Is the Chelmsford Property Market a Runaway Train?

Some of my landlords invest for yield, some invest for capital growth (however, it’s very difficult to get both in this market). Everyone is different; if you are a landlord in Chelmsford, who invests for capital growth as opposed to yield, it is crucial to look to build in capital growth in a property by getting a property at a discount or by finding a way to add value.
So, how can you get a discount in this property market, with Chelmsford property values rocketing and property being snapped up over night? Achieving capital growth in Chelmsford is going to be tough over the coming few years isn’t it?
Well, yes and no.
Looking at the headline figures, of the 2,436 properties available for sale today in the Chelmsford area (CM1,2 & 3), 1,248 of them are sold subject to contract, an impressive 51% which could indicate a sign of a runaway Chelmsford property market? Well, no it isn’t. Don’t get me wrong it is a lot better than it was a few years ago, but there are still good property deals to be had.
We asked Rightmove for all of the properties that had come on to the market in the last 14 days (332 to be precise), after 2 weeks, how many of those 332 had found buyers? The answer is one in eight (41 to be precise or 12%). Look at the month of September and of the 453 properties that have come on to the market in Chelmsford, 198 have a sale agreed on them (or 56%)... The property market is good but it’s not yet consistent is it?

The main thing is that landlords must take as much advice as possible. They will need to take a long and serious look at any existing properties or new ones to make sure they can achieve capital growth and that this increases in line with inflation. I have a great technique for finding properties that have been on the market for sale over three months or more. You don’t need any special software. All you need to do is ask Rightmove to list your search results (when searching), with the most recent first. The ones on the last few pages are by definition, the ones that have been on the market longest and potentially ready to do a deal... simple but effective.
We have many landlords who send me a web link of any Chelmsford properties they are interested in and I always give my honest opinion. (It might not be what you want to hear, but it will always what you need to hear!).
So why do we do that? Well, we are also a Letting Agent. Once you’ve bought the property, we would very much like to manage it for you or help with just finding you a tenant. If we give our opinion, at no cost or obligation, then we start to build a relationship, you may just start to trust us and as we will be giving you great customer service, which at the end of the day, is what landlords want from their letting agent and you might end up asking us to be your agent in the future (but of course there is no obligation to do so).
With that considered, it’s very much in our interests that you buy something that’s sensible and lettable – we don’t want you buying a dud, or something where the figures don’t stack up!

 If you want to pop in and see me, my office is on Duke Street.