Why invest in the Exeter property market?
Exeter is a vibrant city and has drastically changed over the last 10 years with investment continuously being ploughed into the city, there is a lot of future growth within our Cathedral City of Exeter as it starts to rise up and progress from where the city has been previously.
The University of Exeter continues to grow and is now on the world stage being placed within the top 150 prestigious QS World University Rankings 2022. Student numbers have grown 24% since 2016.
Our fantastic Exeter Chiefs winning the Premiership and the European Cup in 2020 will also help this city grow considerably together with our excellent playing Exeter Football Club ‘Grecians’ who have been playing here since 1901.
Central Developments within the City with the new bus station, leisure centre, major employers and the above will all help bring more people to our city from around the country and internationally to live here. Accommodation will be required for all these people and homes built, Exeter’s future looks very promising and these are just a few reasons of why to invest in this great city.
Student Accommodation
Student accommodation is one of the most popular and highest yielding asset classes in the UK. The Victorian terraced houses of Exeter within close proximity to the ever growing University tend to be well suited to Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s) and student living.
Shared Accommodation
There is a large market in Exeter to let rooms to working individuals in HMO’s, particularly those seeking work in and around the city centre and the business parks to the outskirts.
Refurbishment Projects
As with all cities, Exeter has its fair share of properties in need of refurbishment. Undertaking such a task will present lower purchase costs and increase equity margins.
Land & Developments
There are plenty of opportunities to develop commercial buildings and turn them into accommodation, this is one of our specialist sectors that we operate within Exeter and in a variety of different locations throughout the UK, where we work with a range of land bank and development experts.
Residential Lets
Many single professional, couples and families are finding it difficult to purchase their own property and are turning to renting.
What is Article 4
Article 4 Directions are the legal means by which a local authority can require property owners to seek permission to convert a single dwelling house into a small HMO (3-6 individuals). This therefore means that within the Article 4 area, it is very difficult to convert a C3 dwelling house to a C4 small HMO.
Article 4 in Exeter
In Exeter, the Article 4 district is generally between the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus and the city centre, therefore the popular locations for student accommodation, however, it is important to note there are some exempt streets within Article 4. A map of the Article 4 Direction can be found in the link below.
https://exeter.gov.uk/media/1743/article_4_map_a4_colour_dec_2013.pdfImpact of Article 4
Imposing a limit on the number of small HMOs available in this area does nothing to decrease the demand that exists for them and when you have a difference between supply and demand, prices naturally go up in both rental and property values.