Hello Readers,
Back in 2017 I wrote an article titled ‘Is Nelson Road in Gillingham a sleeping giant in the Medway property market?’ and with all the changes to the property market over the past few years I thought it would be interesting to look back and see what has happened in the market.
Before we delve into Nelson Road, however I thought I’d share some good news in that it looks like the Medway Market has recovered when it comes to house prices following the drop in early 2023.
Onto Nelson Road, which, as well as being fairly long (making it good for comparison due to the level of sale data available), has fantastic proximity to several universities, Medway Maritime Hospital along with Gillingham Station. It’s a great location for investors looking to expand into the Medway rental market.
Back in 2017, I took on management of a six-bed quality HMO on the street and it has maintained fantastic occupancy over the past few years ago, generating a fantastic return. I have since seen several HMOs popping up in the vicinity!
Back in 2017, house prices on Nelson road tended to reach between £160k and £190k for two bedrooms, £210k and £230k for three bedrooms with four bedroom properties reaching as much as £360k.
Bringing us up to 2025, my comparison shows how, over the past 24 months, these brackets have all increased with two beds selling between £190k and £285k, three beds between £300k and £350k with one sale for a four bed at £325k.
Looking at the Medway market as a whole, properties have increased in value by an average of 30% since 2017. If we apply this 30% increase to the brackets from 2017 Nelson Road appears to have faired extremely well (apart from the four bed, however I do feel there is limited data for this) – take a look at the table below:
| Nelson Road 2017 Bracket | Nelson Road 2025 average | Percentage growth 2017 – 2025 | |
| 2 Bed | £160k – £190k | £190k – £285k | 19% – 50% |
| 3 Bed | £210k – £230k | £300k – £325k | 43% – 41% |
The lower priced two bed properties in the 2025 bracket have needed a fair amount of work (such as this one sold for £194k in October 2024), but the better growth has been with the three bed properties which have all beaten the Medway average.
A quick look at rents for Nelson Road as back in 2017, we saw £850 to £1,100 depending on the property type and today you’re looking at about £1,200 to £1,650 (41% – 50%). Quite a market change and one that sadly reflects increased mortgage, compliance and maintenance costs for landlords!
This brings me to the conclusion that Nelson Road continues to be an excellent option for property investors and if you are looking to expand in to the area, then I’d love to hear from you. The best way to reach me is by emailing hasan@home-share.co.uk.
Hasan