There is no doubt that the current crisis, is one of the greatest tests our economy has faced in decades. There are without doubt, many small to medium sized businesses that will suffer greatly, despite the drastic steps taken by the chancellor to lessen the blow. Personally, I feel that rents, rates & interest should have been suspended during this period, to minimise the damage of this terrible situation.

However, moving forward, the question we may all be asking ourselves is, how will the economy cope with this? What will happen to the property market when it is brought out of deep-freeze? Despite the alarming figures suggested by many media sources, this is not the same as the banking crisis of 2008. The banks are in good shape, borrowers are not in negative equity and there is a very large number of businesses that have been able to continue operating though this crisis, albeit at a skeleton level. The manner in which the nation exits from lockdown may have serious implications on what happens within the first few weeks, which is of paramount importance.

There are also factors at a greater level that once again, may save this island nation of ours. Whichever side of the fence any of you may have been during the charade that was Brexit, I would hazard a guess that even the most ardent of remainers must now be doing their sums and breathing sighs of relief (quietly of course) that the prospect of our economy being shackled to the chains of a financial abyss that may well be Europe after this, will be safely independent.

After the financial crisis of 2008, money poured in to the London market from countries outside of the EU because were WERE NOT part of the Euro, indeed, we were a safe haven. Most rising property markets are ‘bottom-up’ markets, that is, property at the bottom rises and pushes prices up throughout the market. The ripples that begin at the bottom in London, work their way upwards and outwards, not only throughout London, but gradually throughout the whole country. However in 2008, this was not the case, it was a ‘top-down’ rising market, investment from the top, raised the prices at the top end of the market in London, which for the first time , worked their way downwards pulling prices upwards. This is without doubt testament to our wonderful currency, the faith in our first class national credit rating.

It is without doubt, that if the forthcoming weeks and months are handled correctly, which I am very confident of, not because of party politics, but due to faith in the fiscal policy of those in charge, that our economy will not just bounce back, it will actually REBOUND.

Therefore, the issue we currently face is to get through the current crisis safely and to use this time to re-connect with our families, to re-connect with that which is most important and also to prepare to re-start our nation and recover, socially, commercially and financially.

The Norhtampton NN2 postcode has seen quite a few changes over the last year or two. Firstly there was the closing of the Park Campus, which was home to the University of Northampton for the last few decades, when it moved to the new Waterside Campus, off the Bedford road.

The closure of this Campus, not only had a major impact on the area around Boughton Green Road, which was struggling to cope with the thousands of students all converging on the overstretched arterial road at the same time, but there has also been a major demographic change, which has not necessarily impacted property in a bad way, but it has changed demand for property.

As the university of Northampton grew in recent years, so did demand for accommodation for the students, who’s numbers had reached in excess of 10,000 by the time Park Campus closed, thanks to the University’s rising position in ranking over the last few years.

Since Park Campus moved to the Waterside Campus, which is just south east of the town centre, demand for student accommodation in the NN2 area has fallen. This may have initially had some impact on HMO property, but most of that has levelled out now and most of these properties have been re-entering the market as self contained units of family homes. On a positive note, the streets around the area have become noticeably calmer, as the sound of escited of students on their evening’s out is now a distant memory to local residents.

Over the last 12 months, there have been 464 sales with values rising a marginal 0.13% which has held up well against the price drops we have seen in other places.

The large scale building off the Welford road, just before the Bramptons, (NN6 Postcode) will also have a large impact on the Kingsthorpe area, as there are plans for the construction of a large number of properties, including the infrastructure to sustain them, but only time will tell how that will impact demand and subsequently prices.

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