Property Development Researching An Area

Date Published:

04/06/2008

Before setting out to find the right house for your property investment you need to isolate the right area. Get this wrong and your investment could backfire badly.

Introduction

Sadly there is no one definitive way to get to know an area. You will need to employ a few different modes of research to really get a good feel for the character of a location. But as important as it is to get to grips the area's past and present, you must also consider what might happen there in the future.

Personal Knowledge

Very many of us fall in love with people we have at least previously known for a little while in a social setting. It is generally a safer way of getting to know someone without necessarily throwing yourself into the arms and the good grace of a complete stranger.

Similarly it is often better for a developer to begin looking at an area that they at least have a passing knowledge of. Any personal knowledge on how an area has changed over the years, any problems it has experienced, its accessibility in terms of public transport, and a sense of how the area is generally perceived will all come in useful.

Paper Knowledge

The price of property is greatly affected by the strength of the local infrastructure i.e. public transport, schools, medical and shopping amenities, green space etc. While you may have a good idea about the current strengths and weaknesses of the area it is wise to try and find out from local councils etc whether any significant improvements in the services offered are in the pipeline.

In London just the rumour in a local newspaper of an extension to a tube line can cause flutters in the market. But while the local press can be invaluable in picking up these nuggets of information, too often they will report conjecture rather than solid planning progress, so learn to read between the lines or go direct to the source. In this case it would be either the transport company involved or the planning department of the local council. Also if you wait for the information to reach the media, you will be riding on a wave of sudden speculative interest in an area instead of being well ahead of it.

New building in an area can significantly raise local prices. If you see largely derelict land or buildings fenced off with mysterious 'sold' signs, then enquire of the selling agent who the land was sold to. If a new homes developer is planning a development of luxury apartments or houses this can positively impact on an area quite quickly. The flip side of this is a new development of social housing or property aimed at the elderly. While it is essential that the most needy within society are housed in safety and comfort, criminally unimaginative design in the past and indeed today has often made such housing projects easily identified and therefore stigmatised, thereby impacting negatively on local markets. It is ironic that the charitable housing of yesteryear, those wonderful architecturally interesting terraces of gorgeous alms houses we see clumped abut town, are now some of the most sought after properties.

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