Investing in Manchester?

[blue sky]

Hello everyone,
I am planning to buy a 2 bed flat in Manchester very soon. I have £400.000 to spend. Do you think it is a logical investment to buy a flat as the amount of apartments in the city centre is increasing greatly. Should I choose to buy a house outside the city? Which one would bring a higher profit?
Thanks to everyone who can advise me on this topic.

[TH4S]

You want to spend £400.000 on a 2 bed flat in Manchester,

blue sky,Only advice i can give, is dont,

[blue sky]

Hi, do you know the Manchester house market? Do you actually sell houses in here? This is the price that you have to pay for a luxury flat. The nearby flats go up to1.7 million.

[TH4S]

blue sky
Hi, do you know the Manchester house market? Do you actually sell houses in here?

Blue sky,
I was born in manchester.and i still have some very good friends there,who know the Manchester house market very well,most of them are estate agents,

Manchester City Centre Average asking prices
Studio Flats £133,254
1 Bed Flats £152,120
2 Bed Flats £231,328
3 Bed Flats £505,861
2 Bed Houses £191,393
3 Bed Houses £226,789

Do you still think it is a logical investment to spend £400.000 on a two bed flat in manchester,!!!

[paul-steve]

Hi Blue Sky

Personally i would go just outside to Timperley or Sale properties move a lot quicker around this area mainly due to the tram being on the doorstep, people can be in Manchester in 20 minutes, don't forget the congestion charges will be brought into the center soon.

[blue sky]

Hi TH4S,
Which agencies are your friend? Maybe I can look at their houses as well. Do they sell in the city centre?
You are an estate agent you know that prices change greatly due to location and quality. And mainly due to size in Manchester. Normally the sizes are extremely small in here.

[TH4S]

Originally Posted by blue sky

Hi TH4S,
Which agencies are your friend? Maybe I can look at their houses as well. Do they sell in the city centre?

Sent you a private message,

[blue sky]

Thanks alot for that. It was quite useful.

[Sunnyshores]

Hi Blue sky - I've been investing in Manchester for the last 10 years. We did have several city centre flats a few years ago, but I would not recommend this strategy. The main reason being that the rental market is saturated with flats and competition for tenants is high, landlords offer lots of reduced rents, plasma TVs etc to get tenants in. Once they're in they usually stay for 6 months and then move onto the next place offering freebies. Also young professional tenenats like to be in the newest trendiest complex, yours maybe "it" now, in 6 months time another will be "it". We ended up with flats being rented for only 9 months of the year, and couldnt make money this way.
If youre buying for capital gain purposes, it may be another story - I dont know.
We've brought houses now valued around £120k in areas very close to the centre, Ancoats, Levenshulme. Not particularly nice areas, but good for long term rental to working families and continued capital growth.
If you really want to spend £400k on one property I'd look at Sale, Altrincham.
Good luck.

[rajeshk4u]

The main reason being that the rental market is saturated with flats and competition for tenants is high, landlords offer lots of reduced rents, plasma TVs etc to get tenants in. Once they're in they usually stay for 6 months and then move onto the next place offering freebies. Also young professional tenenats like to be in the newest trendiest complex, yours maybe "it" now, in 6 months time another will be "it". We ended up with flats being rented for only 9 months of the year, and couldnt make money this way.

You are quite right about this sort of behaviour. Tenants are quite fussy and demanding. You get some tenants that just look for refurbished properties and then move on to the next place. Would be nice if tenants stayed on in the same place for longer....