When you’re looking for a property investment, location is the most important thing. If you didn’t already know that, then real estate probably isn’t the right investment for you. It doesn’t matter how amazing the property itself is, if it’s in the middle of nowhere with no amenities nearby or it’s in a dangerous area with a very high crime rate, you’ll struggle to rent it out to tenants or sell it on. That’s why it’s always best to find a popular location that has good schools, lots of job opportunities, and plenty of amenities nearby. However, property prices in the most desirable areas are going to be incredibly expensive and you might not be able to afford the down payment on a house at that price, so you need to find a cheaper property that is still in a good location.
That might sound impossible, but you can do it if you look at up and coming areas where property prices are still affordable at the minute. If you get in at the right time, you can get a reasonably priced property that will increase in value over the coming years as the area becomes more popular. This is always a bit of a gamble and if you get it wrong, you could end up stuck with a house that nobody wants to rent or buy, but if you get it right, you stand to make a lot of money. You can never be entirely sure if a location is going to become popular in the future, but if you look for these things, you increase your chances of making the right decision.
Employment Opportunities
If there aren’t any job opportunities in an area, people are going to start moving away and it will decline. But if there is a lot of new developments that create new jobs, you’ll find that more people start to move nearby and the location becomes a lot more popular. That’s why it’s always a good idea to look out for any major projects like factories or business parks that are being built because it’s likely that they will attract a lot of people to the area. In inner city locations, you should look out for coworking spaces as they’re becoming more popular amongst businesses and they’re a great real estate opportunity. If you can find a property and purchase it before the new development is finished, you’ll easily be able to find tenants that are moving to the area for work.
Increased Tourism
Tourism is one of the best ways to bring money to a place that is struggling and start to regenerate it. As more people come to visit and spend money there, the local population benefit and start to rebuild the area, making it more desirable for tourists and residents alike. If you can identify somewhere that is set to be a tourist hotspot in the next few years, you can start finding properties that are likely to skyrocket in value. You could buy a residential property that you can let to tenants once the area begins to benefit from an increase in tourism. However, you could also look into buying a holiday property to rent out on a short term basis. There are some development companies like HH Properties and Peter Hall that are putting a lot of money into building these kinds of holiday lets in up and coming areas, so keep an eye out for their developments. Holiday lets are a good option for some investors but it is a bit more hands on because you have a short turnover with tenants compared with a residential property. You also have to manage your finances during the off-season when you don’t have very many tenants and some investors struggle with that.
Student Areas
A high student population is something that you should look out for as well. Areas that have a lot of students nearby tend to thrive as there are a lot of people spending money there. The increase in population also means that real estate is at a premium because all of those students need housing. It may also mean that locals living nearby want to move outside of a student area, so buying family properties nearby is also a good strategy. One of the major benefits of renting to students is that you can let properties by the room so you’ll earn more in rent from a single property. You also have a steady stream of tenants each year so it isn’t difficult to let the property either.
If you look out for these 3 things, you can identify an up and coming area and get a property at a reasonable price before house prices in the area start to shoot up.
