Why is Raymond Crescent so popular?

A landlord recently missed his chance to buy a three bed semi-detached property on Raymond Crescent, near the University of Surrey and on the edge of Onslow Village, as it sold in a matter of days. He therefore asked me if there was something special about the area, so I did a little research.

The Onslow Village Association acquired 646 acres of land from Lord Onslow in 1920 for approximately one quarter of its market value. The aim was to create a Garden City, modeled on the ideas of Ebenezer Howardís, the founder of the Garden City Movement.

It was their intention to build a self-contained community with smallholdings, public buildings, open spaces, recreation grounds, woodland and a railway, as well as developing sites for churches, hotels and factories. On May 1st 1921, ten weeks after the formation of the Association, the foundations of the first two houses were laid and by March 1922 ninety-one houses had been built. Unfortunately due to a lack of funding the scheme never reached full completion, with about 600 houses built.

The area now consists mainly of semi detached properties with the majority owner occupied, with 22% of the properties are owned by private landlords catering for both the substantial student demand from university students and young professionals. This is confirmed by the fact that almost one half of the houses comprise of three or more adults. The Census also suggests there is a 50:50 split between single and married occupants too and that a quarter of occupants are students.

Land Registry records suggest that the development was built in the 1930's, on the edge of Onslow Village. Raymond Crescent comprises 109 properties with a current average value of £358,076, compared to an average property value of £417,972, for the GU2 postcode area.

There have been 26 property sales on Raymond Crescent over the last 5 years with an average sold house price of £296,757. Most of the properties consist of three bedrooms, kitchen, one reception room and a bathroom often downstairs next to the kitchen. However many properties have been extended up into the loft area to enable one of the existing bedrooms to be utilised as a bathroom and then a third bedroom then recreated in the loft. Alternatively, owners have extended to the rear to provide a larger kitchen/diner and additional reception room plus a new and third bedroom and bathroom on the first floor.

Typical 3 bedroom houses in Raymond Crescent

A typical 3 bedroom house will realise at least £1,495 per month to provide a reasonable annual yield of around 5%. The modernised and extended properties will produce a rental of up to £1,645 pcm and therefore a higher gross yield of 5.5%.

Furthermore house prices in Raymond Crescent have increased by a substantial 10% in the last year and by 30% in the last 5 years so, as I always stated Raymond Crescent has to be one of the most profitable areas for local investors to purchase property because of the substantial demand for rental property in the street and the opportunities the street offers for development and therefore capital gains.

If you would like to talk to us about property in Raymond Crescent or a general discussion on investment opportunities in Guildford your call will always be welcome. Phone 01483 320207 or email richard@guildfordpropertyblog.co.uk