Star date: 3rd October 2017

BUY-TO-LET INVESTORS INFEST SALFORD AS 36% OF SALES ARE FOR SECOND HOMES

According to new Government figures, Salford is now the second home buyers' capital of England, outstripping even the City of London and Westminster.

Over the last year, a massive 36% of all property sales in the Salford and Eccles constituency, which includes MediaCityUK and Ordsall, were to second home buyers, like buy-to-let investors and crash pad BBC employees.

Full details here...

One of the reasons for Salford's massive 'Pathfinder' demolition programme of cheap housing over the last few decades was to stop what Salford Council called, a 'transient community', where people were renting short-term and had no permanent stake in the city.

What has happened since is a shortage of cheap housing and affordable rented property, as massive developments of luxury apartments have sprung up which, new Government figures show, have been snapped up as second homes – possibly as crash pads for BBC employees but most definitely as buy-to-let investment properties for the rich.

The Government labels these second homes, 'additional property transactions', and statistics for 2016 to 2017 show that in Rebecca Long-Bailey's constituency of Salford and Eccles – which includes MediaCityUK and Ordsall – 36% of all residential property sales were 'additional property transactions': a total of 1,260 properties.

In terms of volume, this was the highest number in the country, and, in terms of percentage, was the second highest in the country after Edmonton (40% based on 440 properties). Salford and Eccles even outstripped the City of London and Westminster constituency (33%, 980 properties).

By contrast, the percentage of second home sales in Manchester Central was 25% (890 properties), the percentage for Blackley and Broughton was 29% (450) and Worsley and Eccles 20% (400).

In Salford as a whole, the percentage of second home sales was 30% (1,890 properties worth £284million), only beaten by Kensington and Chelsea (36%) and Westminster (33%).

According to property sites, Salford currently offers around a 6% 'average rental yield' on buy-to-let flats, as overseas investors and rich speculators cash in on the city's generous developer terms.

Salford City Council doesn't say much these days about 'transient communities'...meanwhile almost ten thousand people are currently on the city's housing waiting list in

See previous Salford Star articles for a full background...

Only Two Affordable Properties Out Of 4,172 Built In Greengate and Chapel Street – click here

Salford's £42million Planning Scandal As Mayor Asks What Is Going On – click here

Salford In Top 10 Greedy Property Speculator Hotspots – click here

Salford Council Gives Ordsall Away For Nothing To Developers - click here