Letting Agents Musselburgh

The Case for renting in Musselburgh: Musselburgh has evolved from a sleepy Edinburgh commuter-town into a thriving local economy with a booming rental market. It’s always been a beautiful place to live with its historic golf course, renowned race course and of course Luca’s ice cream, but as Musselburgh and Edinburgh merge into one, the town is becoming a great choice for many tenants looking for a more tranquil way of life a short commute away from Edinburgh City Centre (Just ask Bruce; he cycles into our Marchmont office from Musselburgh ; apparently it’s downhill on the way home!). This, alongside the growth of the student population studying at the nearby Queen Margaret University and Edinburgh College, it’s no wonder that Musselburgh is booming and rents are climbing.

Musselburgh property values down from 2007 peak but on the up

With the help of our good friends at Warners LLP we have access to some fantastic historical info from the ESPC archives.  Looking at the average selling price of property in Musselburgh; this rose 3% between 2015 and 2016 to £174.5k with the average time to sell dropping from 53 days to 22 days in the year.

Focusing on the market most popular with tenants, 1 and 2 bedroom properties, values for these peaked in 2007 before they took the nose-dive we are all too familiar with from 2008/2009. Values continued to creep down but they began to recover in 2013 (2 beds) and 2014 (1 beds) and trends suggest they will continue to do so into 2017.

musselburgh-property-prices

It’s obvious from the chart above that values are below where they ‘should be’ (compared to 2007 levels) and prices are increasing. In 2016 the average 1 bed sold for £97.7k while the average 2 bed sold for £128k.

Rents on the rise in Musselburgh!

Looking at data available from Citylet’s Optilet Pro, I’ve taken average rents for 1 and 2 bedroom properties each quarter since 2014 to illustrate how rents have moved over a 3 year period;

musselburgh-rental-values

As the graph illustrates rents have climbed steadily since 2014. Traditionally we would expect rents to dip slight in Q4 each year as tenants tend to prefer to move during the summer months so I would expect rents to climb further into Q1 2017.  The average 1 bed rent in Q3 2016 was sitting at £570pcm while the average 2 bed rent was £680pcm.

Looking at the Time it takes to let properties (TTL) in Musselburgh the next chart shows a steady decline in the number of days it took to let between 2014 and 2016. Once again, numbers creep up a bit during Quarter 4 but this is nothing to worry about and any empty properties should be snapped up during January following tenants’ life-changing decisions over the Christmas break!

musselburgh-time-to-let

Interestingly the number of 1 bed flats advertised in Musselburgh jumped by 36% between 2014 and 2016, while the number of 2 beds advertised shot up by 61%. It’s clear that we’re not the first ones to notice the investment/rental potential in Musselburgh!

All this means fantastic yields for Musselburgh properties!

Looking at Q3 2016 average rents against average property prices for the year, 1 bedroom property delivered a 7% gross yield (£570pcm rent against £97.7k sale price) while the average 2 bedroom property delivered a 6.4% gross yield (£680pcm rent against £128k sale price). How good is that?! With properties still selling for well below 2007 levels and plenty scope to grow, alongside climbing rents, this represents a great time to invest in Musselburgh property.

David Marshall, Operations Director at Warners LLP commented; “The Musselburgh market has been strong in recent years with strong demand from buyers and renters. We often find that young families who work in Edinburgh but aren’t yet ready to get onto the property ladder will look to rent in areas like Musselburgh. As a result, the town offers potentially attractive returns to landlords resulting in strong demand from investors.”

So there you have it!

So there you have it in a nutshell. Rents and property values on the up. Rental yields strong. Huge tenant demand. Lovely place to live with access to the beach and to the countryside just a short distance from the city centre. Right, I’m convinced and I’m off to talk my wife into moving to the seaside! J

Umega Lettings have a growing portfolio in East Lothian and we will be opening an office there in 2017….watch this space! If you’re a landlord of a property in Musselburgh or East Lothian or if you’re looking to invest in Musselburgh property and would like some help doing so please contact Umega Lettings on 0131 221 0888 or email Bruce, our resident (cycling) Musselburgh expert who is (very!) passionate about all things Musselburgh/East Lothian!