
In addition to its convenience for commuters heading into London, Harrow’s huge regeneration scheme is attracting property investors who want to be involved in an up and coming urban village. With 135,000 square feet of new shops, a school, a health centre and £10 million worth of infrastructure improvements, the scheme is set to add substantially to Harrow’s already impressive offering.
London for less
“Harrow offers the dynamism of investment in a London property market, alongside the solid prospects that one might expect from a housing market elsewhere,” Property Frontiers’ Ray Withers continues. “It offers plentiful green spaces as well, thanks to the conservation area and verdant parkland. First-class shopping and dining facilities are also in place, making Harrow an ideal location for those looking for an apartment that is both convenient for work and well located for leisure activities.”
Compared with a number of areas of London, Harrow offers property investors a way to become involved in the London market for less than they might expect. Property Frontiers’ new development of apartments, for example, has a starting price of just £210,000, with anticipated yields in excess of 5%.
For further details, contact Property Frontiers or call the team on +44 1865 202 700.