Headingley House Price Monopoly: How do Prices vary?

Well as the nights draw in, if there is nothing on the telly, the significant other and myself like to play the board game Monopoly. The buying and renting of property, it’s like a busman’s holiday for me! 

Interestingly, the game was originally invented at the turn of the 20^th Century (in 1903) and the game was initially called ‘The Landlord’s Game’!  Anyway, after a few years in the wilderness, the current owners of the game renamed it in 1935 and so began Monopoly as we know it today.

So whether you are a homeowner or landlord in Headingley, what would a Monopoly board look like today in the suburb? Property prices over the last 80 years have certainly increased beyond all recognition, so looking at the original board, I have substituted some of the original streets with the most expensive and least expensive locations in Headingley today.

Initially, I have focused on the LS6 postcode only, looking at the Brown Squares on the board, the ‘new’ Old Kent Road in Headingley today would be Holborn Street, with an average value £88,100 (per property) and Whitechapel Road would be Woodbridge Vale, which would be worth £91,000. What about the posh dark blue squares of Park Lane and Mayfair? Again, looking at LS6, Park Lane would be Stretton Avenue at £420,648 and Mayfair would be Moorland Road at £542,800. However, look a little further afield from the LS6 postcode, and such roads as Park Lane in Roundhay would claim the Mayfair card at £629,250! Also, I can’t forget the train stations (my favourite squares), and over the last 12 months, the average price that property within a quarter mile of the station sold for was £127,300.

So that got me thinking what you would have had to have paid for a property in Headingley back in 1935, when the game originally came out?

· The average Headingley detached house today is worth £345,700 would have set you back 625 Pounds 9 shillings and 6 old pence.

· The average Headingley semi detached house today is worth £253,800 would have set you back 459 Pounds and 4 shillings.

· The average Headingley terraced / town house today is worth £239,500 would have set you back 433 Pounds 6 shillings and 6 old pence.

· The average Headingley apartment today is worth £159,000 would have set you back 287 Pounds 13 shillings and 7 old pence.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this bit of fun, but underlying all this is one important fact. Property investing is a long game, which has seen impressive rises over the last 80 years. In my previous articles I have talked about what is happening on a month by month or year by year basis and if you are going to invest in the Headingley property market, you should consider the Headingley property you buy a medium to long term investment, because Buy to let is pretty much what it sounds like – you buy a property in order to rent it out to tenants.

As I reminded a soon to be first time landlord from Headingley Terrace the other week, Buy to let in Headingley (as in other parts of the country) is very different from owning your own home. When you become a landlord, you are in essence running a small business – one with important legal responsibilities. On that note, I want to remind landlords of the recent and future changes in legislation when it comes to buy to let. This year, rules have changed about tenant deposits, carbon monoxide detectors and early in the New Year, landlords will have responsibilities to do immigration checks on all their tenants. Failure to adhere to them will mean a minimum of heavy fines in the thousands or in some cases, prison ... it’s a mine field!  That’s why I write the Headingley & Burley Property Blog, where it has an extensive library of articles like this one, where I talk about what is happening in the Headingley & Burley property market, what to buy (and sometimes not) in these areas and everything else that is important to know as a Headingley & Burley landlord.