Why your Croydon rental property may not need a parking space to rent or sell successfully.
Last week a landlord who had been reading my blog site was interested in my views on the type of tenant he may be able to rent to in his block of flats in central Croydon. Croydon has a diverse community and now that we have more renters moving out from London, the diversity is increasing even more. I told him to pop into the office for a chat, and I did a little bit of research on the Croydon Property Market.
Croydon Landlord’s may not need to worry about parking spaces in their properties.
Just one point I picked up on was the use of cars in Croydon.
48.5% of households in Croydon – my research here was specifically in Fairfield (the middle of Croydon) – have no car. That’s almost double the amount of the nation (25.8%), and it does seem like a lot, but it makes a lot of sense when you look at the bigger picture.
| Indicator | Fairfield | Croydon | England |
| 1 car or van in household | 40.9 | 43.6 | 42.2 |
| 2 cars or vans in household | 8.6 | 17.8 | 24.7 |
| 3 cars or vans in household | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.5 |
| 4 or more cars or vans in household | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.9 |
| No cars or vans in household | 48.5 | 33.5 | 25.8 |
Source: ONS Census 2011
Croydon is a town built for commuters. Transport links to the surround area, including London are fantastic, and couple that with the parking restrictions (and the ever increasing fees), one could say that there really isn’t much need for a car.
As you can see, the links from East Croydon (and West Croydon) are very impressive:
And it begs the question…
‘Do I need a parking space in my Investment Property in Croydon?’
It’s not such an easy answer unfortunately. It really does depend on what type of property you have, the location of the property in relation to the Croydon or local train stations and the type of buyer you are attracting (we call this KYC – Know Your Client). If you know who will be looking for property, you should be able to determine whether or not it needs a parking space to sell or rent.
For example:
If you own (or are looking to own) a 1 bed flat in East Croydon, next to East Croydon Station, the chances are you won’t need a parking space. You will most likely be attracting or advertising towards a younger person, either trying to get on the property ladder, or looking to rent for the first time, who is more than likely working full time, locally or London. They don’t need a car, and their lifestyle is GO GO GO . Work, Sleep, Eat, Repeat, and the advert from the Estate Agent should reflect that.
Another example may be:
You own a 3 bedroom house on Edridge Road, in Croydon. This is more suited toward a family, maybe with some young kids, who are at school. They will definitely need a car and not spending the money on the drop kerb could mean that you lose our on many potential applicants.
In all honesty, your Estate Agent should advise you of all of this anyway.
‘How about specifically next to East Croydon, South Croydon and Purley Station’
From my experience, (and that’s 7 years in owning Appleton Estates) people looking to buy or rent property near these particular stations (within 3-4 mins walking distance) do not need a car space. They are normally happy living without a car (as are over 48% of other households in Croydon), or are happy to pay around £100 – £150 per year for on street permit parking (most roads in Croydon).
‘I have a garage in Croydon, but I never use it as my tenants don’t have a car’
In this case, you should look at renting your garage. Typically we rent garages in Croydon for around £80 – £110 per month, which is lower than the average new build car parking rental space of £150pm. You could even sell your garage for a little sum although I probably don’t recommend this.
Connect2 – Croydon’s Walking and Cycling improvement program
Croydon are investing over £3m to provide more cycle and walking links into Croydon town centre and surrounding parks. Some of this has been done already and I actually use it on a daily basis around Park Lane. There are new on-road cycle lanes, new zebra crossings and walking routes all over Croydon already. Again, this is helping to declutter the car mess in Croydon (which isn’t too bad compared to areas of London) and encourage cycling and walking.
See plans here: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/planningandregeneration/regeneration/connect2
Ask yourself this question when you are looking for investment property in Croydon…
‘What type of client will I be attracting to your property when you come to rent / or resell it?’
- Will they be working locally
- Will it be a couple with a new born, or a single person etc …
Parking spaces shouldn’t necessarily be the reason you choose or not choose to buy an investment property in Croydon.
Hope that helps, and don’t forget to subscribe to this blog to get automatic updates whenever I post a new deal or helpful Croydon property market news.
