Semi-Detached 3 sales on record

32 BIRCHS CLOSE

HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU

£355,000

Location

Map view View on Google Maps View on OpenStreetMap Street View LU7 9LU

Nearby

Nearest stations, universities and amenities (distance from property).

Type	Name	Distance
Bus stop	Birchs Close	0.0 miles
Shop	Sports Nutrition	0.1 miles
Train station	Stonehenge Works	2.3 miles
Hospital	Luton and Dunstable Hospital	5.1 miles
University	University of Bedfordshire	9.3 miles

Property details

Tenure

Freehold

Property type

Semi-detached

Floor area

79 m²

EPC rating

Year built

England and Wales: 1950-1966

Last sold

£355,000 Feb 2026

Price per m²

£4,494/m²

Local average

£373,620 (121 sales)

Street crime

11 incidents within 1 mile (May 2026)

EPC Rating & Upgrade Cost

Current rating: E

Potential rating: D

Inspection date: 30/05/2025

Expiry date: 29/05/2035

Current heating cost: £1,110/year

Potential heating cost: £914/year

Est. upgrade cost to C: £10,725

EPC E or below may face future regulation risk. Upgrading to C could improve long-term ROI.

Recommendations

Increase loft insulation to 270 mm (£100 - £350)
Floor insulation (solid floor) (£4,000 - £6,000)
High performance external doors (£1,000)
Solar photovoltaic panels, 2.5 kWp (£3,500 - £5,500)

View full EPC on gov.uk

Price history

Event	Date	Price	Type	% change	Today’s value (HPI)	Action
Sold	27/02/2026	£355,000	Semi-detached	+16.4%	£355,339 to April 2026	View transaction
Sold	01/07/2019	£305,000	Semi-detached	+62.2%	£383,168 to April 2026	View transaction
Sold	09/02/2010	£188,000	Semi-detached	—	£382,936 to April 2026	View transaction

Historic listings

No historic listing events could be matched to the sales on record for this address. We only show events where a listing page could be linked to a Land Registry sale here.

Sold comparables

Same street and nearby sales within 0.25 miles (last 5 years). Land Registry Price Paid Data.

Address	Price	Date	Type
THE OLD MANSE WATLING STREET, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LP	£365,000	27/06/2025	Semi-detached
17 CLIFFORD CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9RQ	£300,000	08/08/2023	Semi-detached
39 BIRCHS CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU	£390,000	12/05/2023	Semi-detached
THE BLACKBIRDS 12 WATLING STREET, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LY	£316,000	02/05/2023	Semi-detached
31 WHITE HORSE CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LT	£315,000	09/09/2022	Semi-detached
35 CLIFFORD CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9RQ	£355,000	26/08/2022	Semi-detached
27 MANOR AVENUE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LW	£385,000	18/10/2021	Semi-detached
2 KILBY ROAD, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LX	£305,000	29/09/2021	Semi-detached

Area average: £341,375 (8 sales)

For sale comparables

No active for-sale comparables found within 1 mile for the same property type.

Capital growth trend

Land Registry outcode average: last 12 months vs 5y and 10y ago (from sold prices).

5y growth 8.5%

10y growth 19.1%

House Price Index (HM Land Registry — official index, not sold-price averages): Central Bedfordshire. Series: Semi-detached. As of April 2026.

1y (index) 5.2%

5y (index) 21.7%

10y (index) 39.7%

Rental Range

Estimated market rent for Central Bedfordshire. Low = conservative, Realistic = average, Optimistic = best case.

Low £1,125/mo

Realistic £1,250/mo

Optimistic £1,375/mo

Based on Local Authority from postcode lookup → Central Bedfordshire.

LHA (30th percentile) floor for Northants Central: Apr 2025 – Mar 2026

Rental Comparables

Residential lets from OpenRent and Rightmove for the area. Bedroom counts vary — use the Beds column to compare like-for-like lets. Student lets are excluded.

Title	Rent	Beds	Distance	As seen on
3 Bed Semi-Detached House, The Limes, LU7	£1,400/mo	3	0.22 miles	OpenRent
3 Bed End Terrace, Augustus Road, LU7	£1,350/mo	3	0.34 miles	OpenRent

Average rent: £1,375/mo (2 listings)

Rent-driven metrics

Based on OpenRent comparables.

Rent ratio 0.39%

Max investor price (0.8%) £171,875

Target investor price (1%) £137,500

Gross yield 4.6%

Cost-to-rent ratio 21.5×

Monthly cashflow £-186/mo 75% LTV, 3.95% APR (5yr fixed), 25yr term

Cash-on-cash ROI -2.2%

Rent ratio — Monthly rent ÷ purchase price (1% rule). 1%+ = strong, 0.8–1% = okay, <0.8% = weak for cashflow.
Max investor price — Rent ÷ 0.8%; the price at which rent would be 0.8% of price (Stoke-style target).
Target investor price — Rent ÷ 1%; the price at which rent would be 1% of price (strong cashflow band).
Gross yield — Annual rent as % of purchase price (no costs).
Cost-to-rent — Price ÷ annual rent (from OpenRent comparables). Under 14× = strong, 14–16× = acceptable, 17×+ = compressed.
Cashflow — Rent minus mortgage, 10% maintenance, £25/mo compliance. Assumes 75% LTV, 3.95% APR (5yr fixed), 25yr term.
ROI — Annual profit ÷ cash in (deposit + 4% purchase costs).

Flood risk

Zone: 1

Risk: Low

Not in Flood Risk Area (no data)

Street-level crime

Category	Count
Other theft	3
Drugs	2
Public order	2
Violence and sexual offences	2
Burglary	1
Other crime	1
Total incidents	11

Within 1 mile during May 2026. Source: data.police.uk (England & Wales).

Schools nearby

Nearest open schools with Ofsted ratings (England). Closed schools are not shown. Data from Get Information about Schools and Ofsted.

Name	Type	Distance	Ofsted
Hockliffe Lower School	Primary	0.3 miles	Outstanding — 16 Jun 2010
Stanbridge Lower School	Primary	1.5 miles	Good — 17 Nov 2022
Toddington St George Church of England School	Primary	2.4 miles	Good — 12 Jan 2023
Beaudesert Lower School	Primary	2.4 miles	Good — 5 Feb 2015
Parkfields Middle School	Primary	2.5 miles	Good — 19 Jun 2024

FENSA

Window and door installation certificates found for this address.

Issued	Work completed	Windows	Doors
08/08/2003	01/04/2003	5	2
27/04/2003	27/02/2003	3	—

# 32 BIRCHS CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU

## Property details

- Slug: `78b12ba` (address key hash: `78b12bacbb2c8c3f808f676d5e4d62cd2437bd7f`)
- Postcode: LU7 9LU
- Transactions on record: 3

- Tenure: Freehold
- Property type: Semi-detached
- Floor area: 79 m²
- EPC rating: E
- Year built: England and Wales: 1950-1966
- Last sold: £355,000 Feb 2026
- Price per m²: £4,494/m²
- Local average: £373,620 (121 sales)
- Street crime: 11 incidents within 1 mile (May 2026)

## Latest sale

- Price: £355,000
- Date: 2026-02-27
- Type: S
- Tenure: F

## EPC Rating & Upgrade Cost

- **Current rating:** E
- **Potential rating:** D
- **Expiry date:** 29/05/2035
- **Current heating cost:** £1,110/year
- **Est. upgrade cost to C:** £10,725

### Recommendations
- A (£100 - £350)
- W2 (£4,000 - £6,000)
- X (£1,000)
- U (£3,500 - £5,500)

[View full EPC on gov.uk](https://find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk/energy-certificate/2616-1943-1851-1617-2414)

## Price history

| Event | Date | Price | Type | % change | Today’s value (HPI) | Transaction |
|-------|------|-------|------|--------|---------------------|-------------|
| Sold | 2026-02-27 | £355,000 | Semi-detached | +16.4% | £355,339 (to April 2026) | [View](http://87.117.209.195:8080/house-prices/4e75c29c-d2d8-8922-e063-4804a8c094d0) |
| Sold | 2019-07-01 | £305,000 | Semi-detached | +62.2% | £383,168 (to April 2026) | [View](http://87.117.209.195:8080/house-prices/8f1b26bd-4eb2-53db-e053-6c04a8c03649) |
| Sold | 2010-02-09 | £188,000 | Semi-detached | — | £382,936 (to April 2026) | [View](http://87.117.209.195:8080/house-prices/a2b9e384-3dcb-45fc-a879-df6c1dc6cf04) |

*Today’s value (HPI): adjusted using published house price index trends for the area and property type; not a valuation of the property today.*

## Sales History

*Recorded sales for this property. Data from Land Registry Price Paid.*

| Address | Price | Date | Type |
|---------|-------|------|------|
| 32 BIRCHS CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU | £355,000 | 27/02/2026 | Semi-detached |
| 32 BIRCHS CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU | £305,000 | 01/07/2019 | Semi-detached |
| 32 BIRCHS CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU | £188,000 | 09/02/2010 | Semi-detached |

## Sold Comparables

*Same street and nearby sales within 0.25 miles. Data from Land Registry Price Paid. Last 5 years.*

| Address | Price | Date | Type |
|---------|-------|------|------|
| THE OLD MANSE WATLING STREET, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LP | £365,000 | 27/06/2025 | Semi-detached |
| 17 CLIFFORD CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9RQ | £300,000 | 08/08/2023 | Semi-detached |
| 39 BIRCHS CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LU | £390,000 | 12/05/2023 | Semi-detached |
| THE BLACKBIRDS 12 WATLING STREET, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LY | £316,000 | 02/05/2023 | Semi-detached |
| 31 WHITE HORSE CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LT | £315,000 | 09/09/2022 | Semi-detached |
| 35 CLIFFORD CLOSE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9RQ | £355,000 | 26/08/2022 | Semi-detached |
| 27 MANOR AVENUE, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LW | £385,000 | 18/10/2021 | Semi-detached |
| 2 KILBY ROAD, HOCKLIFFE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE, LU7 9LX | £305,000 | 29/09/2021 | Semi-detached |

**Area average:** £341,375 (8 sales)

## Capital growth trend

*Land Registry outcode average from sold prices: last 12 months vs 5y and 10y ago.*

- **5y growth:** 8.5%
- **10y growth:** 19.1%

## House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

*Official index for Central Bedfordshire; Semi-detached series; as of April 2026.*

- **1y growth (index):** 5.2%
- **5y growth (index):** 21.7%
- **10y growth (index):** 39.7%

## Rental Range

*ONS Price Index of Private Rents (Central Bedfordshire). Low / Realistic / Optimistic = conservative / average / best case.*

- **Low:** £1,125/mo
- **Realistic:** £1,250/mo
- **Optimistic:** £1,375/mo

## LHA (Local Housing Allowance)

*VOA 30th percentile rent floor for Northants Central (Apr 2025 – Mar 2026).*

## Rental Comparables

*Residential lets from OpenRent and Rightmove for the area. Bedroom counts vary — use the Beds column to compare like-for-like lets. Student lets are excluded.*

| Title | Rent | Beds | Distance | As seen on |
|------|------|------|------|------|
| 3 Bed Semi-Detached House, The Limes, LU7 | £1,400/mo | 3 | 0.22 miles | OpenRent |
| 3 Bed End Terrace, Augustus Road, LU7 | £1,350/mo | 3 | 0.34 miles | OpenRent |

**Average rent: £1,375/mo (2 listings)**

## 1% Rule

- **Rent ratio:** 0.39% (weak for cashflow)
- **Max investor price (0.8%):** £171,875
- **Target investor price (1%):** £137,500

*Monthly rent ÷ price. 1%+ = strong, 0.8–1% = okay, <0.8% = weak. Max investor price = rent ÷ 0.8% (Stoke-style target). Target investor price = rent ÷ 1% (strong cashflow band). Based on OpenRent comparables.*

## Rent-driven metrics

*Based on OpenRent comparables (median £1,375/mo).*

- **Gross yield:** 4.6%
- **Cost-to-rent:** 21.5×
- **Monthly cashflow:** £-186/mo (75% LTV, 3.95% APR (5yr fixed), 25yr term)
- **Cash-on-cash ROI:** -2.2%

*Gross yield = annual rent as % of price (no costs). Cost-to-rent = price ÷ annual rent (from OpenRent comparables); under 14× = strong, 14–16× = acceptable, 17×+ = compressed. Cashflow = rent − mortgage − 10% maintenance − £25/mo compliance; assumes 75% LTV, 3.95% APR (5yr fixed), 25yr term. ROI = annual profit ÷ cash in (deposit + 4% purchase costs).*

## Flood risk

- **Zone:** 1
- **Risk:** Low
- **Source:** Not in Flood Risk Area (no data)

[Check long-term flood risk (GOV.UK)](https://check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk/postcode)

## Street-level crime

| Category | Count |
|----------|-------|
| Other theft | 3 |
| Drugs | 2 |
| Public order | 2 |
| Violence and sexual offences | 2 |
| Burglary | 1 |
| Other crime | 1 |
| **Total incidents** | **11** |

*Within 1 mile during May 2026. Source: data.police.uk (England & Wales).*

## Schools nearby

*Nearest open schools with Ofsted ratings (England). Closed schools are not shown.*

| Name | Type | Distance | Ofsted |
|------|------|----------|--------|
| Hockliffe Lower School | Primary | 0.3 miles | Outstanding — 16 Jun 2010 |
| Stanbridge Lower School | Primary | 1.5 miles | Good — 17 Nov 2022 |
| Toddington St George Church of England School | Primary | 2.4 miles | Good — 12 Jan 2023 |
| Beaudesert Lower School | Primary | 2.4 miles | Good — 5 Feb 2015 |
| Parkfields Middle School | Primary | 2.5 miles | Good — 19 Jun 2024 |

## FENSA Certificates

This property has 2 FENSA certificate(s) on record.

### FENSA Certificate #889290
- **Address:** 32 Birchs Close, Hockliffe, LU7 9LU
- **Certificate Issued:** 08/08/2003
- **Work Completed:** 01/04/2003
- **Items:** 5 window(s), 2 door(s)

### FENSA Certificate #612953
- **Address:** 32 Birchs Close, Hockliffe, LU7 9LU
- **Certificate Issued:** 27/04/2003
- **Work Completed:** 27/02/2003
- **Items:** 3 window(s)