01 March 08

Property

Property

view the gallery

It’s all about competition up north, and Manchester and Liverpool (pictured) are rivals on every level – from television soap operas to football teams to music. Think the massively popular Coronation Street (Manchester) versus the now-defunct Brookside (Liverpool); think Manchester United against Liverpool FC; think the Madchester music scene (The Stone Roses) against The Beatles.

In fact, including the aforementioned big two, England’s north-west has 21 Premier League and Football League teams, which all add to the region’s international appeal outside the immediate area.

Both cities have undergone trendy urban regenerations, the local airports are busy hubs – all of which suggest that things are happening up north, and all of which are good for property values despite a potentially fragile current UK market.

Although Liverpool’s global profile will no doubt get a lift this year, due to its title as the European Capital of Culture, it hasn’t always had an easy time. Scousers, whose name comes from a type of stew popular among Liverpudlians, had to endure trade union tensions in the 1970s and unemployment as high as 25% in the 80s when development stalled in the city.

Modern Liverpool, however, is enjoying high levels of investment, with the Duke of Westminster creating one of the biggest rejuvenation developments in the UK by transforming the Paradise Street warehouse area into a high-quality shopping and arts district. The £3-billion Liverpool Vision project is also on track to regenerate the city centre. While the famous waterfront dock, which is where the Titanic was registered and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, is seeing money pass hands almost as quickly as betting at the nearby Aintree Racecourse, home of the annual Grand National.

Jonathan Kennedy from estate agents Knight Frank in Liverpool says: “The market is undoubtedly levelling off but Liverpool is in a strong position to continue growing.” Knight Frank reports that Liverpool Council hopes to increase the population to 500,000 residents by 2013, while the city centre’s population is estimated to reach 8,100 by 2008, growing at a rate 10 times faster than the UK average. The city also has a thriving student population eager for low-cost rental accommodation.

Like Liverpool, Manchester has emerged triumphantly from a turbulent past and is often referred to as the “capital of the north”. An IRA bomb in 1996 destroyed the city centre but this led to ambitious regeneration plans, and the Manchester Arndale shopping complex is currently the largest city centre shopping mall in the UK. Manchester was named the best place in the UK to locate a business in a survey of British business leaders in 2006, and recent reports have also given it the accolades of being the UK’s fastest-growing city economically and the UK’s third most visited city by foreigners. Other delights offered by the north-west as a whole include Cheshire cheese, Lancashire hotpot, the Lake District (home to England’s only golden eagles) and the seaside resort of Blackpool, with its Pleasure Beach and Eiffel Tower-inspired landmark.

While not as hot as down south the market is also progressing well, with prices growing by 214% between 1995 and 2006. And affordability is greater in the area: house prices are 7.8 times earnings in London but just 5.4 times earnings in the north. The north-west has high demand for property, especially in the growing urban areas, and despite the credit crunch, the amount of overall mortgage borrowing across the UK only amounts to 35% of house values, so according to those at www.propertyinvesting.net there would need to be a crash of at least 20% for negative equity to kick in. To quote Lancashireborn singer Jay Kay from acid jazz band Jamiroquai, it’d be Virtual Insanity not to consider the area for investment, especially as it enjoys its current resurgence and regeneration.

Facts & Figures

WHERE:The north-west is one of nine regions in England and consists of the large metropolises of Liverpool and Manchester in the south and the more rural areas of Lancashire and Cumbria in the north.
AREA: 14,165 km²
POPULATION: 6.8 million
CURRENCY: British pound
HOUSE PRICES: Rightmove reported a general increase of 7% across the north-west for the August 2006–2007 period, however location is vital, especially in Liverpool where general prices dropped by 1.4%. Manchester rose by 3.4%.
RENTAL YIELDS: About 4–6%, according to Henry Davis from Internationalproperty.ie
AGENTS: The National Association of Estate Agents [www.naea.co.uk] is the best place to start, or through the Association of International Property Professionals [www.aipp.org.uk]. Or check out award-winning developments and agents in the Your Move Property Awards [www.yourmovemagazine.com].
BUYING TIP: An offer is not legally binding so beware of gazumping; always get a building survey, a homebuyer’s report and a property search at the Local Authority and Land Registry if it is a resale. As purchases are in sterling the services of a good currency broker, such as www.currenciesdirect.com, may be invaluable.
TAXES: Income tax on earnings ranges from 10% to 40%, capital gains tax is 20% and council taxes are also payable.
AVERAGE PRICES: £156,344 [€209,513] in Manchester and £145,664 [€195,202] in Liverpool.

MANYOO,SALFORDQUAYS,MANCHESTER Price: From £98,500 [€131,973] Details: Consistsof 1,036 designersmartpads, with one-, two- andthree-bed room apartments across four 26-storey towers located nearthe MediaCity UK– home to the BBC. WWW.MANYOO.NET
CARRINGTON PARK, WARRINGTON Price: From £95,950 [€128,524] Details: Phase Three of a scheme with 200 one- and two-bedroom apartments a quarter of a milefrom Warrington, which is predictedto have a 5.9% rental return. WWW.CARRINGTONPARKWARRINGTON.CO.UK
ONE PARK WEST, LIVERPOOL ONE, PARADISE PROJECT Price: From £106,000 [€155,965] Details: Liverpool One, Grosvenor’s £920m city centre redevelopment project, has 42 acres of retail and links to the Albert Dock. Spread over 17 storeys, One Park West was designed by Cesar Pelli, who also designed Canary Wharf in London WWW.ONEPARKWEST.CO.UK
TEMPUS DEVELOPMENT,DEANSGATE,MANCHESTER Price: Penthouses from£425,000 [€569,436] Details: With great views across Manchester the project includes the 20-storey Tempus Tower and three restored Grade II listed Royal Mail buildings, andconsists of 219 one-, two and three-bed apartments. WWW.TEMPUS-APARTMENTS.COM
HALF TIDE, PRINCES DOCK, LIVERPOOL Price: From £159,995 [€235,439] Details: 121 Conran-designed apartments by the award-winning developer, City Lofts, located beside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Liverpool’s historic dockland. WWW.KNIGHTFRANK.CO.UK

Buyers’ Guide: What’s What?
Many Georgian and Edwardian terraced houses are now listed buildings. Left empty for years, some developers specialise in regenerating these historic properties, which can sell for up to £250,000 (€330,387). Victorian two-up two-down terraces in narrow streets can be bought for around £30,000 (€39,642), but tenants may be put off by some of the locations. In the region the 20–29 age group is growing so the average household size is falling. In Liverpool city centre rejuvenation plans and the rising population suggest modern apartments aimed at professionals will be popular in future.