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Thursday, December 14 - Wednesday, December 20, 2017
This property showcased courtesy of Hodsons. To view property details, see inside.
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Didcot
• 01235 511211 •
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www.slade-legal.co.uk
• enquiries@slade-legal.co.uk
36 Thursday, December 14 - Wednesday, December 20, 2017
www.oxfordpropertyweekly.co.uk
How about opening a new home on Christmas Day? KEEN homebuyers who want to move into their dream home by Christmas need look no further than David Wilson Homes’ popular Oxfordshire development The Paddocks. The five-star housebuilder currently has one remaining four bedroom Cadleigh style home that will be ready for families to move into just in time for the festive season. But keen homebuyers should act fast to avoid missing out on their dream home as the popular development has proven extremely popular since fi rst launching. Rob Allen, sales director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “Christmas can be a stressful time of the year but here at David Wilson Homes we ensure that moving home around this time won’t add to that. “We have expertly trained sales advisers on hand to assist you with your move and ensure everything goes smoothly. “The Cadleigh style home will be ready to move in for the Christmas period so you can be settled in your new home by the time the big day comes around. “For anyone interested in this home, I’d advise you visit the marketing suite at the development as soon as possible before it sells out.” The quaint village of Southmoor offers an array of local amenities including several shops, a post office
and a village hall. Nearby towns such as Abingdon and Wantage provide excellent shopping and retail outlets, and Didcot Parkway train station has direct trains to London in just 45 minutes. The Paddocks is conveniently located near the A420, providing easy access to Swindon and Oxford.
The Cadleigh is now available to reserve with prices starting from £528,000 and comes with free flooring for a limited time only. For more information about The Paddocks or any other nearby developments, please call the sales team on 0844 811 4333 or visit www.dwh. co.uk.
The Budget brings good news for young house buyers in Oxfordshire IF you approached last month’s Budget with a certain level of apathy, then the chances are (at least if you’re a fi rst-time buyer) you came out the other side with more optimism. The Chancellor’s announcement that Stamp Duty would be abolished for fi rst-time buyers on property purchases of up to £300,000 really was the headline news of the day and will, no doubt, have come as welcome news to many struggling to get on the property ladder. Here in Oxfordshire, we fi nd that the average value of a property which would appeal to a fi rst-time buyer ranges between £250,000 and £300,000 although this obviously varies depending on your exact location, size and style of home. With this in mind, the Chancellor’s announcement should make a difference and for that reason, we welcome it. He could, however, have gone further in our view. Quite simply, Stamp Duty is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, obstacles in getting our housing market really moving and along with many others in the industry, we’d have welcomed the removal, or at least reduction, of the surcharge on second properties. But whilst the Stamp Duty announcement applied to the whole
of England, here in Oxfordshire, we were singled out for special attention in other ways too. As you can’t have failed to have noticed, Oxfordshire is now lined up to see the construction of 100,000 new homes in the period to 2031. Whilst these are essentially the homes already referenced in Local Plans, the £215m of funding that has now been committed by the Government, means that the vital infrastructure to support these homes will now make these homes more viable. Your views on further housing development will depend on factors including where you live and the impact the new homes will have on your area, but that aside, there’s no doubting that many more new homes are needed across the country - not just here in Oxfordshire. A lack of supply has been skewing the market for a long time and it’s positive to see this now being addressed. So, whilst the Chancellor could have done more, we must embrace the announcements made in this latest Budget. If you’re looking to purchase your fi rst home in Oxfordshire, why not pop in to one of our five branches across the county or visit our website, www.andrewsonline.co.uk, for plenty of advice and insight in to taking your fi rst step on to the property ladder.
Thursday, December 14 - Wednesday, December 20, 2017 35
www.oxfordpropertyweekly.co.uk
Front cover property
A detached delight
Freehold
ÂŁ385,000 Situated in a small cul-de-sac location within the prestigious village of Chilton is this immaculately presented and well-proportioned three bedroom detached family home. The property offers three good size bedrooms with a large modern family bathroom suite, along with downstairs cloakroom, well-appointed kitchen with Miele integrated appliances, dining room
with French doors, bright and airy living room, conservatory. To the front of the property is a good size lawn area leading to the detached garage with light and power plus driveway parking in front, whilst the rear offers this decorative and low maintenance garden with two patio areas and raised flower beds. Chilton village offers excellent commuter links to
both A34 and M4 and is within close proximity to the Harwell International Business and Science Park.
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VĂ‹ jÂ?‰~†Ă?wĂ–Â?Ă‹ajĂ??W†jaĂ‹w?”‰Â?Ă&#x;ˆÂ?”jˉ™Ë the desirable village of Chilton within a small cul-de-sac
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VË0†à jjË�j��ˏà ��à �‰�™jaËMjaà ��”Ä^Ë modern family bathroom suite and downstairs cloakroom
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Remarkably, there is some good news for tenants, as the Government recently published the draft Tenants’ Fee Bill, which is designed to prohibit the charging of tenants lettings fees on set up of the tenancy. However, looking at evidence in Scotland, I expect rents to rise to compensate landlords, thus hammering faithful tenants looking for long-term tenancy
agreements the hardest. This growth will be on top of any usual organic rent growth. It really is swings and roundabouts! Rents in Oxford over the next ďŹ ve years will rise by 9.2%, taking the average rent for an Oxford property from ÂŁ2,141 per month to ÂŁ2,338 per month. Rents in Oxford over the last 12 years have risen by 21.5%. I don’t expect the future rise to be a straight-line either, because I have to take into account the national and local Oxford economy, demand and supply of rental property, interest rates, Brexit and other external factors. The graph shows the pattern and projections up to 2022. In the past, making money from Oxford buy-to-let property was as easy as falling off a log. But with these new tax rules, new rental regulations and the overall changing dynamics of the Oxford property market, as an Oxford landlord, you are going to need to work smarter in the future and keep abreast of information, advice and opinion to hand on the Oxford, Regional and National property markets. â– For all that information and more go to the Oxford Property blog at www. OxfordPropertyBlog.co.uk
Bill Cooper, co-author of The Oxford Property Blog and managing director of Martin and Co, Oxford
on landlords being introduced between 2017 and 2021, buyto-let has (and will) be less attractive in the short term for certain types of landlords (meaning fewer new properties will be bought to rent). Interestingly, countless market experts assumed at the start of 2017, that the number of rental properties would reduce throughout the year. The assumption being as the new tax rules for landlords started to kick in, landlords would look to serve notice on tenants, sell up and invest their capital elsewhere. Anecdotal evidence suggests, conďŹ rmed by my discussions with fellow property, accountancy and banking professionals in Oxford, that Oxford landlords are actually either re-mortgaging their Oxford buy-to-let properties instead or converting their rental portfolios into limited
companies to side step the new taxation rules. The sentiment of many Oxford landlords is that property has weathered economic shocks well in the past, and there is something inherently understandable about bricks and mortar – compared to the voodoo magic of the stock market and other exotic investment vehicles like debentures and crypto-currencies.
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‰aWÂ?Ă?Ă‹+?Ă Â?Ă??Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă„Ă??Ă?‰Â?™Ë For further details contact selling ?~j™Ă?Ă‹ Â?aĂ„Â?™ÄË ‰aWÂ?Ă?ËÔÔüË Ă Â??aĂ??Ă&#x;^Ă‹
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VË#‰�ËxËà jaËWj™�à ?�ˆj?�‰™~Ë�‰�†Ë2+7 Ë double glazed windows and doors
Oxford rents set to rise to £2,338pm in next five years IT’S now been close to 18 months since annual rental price ination in Oxford peaked at 3.4%. Since then we have seen more humble rent increases. In fact, in certain parts of the Oxford rental market over the autumn, we have seen some slight reduction. So, could this be the earliest indication that the trend of high rent increases seen over the last few years, may be running out of steam? Well, possibly in the short term, but in the coming few years, it is my opinion that Oxford rents will regain their upward trend as demand for Oxford rental properties outstrip supply, and this is why. The only counterbalance to rental growth would be an increase in rental stock (i.e. the number of rental properties in Oxford). However, because of the Government’s new taxes
light and power
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Thursday, December 14 - Wednesday, December 20, 2017 37
www.oxfordpropertyweekly.co.uk
GREAT WESTERN PARK COMINGOPEN SOON NOW Thinking of selling or renting your home? Ask Martin.
NEW OFFICE COMING SOON!
Martin & Co have an office close by in Abingdon, and already work with many property owners in your area. FREE VALUATION
We are opening our new office soon on the Great Western Park.
We will be pleased to assist you NOW by offering a free property valuation for the sale or for the rental of your property. If you have already instructed an agent to sell your property on a sole agency basis, you must consider your current agreement to ensure you do not pay more than one commission.
Martin & Co Abingdon 8-10 West St. Helen Street • Abingdon • Oxfordshire • OX14 5BL
Martin & Co Didcot abingdon.martinco.com
164 Greenwood Way, Harwell Didcot, OX11 6GD didcot@martinco.com
01235 524300
01235 524300 didcot.martinco.com
38 Thursday, December 14 - Wednesday, December 20, 2017
www.oxfordpropertyweekly.co.uk
A NEW HOME IN OXFORDSHIRE FOR THE NEW YEAR Why not start your new year in a luxury new home at The Paddocks? This development offers a range of 4 bedroom homes in the popular village of Southmoor near, Abingdon. There is also a collection of 2, 3 and 5 bedroom homes at Abbotts Meadow, located in the chocolate box village of Steventon. Please visit our website or call a Sales Adviser today to discuss the purchase schemes available.
That’s the David Wilson Difference.
The Paddocks Field Close, Southmoor, Abingdon OX13 5EZ 2 - 5 bedroom homes from £355,000. Show Homes open daily Monday 12.30pm - 5.30pm & Thursday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.30pm
See the Difference at dwh.co.uk or call 08443 34 87 72 Limited availability, selected plots only. Subj b ect to status, terms and conditions apply. See ww bj www ww.dwh.co.uk for full details. BDW Trading Limited (number 03018173) whose registered office is at Barratt House, Cartwright Way, Forest Business Park, Bardon Hill, Coalville, Leicesters r hire LE67 1UF (“BDW”) BDW is a subsidiary rs r of Barratt Developments PLC. The Homes and Communities Agency (“HCA”) provides an equity loan for 20% of the purchase price of the property. The equity loan ry provided by the HCA is secured as second charge on your property. The amount you have to repay to the HCA may be more than the amount of the equity loan provided. Prices correct at time of going to press. Advertising images may include upgrades as home specification can vary r , purchasers ry r of David Wilson homes spend on average £3,514 on upgrades. Calls to our 0844 numbers rs r cost 7 pence per minute plus your phone company’s access charge. rs
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