Nottingham House Price Monopoly...

As we go into January and deal with the lull after the Christmas holiday – if there isn’t anything on the telly, it wouldn’t be unusual to find me enjoying a good game of Monopoly. Buying and renting property – a busman’s holiday you might say! The game was originally invented at the turn of the 20^th Century (1903 to be precise) interestingly the game was initially called ‘The Landlord’s Game’!  After a few years in the wilderness, the game was renamed Monopoly the game we know and love today.

So whether you are a homeowner or landlord in Nottingham, what would a Monopoly board look like today in the city? Property prices over the last 80 years have certainly increased beyond all recognition, so looking at the original board, I have substituted some of the original streets with the most expensive and least expensive locations in Nottingham today.

I have focused on the NG1 postcode, looking at the brown roads on the board, the ‘new’ Old Kent Road in Nottingham today would be Parkview Court, with an average value £55,800 (per property) and Whitechapel Road would be Shakespeare Street, which would be worth £91,800. What about the posh dark blue roads, Park Lane and Mayfair? Again, looking at NG1, Park Lane would be Standard Hill at £270,500 and Mayfair would be Park Terrace at £593,200. Also, I can’t forget the train stations (my favourite), and over the last 12 months, the average price that property within a quarter mile of the station sold for was £113,450.

So that got me thinking, what you would have had to have paid for a property in Nottingham back in 1935, when ‘Monopoly’ was born?

• ·         The average Nottingham detached house today is worth £264,510 would have set you back 478 Pounds 11 shillings and 6 old pence.
• ·         The average Nottingham semidetached house today is worth £147,240would have set you back 266 Pounds and 8 shillings.
• ·         The average Nottingham terraced / town house today is worth £111,510 would have set you back 201 Pounds 15 shillings and 1 old pence.
• ·         The average Nottingham apartment today is worth £129,200 would have set you back 233 Pounds 15 shillings and 2 old pence.

Interesting and a bit of fun… but underlying all this is one important fact. Property investing is a long game, which has seen impressive rises over the last 80 years. In my previous articles I have talked about what is happening on a month by month or year by year basis; if you are going to invest in the Nottingham property market, you should consider the Nottingham property you buy to be a medium to long term investment, because buy to let is exactly that – you buy a property in order to rent it out to tenants.

I reminded a soon to be first time landlord from West Bridgford the other week, buy to let in Nottingham (as in other parts of the Country) is very different from owning your own home. When you become a Nottingham landlord, you are in essence running a small business – one with important legal responsibilities. If you would like advice and tips on the Nottingham property market, please contact me on Jaclyn.bartlett@centrickproperty.co.uk.