924% Rise in Staines' Property Prices since 1981

Roll out the Lino statue, Staines High Street - Photograph by Jim Linwood

Roll the clock back 35 years to 1981:   Mrs. T was in power, we had a Royal Wedding, Britain won the Ashes and Bucks Fizz won Eurovision with ‘Making your Mind up’.   Haven’t things changed? As homeowners and property investors, don’t we all wish, with hindsight, we had bought up every house in Staines all those years ago?   Especially when you consider what has happened to Staines property values:

since 1981 Staines Property Values have risen by 942%

Not bad when you consider that inflation over the same period has been 271.9%, meaning in real terms (i.e. after inflation), property values in Staines are 670.1% higher.  Little wonder then, that today many people can’t afford to buy property and investors continue to be attracted by bricks and mortar and the prospect of becoming landlords. Yet the changes to the Staines Property market run much deeper than simply an increase in property values.

Looking at the Local Authority data for Spelthorne Borough Council in 1981, 20.2% of Staines people lived in a council house, whilst today its 12.4% ... a massive drop which can mostly be attributed to Margaret Thatcher allowing Council tenants the right to buy their Council House. The private rental sector since 1981 has also changed significantly.

Nationally it has almost doubled and whilst the proportion of properties privately rented in the Staines area (i.e. through a private landlord or a letting agency) may not have doubled, there has been a significant increase: from 9.6% to 12.7% of property.

And of those owning their own home – have those numbers changed too? In 1981, the proportion of people who lived in the Spelthorne Borough Council area who owned their own home was 70.1% … and today it’ s … 72.6%.

Homeownership in the 1980s and 1990s in Staines did rise, as I have discussed in previous articles in the ‘Staines Property Market Blog’, that was because nearly every council tenant was buying their council house. The net result is the younger generation of today has no choice but to rent privately as there are virtually no council houses available. And this is why the buy to let market in Staines is an investment sector that will continue to grow as councils aren’t building council houses in their thousands each year (as they were in the 1950s, 60s and 70s). Like Bucks Fizz said in their song, it’s time to make your mind up. The advice I give to my landlords, and also to you my blog reading friends is this; these changes will make some landlords panic, meaning competition for decent Staines buy to let bargains will reduce as fear of change kicks in and amateur investors flee the market. These opportunities will provide a more stable platform for knowledgeable and wise Staines buy to let landlords to thrive in. If you want to have a chat about the Staines Property Market, feel free to pop into our office for a chat, we are always happy to offer a cup of coffee.