Luton is a city located within London’s commuter belt, benefiting from Motorway & Railway links to Luton.
Over the last10 years, Luton has become a great way for people who work in the capital to purchase a property at a lower entry point compared to the big city; and still benefit from being only 23mins away from London. Read on to find out the 7 Reasons why you should invest in Luton.
1. What is the economic potential for investing in Luton properties?
Since 2016, Luton has put in motion the Luton Investment Framework (LIF) which is a 20 year investment plan to invest £4.5 Billion, aiming to change the face of the city through building economic growth and prosperity, enhancing skills and education, improving health and wellbeing, developing quality homes and infrastructure, supporting safe, strong and cohesive communities.
For the past years, Luton has gained more attention from first time buyers & seasoned investors.
2. Luton’s Growth Strategy
With 2 major Business parks, Luton continues to attract high quality people to the town. Capability Green and Butterfield Technology Park both boasting 80+ acres. Capability Green is situated a stone’s throw from the M1 J10 Motorway attracting high quality tenants to the town and the Butterfield Technology Park 10mins drive from the motor way, sitting alongside the A505, housing 100 small businesses. In addition to the business parks, Luton has one of the fastest growing airport in the UK with a great expansion plan, alongside this, the airport also houses one of Europe’s top 5 private aviation centres. Luton’s relationship with Vauxhall goes back many years and continues to have its history in the city. Here are just a few examples of companies that call Luton their home:
– Vauxhall Motors
– Astra Zeneca
– EasyJet
– Monarch Airlines
– Signature Flight Support LTN
-Leonardo UK
-Oracle
Luton continues to attract investors and work force (potential tenants) due to its unmatched railway, air and motorway links, bringing business and growth which in turn strengthens the property market.
The City has plans for a new Retail/Business park right by the M1 J10 Motorway, 2mins drive from Capability Green, costing a whopping £400 million with 500,000 Sq. ft. of space. It has been reported that this development will create approximately 4000 new jobs, and add around £240 million worth of revenue to Luton’s economy.
3. Luton’s Housing Market
Luton has become the most popular destination for first-time buyers according to Zoopla as London’s outrageous property prices are for some, practically unobtainable, rising from an average of £482,576 to £509,935, up by £27,359 over the last 3 month. With such high prices, first time buyers are looking within London’s commuter belt involving town such as St Albans, Harpenden, Luton, Bedford, and Milton Keynes and as far as Northampton.
Looking at the previous towns mentioned, Luton is by far the most affordable place within the commuter belt to purchase a property as a first time buyer, boasting an average property price of £267,325 compared to the surrounding average of approx. £320,000.
Average Property Prices – Luton
LU1 – £251,194
LU2 – £288,415
LU3 – £269,672
LU4 – £246,953
LU5 – £278,390
4. Rent Demand in Luton
There are many different factors making Luton appealing for property investors/ first time buyers. For the past few years, Luton has been suffering from a housing shortage, the city is building 430 new homes per year, shy of the city’s target 1,417 new homes per year, which in turn is great news for buyers/investors as it means a steady demand for housing.
Current rental market Luton vs London
Luton – Average House Price: £267,325
London – Average House Price: £648,942
Luton Average Rent Price – £632 per month (one bedroom property)
London – Average Rent Price: £830 per month (one bedroom property)
Taking all into consideration, Luton has and is still showing great capital growth, and good rental rates with future increases, affordable property prices, great strategical location, highlighting Luton City as great investment potential.
5. Luton’s Student Market
University of Bedfordshire calls Luton its Home, with the main campus located within the centre, surrounded by Luton Train station connecting the city to London, Luton Shopping Mall & M1 J10 motor way only a 5 min drive away. The university offers 3200 Undergraduate, 1700 Postgraduate and 120 Postgraduate Research students’ courses.
With overpriced student campus accommodation, prices ranging from £650-£750+, this gap in the market leaves students seeking for private accommodation, making this a very appealing investment prospect.
6. Inbound Investment
For the past 10 + years, the city has seen a massive transformation through internal/ external investment, changing the face of Luton completely. With a number of developments Luton’s property price seems to be holding strong.
Here are a few of the current and future developments in Luton
-Cultural Quarter £3.9 million upgrade
-70 Acre commercial are New Century Park (4000 new jobs) costing £120 million
-Marsh Farm Redevelopment adding over 115 flats costing £32 million
–Luton Power Court Football Stadium £200m
Over the past decade, Luton has undergone a transformation and external investment continues to provide a boost to the town.
7. Location Location Location
With the M1 motorway J10, J11, J11a running through the city, 10mins drive from the M25, in addition, Luton also benefits from having great transport links. All in all Luton is only 30 minutes away from the capital, offering all the positives of a city with close proximity to London.
A Key factor is London Luton Airport, linking passengers and businesses to Europe. The Airport Expansion Plan will see the passenger limit increase from 18 million to 19 million.
Luton makes for a great property investment town, taking all the above into consideration. If you wish to consider purchasing a home or investing into the town, visit our contact us page.