Thursday 31 July 2014

Chelmsford vs Ipswich .. the tale of two very different property markets.




I was talking to one of my landlords from Witham the other week, when we were looking over a few properties that he was considering to buy in Chelmsford or Ipswich. As we have offices in both towns, I was able to discuss the two towns in depth. We started to notice an interesting pattern in the house prices between the two. Chelmsford has always been a more expensive town to buy in comparison to Ipswich , but depending on what type of property you buy, there are some fascinating differences.

A few weeks ago, we said that the average value of a property in Ipswich was £211,300, compared to Chelmsford’s of £297,100 (making Chelmsford’s 40.6% higher). However, when you look deeper, things become quite interesting between the two cities. Terraced houses in Chelmsford are 46.1% higher than Ipswich’s (£244,900 to £153,900), semi detached properties are even higher, 48.9% in Chelmsford (£272,300 compared to £182,800 in Ipswich). Whilst detached houses are only 33.7% higher in Chelmsford (£427,900 to Ipswich’s £319,900) and flats are only 28.4% more expensive in Chelmsford in our city (£164,200 to Ipswich’s £27,800).

So why the big difference when it comes to looking at the cities as a whole? Well after investigating, it transpires that in Chelmsford, there are 120% proportionally more detached houses than Ipswich. However, on the other side of the coin, Ipswich has proportionally a over a fifth more semis (in fact, Ipswich must be the land of semis as 38.5% of property in that city is a semi detached house, a fifth more compared to our 31.6%) and 35.6% more flats/apartments. 

As Chelmsford has the more expensive detached houses and a shortage of semis, which in turn increases the price, this means the overall average property price is driven up in Chelmsford over Ipswich. These differing housing provisions in the two cities just goes to show that you need to know your marketplace and decide which is the right place for your money. If you are an existing landlord or one who is thinking of become one in Chelmsford, don’t hesitate to pop by our offices on Duke Street in Chelmsford or send me an email to stephen.frost@martinco.com  

Wednesday 30 July 2014

It's all about Chelmer Village so far this week!

Well, the last few days has seen quite a few properties come to the market on Chelmer Village, I've picked out another little 1 bed house. With this many to choose from, you should be able to pick yourself up a great deal!

This one has just come on the market with us for £146,995, currently tenanted with tenant paying £625 pcm. Based on these figures with no deal on the asking price, this would generate a yield of 5.1%. 

If you want to arrange a viewing, give us a call to get yourself booked in

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Rennovated Broomfield House For Sale

There's not many houses around at the moment, where they have had all the work done to them before you buy them. This one has had a full re-furb done to it and has not been lived in since, so essentially it is like a brand new house!

In a quiet turning located off Broomfield Road, this house is in a great location and for rental purposes is likely to attract hospital workers due to the close proximity to Broomfield Hospital.

With an asking price of £229,995 and a rental figure to be achieved in the region of £900 pcm. You are looking at a gross yield of 4.6%.

It has come on the market with a couple of agents, so I suggest if you are interested, to get down to one of them asap.



Monday 28 July 2014

Chelmer Village Deal of The Day









These properties are so popular from a rental perspective, whenever they come to the market, they always rent so easily. We had one on the market last week, which we rented for £700. This was top money for it, as the owner has spent a lot of time and money on improvements and was virtually like a show home!.

The details for this particular one that I have seen this morning, is not in bad condition, but is a bit smaller than the one we rented last week. realisticlly, this would achieve rent in the region of £650 pcm. Which with an asking price of £130,000, would generate you a gross yield of 6% if bought at the asking price. To avoid stamp duty though, you could always try a cheeky £125k offer and see where it gets you!

If you would like any advice on where to buy your investment property, give me a call

Saturday 26 July 2014

Tasty Little Springfield Number!

These types of property are very popular in the rental market, either 1 or 2 bedroom apartments, and there are quite a few of them around. They're not going to be a super high spec property with massively high rents, but if you are looking for minimal outlay initially and a good yield, you can't go far wrong with these properties. 

One thing you will have to look in to is the length of lease remaining on the individual units, (this is something the agents should advertise). Some of them have quite short leases, so may only be available to cash buyers and of course there will be the obligatory service charges and ground rent that comes with buying a leasehold property.

This particular one is a 1 bed that I have spotted just come to the market, personally, I would go in and give it a once over with some magnolia, just to neutralize it a bit, other than that, it looks fairly standard. It's on the market for £107,500 and we rented one recently in the adjoining block for £575 pcm. Even without any negotiations this would produce you a yield of 6.8%! 


 
Other people will have seen what a good deal this is, so get in touch with the selling agent sooner, rather than later.

Friday 25 July 2014

5.5% return in The Village


Another little rental 'Hot Spot' is The Village in Chelmsford. A development of apartments & houses, with a diverse population. Far enough away from the City centre to be out of it and close enough to get to the commuter links with ease. 

This apartment looks like it has been much improved by the current owners, which will set it apart from some of the other apartments in the development. On the market for a reasonable price of £158,000, which with a rental figure in the region of £725, will give you a return of 5.5%. Not too bad eh!


 
For more advise on where you should be buying an investment property, give me a call or send me an e-mail stephen.frost@martinco.com

Thursday 24 July 2014

Chelmsford Census Figures released




It seems a distant memory three years ago when we were filling in our Census Returns, but now the figures are beginning to be released, especially the statistics about property. The figures for each individual town and city have been released, so let’s look at the Chelmsford City Council figures. In the city there are 69,667 households, just over seven out of ten properties are owned,  73.2% to be precise (51,978 households) of which 23,696 don’t have a mortgage (lucky people!). Renting interests me and just over 7,621 householders rent their house (or 10.9% of households to be exact).

So, with just over a tenth of households being rented in the city, which is very much below the national average of 15.6%, where does that put Chelmsford? For renting, Chelmsford is the bottom 25% of local authorities when it comes to renting (257th out of 347 authorities) but we are in the top 20% for home ownership (66th out of 347 local authorities). 

So does that mean renting isn’t booming in Chelmsford? .. Quite the opposite! Demand continues to be good from quality tenants who are prepared a pay a decent rent, but only for a decent property (if you remember a few weeks back, I said the landlords in Chelmsford, on average over 2013, achieved a total return of over 11.4% a year). If there were a glut of rental properties, there would be an over-supply of property to rent, driving prices down. In the lettings industry, it is recognised there will always be 5% of the rental market up for rent at any one time, which means there should be 381 properties to let today in Chelmsford (5% of 7,621 as mentioned above) .. I am pleased to tell you there are only 328 as I write this article!

 Don’t get me wrong, tenants are more discerning in the properties they rent. Woodchip wallpaper and no central heating won’t cut the mustard anymore. However, present your Chelmsford property to a good standard and price it right and you should do very well. If you are considering becoming a landlord or are an established landlord who is thinking of buying another property to rent out in Chelmsford, please do your homework. Feel free to ask my opinion on what makes a 'decent property'. It's in my interest for you to buy the right property for you, not me. I don't charge for that opinion, because I hope you will recommend me to your friends, which in fact is the best compliment you can make.