Knowledge Base

Definition

You probably have heard the estate agent’s favourite mantra “location, location, location”, but why is location deemed by many the most crucial consideration when buying a property? A simple answer to this might be what is said, ‘you can change the house, but you can’t move it!’. If you do not enjoy living in a location, the potential costs incurred is usually immense – both financially and mentally. Another reason for the location being an essential factor could be that the hidden information behind the concept of ‘location’ is often undervalued, and difficult to find too. Some people conduct their own research in addition to what they see from the internet and from word of mouth. However, admit it, most of us find this to be a long and confusing process, and we just do not have that much time and knowledge to guide ourselves on this!

We understand this. Through our research, we affirm our belief that location should be the first and foremost thing coming into your mind whenever you consider renting, buying and investing a property. Of course, what is important to people in terms of location varies from individual to individual – this is why we hope you have sufficient and accurate information when you are making an important decision in your life. More importantly, you should feel happy and satisfied about your decisions.

RealMy is our passionate creation to provide an ultimate solution of finding the best as well as the most suitable location for you to live in London. We employ big data and deep analysis to do this. Our proprietary system collects, selects and analyses enormous amount of information to the Ward level of every London Borough. By using RealMy, you will have all the information we believe you need to assist your decision-making, efficiently. RealMy Location Ratings & Rankings are possibly the most comprehensive tools you will find in the market. We are proud to offer you this highly transparent City Information system in the Big Data era.

There are a thousand London in a thousand people’s eyes. Being a multiracial, inclusive and diverse city, London has 32 boroughs, 632 wards in total. In history, people from a variety of racial backgrounds gather together, and reside in different areas. Historical reasons result in that each area’s transport network, safety of community, schools, green spaces, house price growth as well as supply and demand for properties differs largely from each other.

To some people, the difference and variety form part of the ‘charming London’. However, if you are looking for renting or buying properties in London, you would probably find that these increase the confusion in making comparison between areas. The lack of comparative information prevents people from conducting object comparison between areas BEFORE they make the decisions of renting or buying. This often results in frequent change/move to other places, thus increases the overall costs incurred.

To help in above circumstance, RealMy invents the concept of ‘Location Rating’. The idea is quite simple – why couldn’t we rate an area just like doing a credit rating? Through years of effort and research, RealMy has created a system which collects and analyses mega data at Ward level. Working on those data, RealMy Location Ratings are compiled with the purpose to assist the decisions of living and investing. RealMy Location Ratings have 2 categories (RealMy Life Rating and RealMy Investment Rating) and 8 sub-categories. In RealMy system, A+ is the highest rating and C the lowest. The higher the rating of a location (Ward), the better (compared to other locations) the location in certain aspect.

Before RealMy, it is difficult to conduct fair and objective comparison of different areas due to the lack of comparative data and analysis. RealMy Location Rankings are based on RealMy ratings of different locations. RealMy Ratings are about how a location compares to the other locations, whilst RealMy Rankings are the overview of the comparisons.

RealMy Location Rankings list London locations in a high-low rating order – based on a budget entered – so you can quickly find as well as compare the areas that are the most suitable for you to live.

You will see 3 ranking tables here – RealMy Life Ratings Rankings, RealMy Investment Ratings Rankings and RealMy Customised Ranking. The first two have different focuses, as the names suggest. In the Customised Ranking, you are able to adjust the ranking table according to varied needs. For instance, if you are single thus do not care about school, you could ‘hide’ the School factor by de-selecting it. RealMy automatically generates a new ranking table, and you could check the area that you are interested in by clicking that area from the ranking table. You will be taken to a page with details of this area, so you can use the information provided to make your decision.

You could use RealMy Location Rankings and RealMy Location Ratings to assist your decision-makings of where to live and buy. We have visualised our data for your easy use for this purpose.

RealMy Location Ratings: search a location using the property address known. If you are interested in a new build property, or want to find out an area of a school, just enter the address here to check the ratings of this area.

RealMy Location Rankings: Here you could enter your budget for renting or purchasing. You will be able to see the highest-ranked locations in the ranking table generated, under your given budget. You could also create personalised ranking table by ‘filtering’ the factors. For instance, if you want to see the highest-ranked locations only on Transport and School, just hide other factors under the option ‘Hide/Show Columns’.

Transport

Transport has been one of the most important considerations for renting. It is also a truth universally acknowledged that good transport links have a positive effect on house prices.

RealMy Transport Ratings incorporate 4 sub-ratings: PTAL, Travel Time, Travel Experience and Travel Cost. An area with a higher RealMy Transport Rating means that, compared to other areas in London, people living in this area have better access to public transport, spend less travel time to get to the City of London, have better travel experience (less congestion and lateness), and incur less travel cost.

What is PTAL?

PTAL, or Transport Access Level, was developed by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 1992. It is essentially a way of measuring the density of public transport in a location.

PTAL hinges on the distance from any point to the nearest public transport stop, and service (e.g. train) frequency at those stops. As a thoroughly reviewed and tested model, PTAL has been agreed as the most appropriate for measuring the connectivity of a point to the public transport network in London.

Why consider PTAL?

PTAL combines information about how close public transport services are to a site and how frequent these services are.

A location with a high PTAL value means that if you live here, you will spend less time in walking to the nearest station, less waiting time on the station (due to more frequent services), and you could have more options to alternative transport (because of the high density of transport network).

How PTAL is calculated?

PTAL is calculated by TfL, and the highest level of connectivity has a PTAL of 6 and the lowest has a PTAL of 0.

PTAL value is based on several calculations, including walk times to service access points (SAPs), scheduled waiting time (SWT) for each route at each SAP and average waiting times (AWT) for each route at each SAP. Details of the calculations could be found here.

Made Simple:

RealMy PTAL RatingC

RealMy PTAL RatingA

What is Travel Time?

Travel Time refers to the time of getting to the City of London from a Ward. Travelling is by public transport (excluding river bus and airline) or by driving, and only peak time travel is taken into account. For public transport, we calculate the time of travelling to the City of London before 9 am. For driving, we calculate the time to get to the City of London before 9 am.

Why consider Travel Time?

Travel Time is a critical aspect to most renters and property buyers, especially for workings professionals who need to commute daily. For this reason, Travel Time has a significant impact on the rent, property sales price and property demand in an area.

How Travel Time is calculated?

The calculation of Travel Time is broken down to travelling by public transport and by driving, respectively.

For travelling by public transport, we use the planned route given by TfL to calculate the time of getting to the City of London by 9 am. For driving, we use the route given by Google and TomTom to calculate the time of getting to the City of London by 9 am. For driving, the traffic during peak time is an important element to examine. We gather traffic data from Google, TomTom as well as TfL’s road stats updates, and input those data into our model to generate the extra time spent on the road due to congestion. The normal travel time plus any extra time in congestion is the total travel time of driving.

The starting point of travelling is based on the postcodes at which the most residents live within a Ward, and the endpoint is Bank Station in the City of London. We choose approximately 100 postcodes in a Ward and calculate the average time from those 100 addresses to Bank Station, and this result is the Travel Time from any Ward to the City of London.

Made Simple:

RealMy Less Travel Time RatingC

RealMy Less Travel Time RatingA

What is Travel Experience?

Travel Experience is referring to the whole experience of using public transport or driving.

For public transport, aspects affect the overall experience of travelling include congestion and delay. Here congestion refers to the number of passengers at a station. The more passengers use a station to commute, the more overcrowded this station could be, hence the worse the travelling experience. Delay here refers to the average delay time of travelling by trains operated by certain rail companies or on certain underground lines. The more delays, the more extra time spent compared to predicted time, thus the worse the travelling experience.

For driving, we consider road traffic and compare the congestion severity during peak travel times.

Why consider Travel Experience?

Travel Experience might often be neglected when considering transport. However, it is directly related to Travel Time, and together with Travel Time, Travel Experience determines the actual time – rather than predicted time given in theory – that you will spend in travelling. Historical data suggests that in some transport links, delays happen more frequently (e.g. trains operated by some rail companies are often affected by strikes and lateness); in some roads, there are more congestions; and some stations are more crowded than other stations. These all cause the extra time of travelling during peak time, and would have a negative impact on everyday life. Hence, Travel Experience is to brought in to help pick those areas that you are more likely to have better travel experience.

How Travel Experience is calculated?

The calculation of Travel Experience is broken down to driving (considering road traffic) and travelling by public transport (considering congestion and delays).

For driving, the calculation is similar to traffic time calculation in Travel Time. The result is expressed as a % of extra travel time over normal travel time.

For public transport, it is further divided into congestion and delays. In the former, the number of people at the stations (train/underground/DLR) – or station usage – in a Ward is calculated. The more people at a station, the more congested this station is. In the latter, delays on train, overground, underground and DLR are calculated and measured in a unit of minutes.

Made Simple:

RealMy Travel Experience RatingC

RealMy Travel Experience RatingA

What is Travel Cost?

Cost is the money spent on driving and/or using public transport. Travel Cost of driving is determined by the distance from a Ward to the City of London plus any extra cost due to traffic. Travel Cost of using public transport is determined by the Zone of a Ward (monthly ticket price from Zone of the Ward to Zone 1 is used).

RealMy ratings consider low travel cost as a favourable factor, and the lower the travel cost, the higher the rating given.

Why consider Travel Cost?

Cost of transport should be counted into the total cost of property purchase. Some properties far from central London seem to have a low price. However, once the cost of transport is factored in, the evaluation of total costs would be the sale price plus the travel cost (discounted value using 20 years). Under this calculation, properties in non-central London areas do not always have an attractive price as they seem to.

How Travel Cost is calculated?

Cost of driving and public transport are calculated and given an equal weighting of 50%, respectively.

For driving, the rating takes into consideration of the distance from a Ward to the City of London (Zone 1) as well as the extra cost incurred because of road traffic.

For travelling by public transport, the price of the monthly ticket (from the Ward Zone to Zone 1) is used to form the base of rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Low Cost RatingC

RealMy Low Cost RatingA

Safety

Safety is a critical consideration of living in an area. RealMy Safety Ratings incorporate 4 sub-ratings: Crime Rate, Fire & Ambulance Incidents, Road Casualty and Anti-social behaviour.

An area with a higher RealMy Safety Rating indicates that, compared to other areas in London, this area has lower crime rate, less fire incident, less ambulance incidents (caused by assault), less road casualty and lower level of anti-social behaviour.

What is Crime Rate?

Crime Rate is the first and foremost factor in evaluating the safety of an area. Here crime refers to Notifiable Offences, and it includes violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft & handling, criminal damage, as well as drugs and other notifiable offences. Crime rate means the rate of offences per population. The data are from Metropolitan Police Service.

The lower the Crime Rate, the safer a place, thus the higher the Crime Rate Rating given (Low Crime Rate is considered as favourable).

Why consider Crime Rate?

It seems obvious, as Low Crime Rate correlates with the safety and life quality of residents in an area. In addition, Low Crime Rate usually means low cost to Wards safety precautions. Residents living in an area with low crime rate could also enjoy more ‘freedom’, for instance, feel safer going out in the night.

How Crime Rate is calculated?

As above-mentioned, the crime here includes violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft & handling, criminal damage, and drugs as well as other notifiable offences. The Crime Rate in the rating is calculated as the % of numbers of recorded offences over the population in a Ward, thus it is essentially the rate of offences per population. Because Low Crime Rate is considered as favourable, the lower the crime rate in a Ward, the higher the Crime Rate Rating given.

Made Simple:

RealMy Low Crime Rate RatingC

RealMy Low Crime Rate RatingA

What is Fire & Ambulance Incidents?

The number of Fire & Ambulance Incidents is also a factor in evaluating the safety of an area. Here, fire incidents data are from London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, and incidents include primary fire, secondary fire and chimney fire, etc. Ambulance Incidents data are from London Ambulance Service, and incidents call out refers particularly to assault incidents attended.

Why consider Fire & Ambulance Incidents?

Same as Crime Rate, the number of Fire & Ambulance Incidents correlates with the safety in an area. Usually, residents are safer if there are less fire incidents and less ambulance call out resulted by assault incidents in a Ward. Hence, low level of Fire & Ambulance Incidents is given a high rating.

How Fire & Ambulance Incidents is calculated?

Fire Incidents and Ambulance Incidents are calculated and given an equal weighting of 50%, respectively.

Fire Incidents rating first calculates the total number of fires (primary fire, secondary fire and chimney fire, etc.) during the last one year, then divide this by the Ward population to get the rate of fires per population. The lower the rate of fires per population, the higher the Fire Incidents rating.

Ambulance Incidents calculates the number of assault incidents divided by the Ward population. The lower the assault incidents per population, the higher the Ambulance Incidents rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Low Fire & Ambulance Incidents RatingC

RealMy Low Fire & Ambulance Incidents RatingA

What is Road Casualty?

Road Casualty includes killed, seriously injured and slightly injured accidents (three levels of road accidents: fatal, serious and slight). Here accidents include personal injury and road traffic collisions occurring on the public highway. The less the Road Casualty, the higher the rating.

Why consider Road Casualty?

Road Casualty also correlates to the safety in an area. A Ward with a higher Road Casualty rating indicates that – compared to other Wards in London – it has less population density, fewer cars and better road conditions; thus, the safety level of pedestrians and driving is high.

How Road Casualty is calculated?

The three levels of Road Casualty (fatal, serious and slight) are given different weighting, and we calculate the overall road casualty per population. The lower the road casualty per population (%), the higher the Road Casualty rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Low Road Casualty RatingC

RealMy Low Road Casualty RatingA

What is Anti-social behaviour (ASB)?

Anti-social behaviour covers a wide range of unacceptable activity that causes harm to individuals, to the community or to the environment. Examples include: graffiti and fly-posting, nuisance, rowdy or inconsiderate neighbours, vandalism and street drinking.

Why consider Anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) might not seem serious compared to crimes. However, if it’s your home or your street, it can leave you feeling intimidated, frightened and angry. A Ward with low level of ASB feels safer to its residents, thus ASB is included as a Safety factor in the rating.

How Anti-social behaviour is calculated?

Anti-social behaviour rating is calculated using the number of ASB during the last one year over the Ward population. The lower the rate of ASB per population, the higher the Anti-social behaviour rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Low Anti-Social Behaviours RatingC

RealMy Low Anti-Social Behaviours RatingA

School

School is a key factor for most families, as finding a ‘dream’ property is inextricably linked to the property’s proximity to a good school. People who are renting out their properties would also find that properties in a good catchment area are more attractive to potential tenants.

RealMy School Ratings incorporate 4 elements: Primary School, Secondary School, Student Performance and Children’s Health. An area with a higher RealMy School Rating indicates that, compared to other areas in London, this area has more top primary and secondary schools to choose, the better academic performance seen in students, and that the level of children’s health is higher.

What is Primary School?

Primary School rating measures the performance of primary schools within the catchment areas of a Ward. However, rather than the total number of primary schools, here we consider the ‘available-for-choice’ primary schools. Being ‘available-for-choice’ means there are at least 3 pupils from a certain Ward go to this school. Two factors are considered to evaluate the school’s performance: Ofsted ratings and Key Stage 2 (KS2) test results. Types of school considered include academy, community and free schools, but exclude independent schools.

Why consider Primary School?

School is a vital element in consideration for parents who want to make a wise choice when deciding where to raise a family. Many of them would choose to move to an area just for their kids to go to a top-performing school. However, buying in prized catchment areas usually means a heavy premium. Hence, where to find the best value property with top-performing schools around to choose from is a key question to be solved.

Our rating considers the number of top ‘available-for-choice’ (see explanation above) primary schools for a Ward’s residents. The higher the number of top ‘available-for-choice’ primary schools, the more options in getting a place in top schools. A Ward with more top ‘available-for-choice’ primary schools will have a higher Primary School rating.

How Primary School is calculated?

The number of ‘available-for-choice’ primary schools is looked at. ‘Available-for-choice’ here means there are at least 3 pupils from a certain Ward studying in this school, and this data is from National Pupil Database of the Department for Education. Primary School rating for a Ward includes two parts – Ofsted ratings and Key Stage 2 (KS2) test results.

Ofsted – we calculate the number of ‘Outstanding’ primary schools as a % of total ‘available-for-choice’ (see above explanation) primary schools. The higher this %, the higher the rating.

KS2 test results – This is further broken down to 2 parts, including 1) Number of schools with at least 60% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths over the number of total ‘available-for-choice’ schools, express as a %. 2) The number of schools with at least 10% of pupils achieving a high score in reading and maths and working at greater depth in writing over the number of total ‘available-for-choice’ schools, express as a %.

Overall, the higher the % in above two elements, the higher the Primary School rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Primary School RatingC

RealMy Primary School RatingA

What is Secondary School?

Secondary School rating measures the performance of secondary schools within the catchment areas of a Ward. Instead of looking at the total number of secondary schools, here we consider the ‘available-for-choice’ secondary schools. Being ‘available-for-choice’ means there are at least 3 students from a certain Ward go to this school. Two factors are considered to evaluate the school’s performance: Ofsted ratings and Key Stage 4 & 5 test results. Types of school considered include academy, community and free schools, as well as independent schools.

Why consider Secondary School?

School is a vital element in consideration for parents, and many of them would choose to move to an area just for their children to go to a top-performing school. However, buying in the prized catchment areas usually means a heavy premium. Hence, where to find the best value property with top-performing schools around to choose from is a key question to be solved.

Our rating considers the number of top ‘available-for-choice’ (see explanation above) secondary schools for a Ward’s residents. The higher the number of top ‘available-for-choice’ secondary schools, the more options in getting a place in top schools. A Ward with more top ‘available-for-choice’ secondary schools will have a higher Secondary School rating.

How Secondary School is calculated?

The number of ‘available-for-choice’ secondary schools is looked at. ‘Available-for-choice’ here means there are at least 3 students from a certain Ward go to this school, and this data is from National Pupil Database of the Department for Education. Secondary School rating for a Ward includes two parts – Ofsted ratings and Key Stage 4 & 5 (KS4 & KS5) test results.

Ofsted – we calculate the number of ‘Outstanding’ secondary schools as a % of total ‘available-for-choice’ (see above explanation) secondary schools. The higher this %, the higher the rating.

KS4 and KS5 test results – This is further broken down to 2 parts, including 1) KS4 test result, which has a weighting of 40%. This calculates the number of schools with at least 50% of students achieving A*A (and grade 7,8,9 for new standard) in GCSE exams over the total ‘available-for-choice’ secondary schools in this Ward, expressed as a %. The higher this %, the higher the rating. 2) KS5 test result, which has a weighting of 60%. This calculates the number of schools with at least 60% of students achieving A*AB in A-Level exams over the total ‘available-for-choice’ secondary schools in this Ward, expressed as a %. The higher this %, the higher the rating.

Overall, the higher the % in above two elements, the higher the Secondary School rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Secondary School RatingC

RealMy Secondary School RatingA

What is Student Performance?

Primary and Secondary School ratings explained above examine the performance of schools that are available to a Ward’s residents, whilst Student Performance looks at the performance of students who are from this Ward.

Student Performance includes two parts, each having a 50% weighting. One is Key Stage 2 (KS2) results of pupils at the primary school, and the other is Key Stage 4&5 (KS4 and KS5) results of students at secondary school.

Why consider Student Performance?

It is worth noting that living in a Ward with higher Student Performance rating does not mean your children would be guaranteed similar school results. However, a Ward with a higher Student Performance rating indicates that, compared to other Wards in London, this Ward has richer resources of education, better studying atmosphere for kids, and a higher tendency for children to obtain better overall academic performance.

How Student Performance is calculated?

This is a bit complicated, but in a word, Student Performance is the sum of test results at top schools – which meet chosen standards – that are proportionated to the percentage of students in a Ward going to those top schools.

Test results include the results of pupils at primary school and the results of students at secondary school. There are 2 further parts under each type of result, respectively. For pupils at the primary school, these include 1) percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, and 2) percentage of pupils achieving a high score in reading and maths and working at greater depth in writing. For students at secondary school, these include 1) percentage of students achieving A*A (and grade 7,8,9 for new standard) in GCSE exams, and 2) percentage of students achieving A*AB in A-Level exams.

Made Simple:

RealMy Student Performance RatingC

RealMy Student Performance RatingA

What is Children’s Health?

Children’s Health refers to the percentage of obese children in a Ward. Here, children are those in Reception year (aged 4-5) and Year 6 (aged 10-11). Obese children are defined as children with a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to the 95th centile of the British 1990 growth reference (UK90) BMI distribution.

Why consider Children’s Health?

It is also worth noting – as it is in Student Performance – that living in a Ward with higher Children’s Health rating does not mean your children would be guaranteed better health condition if lived here. However, a Ward with a higher Children’s Health rating indicates that, compared to other Wards in London, this Ward has a better ‘dietary environment’ for children – for instance, less fast-food outlets in the community of the area. Living in a Ward with more healthier eating choices out there could largely reduce the possibility of children obesity.

How Children’s Health is calculated?

Children’s Health is calculated on two part, one being the % of obese children in Reception year (aged 4-5) and the other being the % of obese children in Year 6 (aged 10-11). The lower the overall %, the higher the rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Children’s Health RatingC

RealMy Children’s Health RatingA

Neighbour

In London, there are many areas where groups of people with similar background reside, and the community services in these areas have developed to serve the needs of those residents.

If you are looking for places where you could live with a similar group of people, RealMy Neighbour rating does this for you. Neighbour Ratings incorporate 4 elements: Social Grade, Qualification, Employment and Income.

A Ward with a higher RealMy Neighbour Rating indicates that, compared to other areas in London, this area has more residents falling into ‘A’ and ‘B’ of social grade, less unemployment rate and the higher level of household income.

What is Social Grade?

Social Grade is a socio-economic classification often used by the Market Research and Marketing Industries, most often in the analysis of spending habits and consumer attitudes. Its classifications usually include AB – Higher and intermediate managerial/administrative/professional occupations, C1 – Supervisory, clerical and junior managerial/administrative/professional occupations, C2 – Skilled manual occupations, DE – Semi-skilled & unskilled manual occupations, unemployed and lowest grade occupations.

Why consider Social Grade?

High Social Grade is not equated with happiness, and RealMy Social Grade rating does not correlate to the residents’ level of happiness. RealMy Social Grade rating only signifies the level of corresponding services and facilities available in a Ward due to groups of people under certain social grade gathering in this area. For example, a Ward with a Social Grade rating of C indicates the level of services and facilities in this Ward is ‘matched ’to DE social grade. For people belonging to AB social grade who choose to live in this area, they would find that their needs for shops, restaurants, supermarkets and others cannot be satisfied locally.

How Social Grade is calculated?

Social Grade rating is calculated as the weighted sum of the percentage of population under each social grade (AB, C1, C2 and DE).

Made Simple:

RealMy Social Grade RatingC

RealMy Social Grade RatingA

What is Qualification?

Qualification rating measure the qualification levels of residents in a Ward, mainly considering the percentage of residents with qualifications of Level 3 and Level 4 & above.

Level 3 qualifications are similar in level to 2+ A Levels/VCEs, 4+ AS Levels, Higher School Certificate and Progression/Advanced Diploma. Level 4 qualifications & above are similar in level to Degree (for example, BA and BSc) and Higher Degree (for example, MA, PhD and PGCE), respectively.

Why consider Qualification?

Having a high level of Qualification is not equated with owning happiness in life, and RealMy Qualification rating only signifies the level of infrastructures in a Ward developed as a result of people with similar activities or life habits gathering in this area.

How Qualification is calculated?

Qualification rating is calculated as the weighted sum of the percentage of population having qualifications of Level 3 and Level 4 & above.

Made Simple:

RealMy Qualification RatingC

RealMy Qualification RatingA

What is Employment?

Employment measures the proportions of residents aged 16 to 64 claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in a Ward.

Why consider Employment?

A Ward with a higher Employment rating means that, compared to other areas in London, this area has the larger quantity of working professionals, better infrastructures (e.g. transport) and more corresponding services (e.g. Dry Cleaners). If you are also a working individual, you will find that living in an area with a higher Employment rating makes your life more convenient.

How Employment is calculated?

Employment is to calculate the proportions of residents aged 16 to 64 claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in a Ward. The lower the proportions, the higher the rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Employment RatingC

RealMy Employment RatingA

What is Income?

Income indicates the median average gross annual household income in a Ward.

Why consider Income?

Having a high Income is not equated with happiness, and RealMy Income rating only signifies the level of infrastructures in a Ward developed as a result of people with similar level of income gathering here. For example, people with a high level of income who live in an area with low RealMy Income rating would find that their needs for up-market supermarkets and stores cannot be fully satisfied locally.

How Income is calculated?

Income rating ranks the median average gross annual household income in a Ward, and takes no account of average household size or composition within each Ward. The higher the median average gross annual household income, the higher the Income rating given to a Ward.

Made Simple:

RealMy Income RatingC

RealMy Income RatingA

Environment

Environment is a key factor for health and happiness. RealMy Environment Rating incorporates 4 elements: Green Space, Crowdedness (population density), Air Quality and Quiet. An area with a higher RealMy Environment Rating indicates that, compared to other areas in London, this area has more green space, better air quality, less highway/airport/industrial noise, and that it is a less ‘crowded’.

What is Green Space?

Green Space refers to land in a Ward that is covered with grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation (partly or completely). This includes parks, community gardens, public flower beds, grass verges, lawns and greenfield lands, but exclude cemeteries.

Why consider Green Space?

Green Space is highly correlated to life quality and happiness of residents. Many research and studies have suggested that Living in an urban area with green spaces has a long-lasting positive impact on people’s mental well-being. Findings of UK researchers – which are published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology – confirm this sustained positive effect of living in an area with green spaces.

How Green Space is calculated?

We collect data of green spaces in summer via satellite imagery and analyse in our proprietary system the percentage % of green spaces area in a Ward area. The higher this % (more green spaces), the higher the rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Green Space RatingC

RealMy Green Space RatingA

What is Crowdedness?

Crowdedness refers to the population density in a Ward, calculated as persons per sq. km. Being ‘uncrowded’ is viewed as favourable, which indicates less persons per sq. km. The less ‘uncrowded’ a Ward, the higher the rating.

Why consider Crowdedness?

Think about that you are boarding an underground train. If it is fully packed and there is no space between with people, you won’t feel comfortable; neither will you feel good if there is no one at all, as this might feel ‘disconnected’ somehow.

An appropriate level of Crowdedness is related to the happiness of living, particularly for the densely populated city like London. Evidence suggests living in densely populated cities is detrimental to life satisfaction and health, thus looking for an uncrowded area to live is wise as this could potentially lead to more satisfaction and happiness in life.

How Crowdedness is calculated?

This is calculated as the number of residents per sq. km area. The area refers to land only and excludes river. Crowdedness rating ranks this in a high to low order, and the more uncrowded (favourable) an area, the higher the rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Uncrowded RatingC

RealMy Uncrowded RatingA

What is Air Quality?

Air Quality measures the level of pollutants which have an effect on health. Three pollutants are considered: Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) air pollution (in micro grammes per metre cubed, i.e., ug/m3), PM10 air pollution (ug/m3) and PM2.5 air pollution (ug/m3). The lower the level of pollutants, the higher the rating.

Why consider Air Quality?

Air Quality is a key element when evaluating the Environment factor of a property. It relates to health effects caused by specific pollutants. There is considerable evidence shown that long-term exposure to air pollutants (mainly due to transport) does not only affect physical health, but also decreases life expectancy.

How Air Quality is calculated?

Air Quality rating calculates the average level of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) air pollution (in ug/m3), PM10 air pollution (in ug/m3) and PM2.5 air pollution (in ug/m3). The lower the average value, the higher the rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Air Quality RatingC

RealMy Air Quality RatingA

What is Quiet?

Quiet rating measures the size of area impacted by a noise level of above 60 decibels (dB) in a Ward. Here noise includes highway noise, airport noise and industrial noise.

Why consider Quiet?

Quiet is an important element to the good community environment. High level of noise would impact on sleep quality, the cardiovascular system (including an increase in blood pressure), mental health, and school performance in children. A Ward with high Quiet rating indicates this Ward, compared to other areas in London, has less vehicles on the road, and it is farther from airports and factories.

How Quiet is calculated?

Quiet rating measures areas with a noise (highway/airport/industrial) level of above 60 decibels (dB), and calculates the percentage of these areas in the whole Ward. The smaller the percentage, the higher the Quiet rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Quiet RatingC

RealMy Quiet RatingA

Living

Living rating is an indication of life convenience, thus a high Living rating is favourable for both renting and buying a property. RealMy Living Rating incorporates 4 elements: Internet Speed, Walkable Shops, Walkable Eateries and Walkable Services. An area with a higher RealMy Living Rating indicates that, compared to other areas in London, this area has faster internet speed, more walkable parks nearby and more walkable supermarkets, restaurants, pubs, banks, gyms as well as dentists.

What is Internet Speed?

Internet Speed rating evaluates how fast the content travels from the World Wide Web to home computer/tablet/smartphone, and the internet infrastructure within a Ward. 3 considerations are incorporated: superfast broadband (a connection with download speeds of 30Mb or above), ultrafast broadband (a connection with download speeds of 300Mb or above) and the median download speed.

Why consider Internet Speed?

Internet Speed is a key element of modern life in the era of technology. There are an increasing number of Internet-capable devices in the home (mobile phones, iPads and tablets, games consoles, Apple TV, Sky+ boxes, etc.) and bandwidth-intensive services that use broadband as a delivery mechanism (YouTube, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, etc.). Thus, the lack of good internet infrastructure and sluggish internet speed could have a negative impact on home life.

Furthermore, Internet Speed could also affect house prices. A survey (ispreview.co.uk) found that 73.9% of respondents considered that Internet was “critically important” to their home life, and 68.8% would be put off from buying a property if it lacks fast broadband.

Internet Speed rating finds those Wards with better internet infrastructure and faster broadband speed, and this could be an important aspect in making the decision of renting or buying.

How Internet Speed is calculated?

Calculation of Internet Speed rating is based on 3 parts: 1) % of superfast broadband in this Ward; 2) % of ultrafast broadband in this Ward; 3) median download speed in this Ward.

Made Simple:

RealMy Internet Speed RatingC

RealMy Internet Speed RatingA

What is Walkable Shops?

Walkable Shops rating measures the quantity of walkable furniture stores, electricals stores, clothes shops, household stores and etc. in a Ward. The higher the result, the higher the rating.

Why consider Walkable Shops?

Walkable Shops rating forms an important part of RealMy Living rating. It indicates the convenience of living in an area, as well as the quantities of services (furniture stores, electricals stores, clothes shops, household stores and etc.) within a walkable distance to residents. An area with low Walkable Shops rating implies a high hidden cost (both money and time) due to driving to the nearest shopping places. In addition, renting out properties in those areas with less Walkable Shops will also be found difficult, as potential tenants might be looking for a place with more accessible furniture stores, electricals stores, clothes shops, household stores and etc..

How Walkable Shops is calculated?

Walkable Shops rating is the average sum of scores given to 100 postcodes (with most residents) in a Ward. The score is calculated as the weighted length of time from the chosen postcode to the services within distance of 400m (5min walk), 800m (10min walk) and 1200m (15min walk) respectively.

In a word, the more shops found within a walkable distance (as defined above), the higher the Walkable Shops rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Walkable Shops RatingC

RealMy Walkable Shops RatingA

What is Walkable Eateries?

Walkable Eateries rating measures the quantity of walkable pubs, restaurants and supermarkets in a Ward. The higher the result, the higher the rating.

Why consider Walkable Eateries?

Walkable Eateries rating forms an important part of RealMy Living rating. It indicates the convenience of living in an area, as well as the quantities of services (supermarkets, restaurants and pubs) within a walkable distance to residents. An area with low Walkable Eateries rating implies a high hidden cost (both money and time) due to driving to the nearest shopping places. In addition, renting out properties in those areas with less Walkable Eateries will also be found difficult, as potential tenants might be looking for a place with more accessible supermarkets, restaurants and pubs.

How Walkable Eateries is calculated?

Walkable Eateries rating is the average sum of scores given to 100 postcodes (with most residents) in a Ward. The score is calculated as the weighted length of time from the chosen postcode to the services within distance of 400m (5min walk), 800m (10min walk) and 1200m (15min walk) respectively.

In a word, the more supermarkets, restaurants and pubs found within a walkable distance (as defined above), the higher the Walkable Eateries rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Walkable Eateries RatingC

RealMy Walkable Eateries RatingA

What is Walkable Services?

Walkable Services rating measures the quantity of walkable banks, dentists, gyms and post offices in a Ward. The higher the result, the higher the rating.

Why consider Walkable Services?

Walkable Services rating forms an important part of RealMy Living rating. It indicates the convenience of living in an area, as well as the quantities of services (banks, dentists, gyms and post offices) within a walkable distance to residents. An area with low Walkable Services rating implies a high hidden cost (both money and time) due to driving to the nearest services. In addition, renting out properties in those areas with less Walkable Services will also be found difficult, as potential tenants might be looking for a place with more accessible services.

How Walkable Services is calculated?

Walkable Services rating is the average sum of scores given to 100 postcodes (with most residents) in a Ward. The score is calculated as the weighted length of time from the chosen postcode to the services within distance of 400m (5min walk), 800m (10min walk) and 1200m (15min walk) respectively.

In a word, the more banks, dentists, gyms and post offices found within a walkable distance (as defined above), the higher the Walkable Services rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Walkable Services RatingC

RealMy Walkable Services RatingA

Potential for Property Price Growth

Potential for Property Price Growth is one of the two crucial considerations in investing properties. Location with a high rating on this usually has higher potential of return in property price growth compared to other areas in London. RealMy Potential for Property Price Growth Rating includes 4 sub-ratings: Core Engine of Growth, Property Demand, Property Limited Supply and House Prices CAGR Forecast (CAGR: compound annual growth rate).

A Ward with a higher RealMy Potential for Property Price Growth rating has – compared to other London Wards – stronger price growth momentum, higher demand, less property supplies and a higher CAGR forecast.

What is House Prices CAGR Forecast?

House Prices CAGR Forecast refers to the CAGR for a property forecasted in the next 10 years. The higher this rating, the higher the CAGR in this location. CAGR means compound annual growth rate.

Made Simple:

RealMy House Prices CAGR Forecast RatingC

RealMy House Prices CAGR Forecast RatingA

What is Core Engine of Growth?

Core Engine of Growth tells information about the fundamentals which determine the property price growth.

Our research has found that areas with high property price growth also has high ratings in RealMy Transport, RealMy Living and RealMy Neighbour. Thus, Core Engine of Growth is created by integrating those three ratings, so the higher the Core Engine of Growth rating, the higher the potentials in the future property price growth.

Why consider Core Engine of Growth?

No matter you are looking for property to rent or buy, the future property price growth should be considered (in the former situation, price growth could probably lead to rent increase).

A lot of people have this misunderstanding, i.e., the property price would remain buoyant as long as the property is in London and the transport is not too bad. From our data, we clearly see that this is not the case. In many London areas with excellent transport links, there has been no significant change in the property price for almost 10 years. If you buy in these areas, it would be very difficult for you to change to a new property in future, as you have missed out on the value growth of current property. RealMy Core Engine of Growth helps you to avoid this issue. Using the Core Engine of Growth rating, you could easily find those areas that have high potentials of property value growth.

How Core Engine of Growth is calculated?

Core Engine of Growth is strongly correlated to three sub-ratings under RealMy Life Ratings: RealMy Transport, RealMy Living and RealMy Neighbour. They are weighted equally, and Core Engine of Growth is calculated as the average result of these three aspects. A higher Core Engine of Growth rating stands for a stronger potential in the growth of property value.

Made Simple:

RealMy Core Engine of Growth RatingC

RealMy Core Engine of Growth RatingA

What is Property Demand?

Property Demand considers 1) % of properties sold within 3 months of being available among all properties for sales on the market; 2) average time of selling a property. If properties in a Ward can be successfully sold within 3 months, whilst the average time to sell properties is short, then the Property Demand rating of this Ward will be high.

Why consider Property Demand?

Property Demand rating reveals the Supply-Demand relationship of properties in a Ward, while Supply-Demand relationship suggests the potentials in the future property price growth.

As explained before, Core Engine of Growth is telling about the fundamentals which determine the property price growth. Here, Property Demand is measuring the level of supply and demand in the market. Fundamentals will be reflected in supply and demand, whilst supply and demand level lead to the price change in future. Hence, these two factors are closely related to each other, and should be looked at together when assessing the future property price growth.

How Property Demand is calculated?

Property Demand rating is based on 2 calculations, each having equal weighting. First, the percentage of successfully sold properties (sold within 3 months of being available on the market) in the total properties for sales on the market in this Ward. The higher this %, the stronger the demand for properties in this area. Second, the average time in selling a property. The shorter the time to sell, the stronger the demand in this area. The overall results of these two parts form the Property Demand rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Property Demand RatingC

RealMy Property Demand RatingA

What is Limited Property Supply?

Limited Property Supply rating considers the turnover of properties and number of new build properties in a Ward. Turnover of properties is the percentage of properties for sale among all existing properties in an area. The lower this percentage plus the lower the number of new builds, the lower the supply of properties. A low, or limited, supply of properties is corresponded with a high Limited Property Supply rating.

Why consider Limited Property Supply?

The supply and demand relationship affects the future property price growth. For properties in a Ward with a high Limited Property Supply rating, they would be viewed as a ‘scarcity’ due to a short supply. If the demand level is high while the RealMy Life Rating is also high in this area, then the property price in this Ward would normally increase significantly in future.

How Limited Property Supply is calculated?

Limited Property Supply rating calculates 2 parts: the turnover rate of properties for sale and the number of new builds. The former is the properties being sold on the market as a % of the total properties in a Ward – the lower the %, the shorter the supply. The latter is straightforward, and the less the number of new builds, the shorter the supply.

Overall, the less the properties on the market available for sale as well as new builds in a Ward, the higher the Limited Property Supply rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Limited Property Supply RatingC

RealMy Limited Property Supply RatingA

Potential Rental Return

Potential Rental Return is the other crucial considerations in investing properties, apart from Potential for Property Price Growth.

Properties in a location with a high Potential Rental Return rating are more easily to be rent out. RealMy Potential Rental Return Ratings include 4 sub-ratings: Core Engine of Rental Market, Rental Yield, Rental Demand and Limited Supply of Rental Properties. A Ward with a higher RealMy Potential Rental Return rating has – compared to other London Wards – stronger rental growth momentum, higher rental yield, stronger rental demand and more less supply of rental properties.

What is Rental Yield?

Rental Yield is a critical factor that every professional property investor would look at. It is calculated as the 1 year rental income over the initial cost of buying the property. Without considering other factors, the higher the Rental Yield, the higher the investment return.

Why consider Rental Yield?

The overall return of properties is down to two elements: Capital Gain and Rental Yield. Capital Gain is affected by a number of factors, thus it is normally difficult to give an accurate prediction on this. Some long-term investors use inflation rate as a substitute.

Rental Yield, whereas, is much straightforward. The indication of any good investment is inevitably a high yield – in other words, a large profit. Hence, Rental Yield provides critical reference point to investment decisions, as property price alone is far from being sufficient.

How Rental Yield is calculated?

The Rental Yield is calculated as a percentage. It is arrived via dividing the median rental price in a calendar year by the median sale price in a Ward, and is rated from high to low. The higher the %, the higher the RealMy Rental Yield rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Rental Yield RatingC

RealMy Rental Yield RatingA

What is Core Engine of Rental Market?

Core Engine of Rental Market tells information about the fundamentals which determine the attractiveness of properties to potential tenants.

Our research has found that properties receiving more tenant enquiries usually have high RealMy Transport and RealMy Living ratings. Thus, Core Engine of Rental Market is created by integrating those two ratings, and the higher the Core Engine of Rental Market, the easier for landlords to find tenants for the property.

Why consider Core Engine of Rental Market?

You probably would agree that transport is the most important factor in consideration of renting a property. In addition to transport, we find that convenience of living also impacts the renting of properties. If there has always been a strong demand from tenants for properties in a Ward, it is very likely that the property’s rental price would continue to rise.

The RealMy Transport and RealMy Living ratings both positively correlate to the rental price increase. Hence, Core Engine of Rental Market – which is based on those two ratings – is a critical reference in evaluating the attractiveness of properties in an area to tenants.

How Core Engine of Rental Market is calculated?

Core Engine of Rental Market is strongly correlated to three sub-ratings under RealMy Life Ratings: RealMy Transport, RealMy Living and RealMy Neighbour. They are weighted equally, and Core Engine of Rental Market is calculated as the average result of these three aspects. A higher Core Engine of Rental Market rating indicates a stronger demand from tenants for properties in a Ward.

Made Simple:

RealMy Core Engine of Rental Market RatingC

RealMy Core Engine of Rental Market RatingA

What is Rental Demand?

Rental Demand considers 1) % of properties being let out within 3 months among all to-let properties on the market; 2) average time of letting out a property. If most properties in a Ward can be successfully let within 3 months of being on the market, whilst the average time to let properties is short, then the Rental Demand rating of this Ward will be high.

Why consider Rental Demand?

The demand of properties for rent is vital when considering buying a property to rent. The greatest risk among all could arguably be the rental void periods, as this means direct reduction in rental income. The longer the rental void periods, the lower the yield and rental return.

A high RealMy Rental Demand rating indicates a strong demand for rental properties within a particular area, whilst strong demand fuels potential high rental return. The supply and demand relationship is the fundamental determinant for the rental return of properties. RealMy Rental Demand rating – which is based on mechanism – is a much more efficient way to help decide where to buy.

How Rental Demand is calculated?

Rental Demand Rating is based on 2 calculations, each having equal weighting. First, the percentage of successfully let properties (let out to tenants within 3 months of being on the market) in the total let properties on the market in this Ward. The higher this %, the stronger the demand for properties in this area. Second, the average time in letting a property. The shorter the time to let, the stronger the demand in this area. The overall results of these two parts form the Rental Demand rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Rental Demand RatingC

RealMy Rental Demand RatingA

What is Limited Supply of Rental Properties?

Supply of Rental Properties considers the turnover of properties and number of new build properties in a Ward. Turnover of properties is the percentage of To Let properties among all the properties in an area. The lower this percentage and the lower the number of new builds, the shorter the supply of properties. A low, or limited, supply of properties is corresponded with a high (favourable) Limited Supply of Rental Properties rating.

Why consider Limited Supply of Rental Properties?

The supply (number) of properties on the rental market, together with the demand, determines the overall rental return. In a market where many properties of the same type are available, the potential rent increase would be constrained by competition. Because of this, the rental return could be more effectively guaranteed in a limited supply market.

The higher (favourable) the Limited Supply of Rental Properties rating, the lower the turnover of properties as well as the number of new builds.

How Limited Supply of Rental Properties is calculated?

Calculation includes 2 parts: the turnover rate of properties to let, and the number of new builds. The former is the properties currently being let on the market as a % of the total properties in a Ward – the lower this %, the shorter the supply. The latter is straightforward, and the less the number of new builds, the shorter the supply in a Ward.

Overall, the less the number of To Lets and new builds in a Ward, the higher the Limited Supply of Rental Properties rating.

Made Simple:

RealMy Limited Supply of Rental Properties RatingC

RealMy Limited Supply of Rental Properties RatingA

Reference

Licence: UK Open Government Licence (OGL v2)

Licence: Powered by TfL Open Data, UK Open Government Licence (OGL v2)

Transport

  • Transport of London. https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/open-data-users/
  • Transport of London. https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/
  • Network Rail. https://www.networkrail.co.uk/
  • Tomtom Live Traffic. http://livetraffic.tomtom.com/

Safety

  • Metropolitan Police. https://maps.met.police.uk/
  • London Ambulance Service. http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/
  • London Fire Brigade. http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/FOI.asp
  • Transport of London. https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/
  • POLICE UK. https://www.police.uk/

School

  • Ofsted. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted
  • Department for Education. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
  • GOV.UK (Compare school and college performance). https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
  • Health and Social Care Information Centre. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/health-and-social-care-information-centre

Neighbour

  • Nomis – Official Labour Market Statistics. https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/
  • Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/

Environment

  • DigitalGlobe. https://www.digitalglobe.com/
  • Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/
  • London Air. http://www.londonair.org.uk/LondonAir/Default.aspx
  • Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs
  • NoiseMap. http://www.londonnoisemap.com/
  • GiGL. http://www.gigl.org.uk/

Living

  • Ofcom. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/
  • GiGL. http://www.gigl.org.uk/
  • Open Street Map. https://www.openstreetmap.org

Potential for Property Price Growth & Potential Rental Return

  • RealMy Property Database.
  • HM Land Registry. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry
  • Valuation Office Agency. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/valuation-office-agency