The orthodox way of classifying property in the UK is to look at the number of bedrooms rather than its size in square metres (although now we are leaving the EU – I wonder if we can go back to feet and inches?). It seems that homeowners and tenants are happy to pay for more space. It’s quite obvious, the more bedrooms a house or apartment has, the bigger it is likely to be. The reason being not only the actual additional bedroom space, but the properties with more bedrooms tend to have larger / more reception (living) rooms. However, if you think about it, this isn’t so astonishing given that properties with more bedrooms would typically accommodate more people and therefore require larger reception rooms.

In today’s Locks Heath property market, the Locks Heath homeowners and Locks Heath landlords I talk to are always asking me which attributes and features are likely to make their property comparatively more attractive and which ones may detract from the price. Over time, buyers’ and tenants’ wants and needs have changed. In Locks Heath, location is still the No. 1 factor affecting the value of property, and a property in the most sought after neighbourhoods, say Warsash, can command a higher price than a similar house in an ‘average’ area.  However, after location, the next characteristic that has a significant influence on the desirability, and thus price, of property is the number of bedrooms and the type (i.e. Detached/ Semi/Terraced/Flat).

In previous articles, I have analysed the Locks Heath housing stock into bedrooms and type of property, but never before now have I cross-referenced type against bedrooms. These figures for the Fareham Borough Council area make fascinating reading. It shows 87.8% of all properties in the area have 3 or more bedrooms

I was genuinely surprised at the low numbers of one and two bed properties, especially 2 bed semi detached houses, especially as tenants like the smaller one and two bed properties in Locks Heath. You see, it might interest the homeowners and landlords of Locks Heath, that there has been a change in the numbers of properties on the market and the split in bedrooms on the market over the last 12 months

• 12 months ago, 38 one bed properties were for sale in Locks Heath, today 21, a drop of 45%
• 12 months ago, 99 two bed properties were for sale in Locks Heath, today 90, a drop of 9%
• 12 months ago, 83 three bed properties were for sale in Locks Heath, today 81, a drop of 2%
• 12 months ago, 87 four bed properties were for sale in Locks Heath, today 101, a rise of 16%
• 12 months ago, 49 five + bed properties were for sale in Locks Heath, today 37, drop of 24%

For several years Locks Heath buy-to-let investors have been the only buyers at the lower end (starter homes) of the market, as they have been enticed by high tenant demand and attractive returns. Some Locks Heath landlords believe their window of opportunity has started to close with the new tax regime for landlords, whilst it already appears to be opening wider for first-time buyers. This is great news for first time buyers, but one final note for Locks Heath landlords – all is not lost, you can still pick up bargains, you just need to be a lot more savvy and do your homework. One source of such information with articles like this is the Locks Heath Property Blog – http://www.thelocksheathpropertyblog.co.uk.