CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION - ASHFORD, KENT - BATH, SOMERSET - BECKENHAM, KENT - BEDFORD, BEDFORDSHIRE - BILLERICAY, ESSEX - BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM - BOURNEMOUTH, SUSSEX - BRENTWOOD, ESSEX - BRIGHTON, SUSSEX - CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE - CANTERBURY, KENT - CARDIFF, WALES - CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - CLEETHORPES, LINCOLNSHIRE - COLCHESTER, ESSEX - EPPING, ESSEX - GRANTHAM, LINCOLNSHIRE - GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK - GUILDFORD, SURREY - IPSWICH, SUFFOLK - KETTERING, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE - KINGS LYNN, NORFOLK - LEICESTER, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE - LIVERPOOL CITY CENTRE, LANCASHIRE - LUTON, BEDFORDSHIRE - MANCHESTER, LANCASHIRE - MILTON KEYNES, BEDFORDSHIRE - NORWICH, NORFOLK - OXFORD, OXFORDSHIRE - PETERBOROUGH, CAMBRIDGESHIRE - READING, BERKSHIRE - ROMFORD, ESSEX - SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, ESSEX - ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE - STANSTED, ESSEX - SWINDON, BERKSHIRE - WELWYN GARDEN CITY, HERTFORDSHIRE - WISBECH, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
| Area: | ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE | |||||||
| Category: | C | |||||||
| Investor Profile | Pension, Retirement, Downshifter,and Cash&Equity | |||||||
| Population aged 15+: | 63,208 | |||||||
| Actual | National Average | |||||||
| Percentage Class ABC1: | 66% | 44% | ||||||
| Crime: | Violence | Sexual | Burglary | Motor | ||||
| Per 1000 population | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||||
| Yield Range | 3.6% - 7.8% | |||||||
| Price Ranges | Low £ | Hi £ | Low £pw | Hi £pw | Low | Hi | ||
| Flats&maisonettes | 103,200 | 154,800 | 155 | 210 | 7.1% | 10.6% | ||
| Terraced | 152,000 | 228,000 | 171 | 232 | 5.3% | 8.0% | ||
| Semi-detached | 195,200 | 292,800 | 219 | 296 | 5.3% | 9.0% | ||
| Detached | 300,000 | 450,000 | 229 | 310 | 3.6% | 5.4% | ||
| Valuations above the national average by: | 126% | |||||||
| Actual | National Average | |||||||
| Capital growth last 12 months: | 16% | 18% | ||||||
| Capital growth last 4 years: | 78% | 74% | ||||||
| Large employers in the area: | Many | |||||||
| Demand For Letting: | Excellent | |||||||
| Average void period: | 1 week | |||||||
| Total (out of 10) | Capital Growth (out of 5) | Yield (out of 5) | ||||||
| Out of 10: | 6 | 4 | 2 | |||||
| Summary: | A superb place to live work and commute making this place a safe investment but property prices are high. | |||||||
| Description: | The St Albans area is the place to be in Hertfordshire. It is famous for being full of affluent and prosperous professionals – 1 in 3 people resident in St Albans is in a managerial or professional occupation. Unemployment is incredibly low at sub 1%, the lowest in Hertfordshire, and compare that to London at 7%! They’re a brainy lot too - GCSE results for St Albans schools showed 63% of pupils achieving 5 A* - C grades, compared with a national average of around 46%. The area is dead close to London due to the excellent rail and road links which have a major effect on the area’s economy. 20% of the population commute to London but St Albans is not simply another commuter town - and this is important in terms of future land use planning. The area has a booming local economy, which provides over 45,000 jobs, nearly half of which are filled by people outside of the area. It is also home of the entrepreneur – 15% of the workforce is self-employed compared to 12% nationally and the trend is set to continue upwards. People working from home is on the increase and where better to work from home than a St Alban’s home! This entrepreneurial blood runs through the veins of the local economy. The area also has two prestigious research centres being Rothamstead Experimental Station at Harpenden, and the Building Research Establishment in Bricket Wood. St Albans is dripping with history and this is apparent when walking through the high street. There is a lively street market and plenty of national chain stores to give you a blend of the past and the present. Every where you turn in the town there is a little quaint shop specializing in something. | |||||||
| Mainline railway station: | 20-30 minutes to Kings Cross Thameslink | |||||||
| Road Access: | Main access M25 & M1 25 miles north of Central London 5 miles from M1 & M25 | |||||||
| Local Newspaper | St Albans Observer 01727 834477 | |||||||
| Estate Agents: | Name | Address | Tel | Web | ||||
| Frosts Estate Agents | 4 Chequer Street St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3XZ | 01727 861166 | www.frosts.co.uk | |||||
| Richard Gibbs | 6 Holywell Hill St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 1BZ | 01727 868111 | ||||||
| Brading & Harmer | 69 High Street Redbourn St Albans Hertfordshire AL3 7LW | 01727 793165 | ||||||
| Collinsons Estate Agents | 9-11 Victoria Street St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3UB | 01727 843222 | www.collinsons.co.uk | |||||
| Daniels Estate Agents | 104a London Road St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 1NX | 01727 836561 | www.daniels.uk.net | |||||
| Druce & Partners | 12 London Road St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 1NG | 01727 855232 | ||||||
| Letting Agents: | Name | Address | Tel | Web | ||||
| Aitchisons | TBC | 01727 866686 | www.aitchinsons.co.uk | |||||
| Your Move | TBC | 01727 840258 | www.your-move.co.uk/lettings | |||||