Thursday 31 March 2016

9.5% rise in Chelmsford Property Values adds weight to the City’s Housing Crisis



Chelmsford’s continuing housing shortage is putting the City’s (and the Country’s) repute as a nation of homeowners ‘under threat’, as the number of houses being built continues to be woefully inadequate in meeting the ever demanding needs of the growing population in the City.   In fact, I was talking to my sister the other day at a family get together; the subject of the Chelmsford Property market came up in the conversation (as I am sure it does at many family parties in Chelmsford, after the weather and politics). My sister said it used to be that if you went out to work and did the right thing, you would expect that relatively quickly over the course of your career you would be buying a house, you would go on holiday every year, you would save for a pension.   But now things seem to have changed?



Back in the Autumn, George Osborne, used the Autumn Statement to double the housing budget to £2bn a year from April 2018 in an attempt to increase supply and deliver 100,000 new homes each year until 2020.  The Chancellor also introduced a series of initiatives to help get first time buyers on the housing ladder, including the contentious Help to Buy Scheme and extending Right to Buy from not just Council tenants, but to Housing Association tenants as well.



Now that does all sound rather good, but the Country is only building 137,490 properties a year (split down 114,250 built by private builders, 21,560 built by Housing Associations and and a paltry 1,680 council houses).    If you look at the graph (courtesy of ONS), you will see nationally, the last time the country was building 230,000 houses a year was in the 1960’s.


How George is going to almost double house building overnight, I don’t know, because using the analogy of a greengrocers; if people want to buy more apples (i.e. houses) in a greengrocers’ shop, giving them more money (i.e. with the Help to Buy scheme) when there's not enough apples in the first place doesn't really help.



Looking at the Chelmsford house building figures, in the local authority area as a whole, only 460 properties were built in the last 12 months, split down into 310 privately built properties and 150 housing association with not one council house being built.   This is simply not enough and the shortage of supply has meant Chelmsford property values have continued to rise, meaning they are 9.5% higher than 12 months ago, rising 1.1% in the last month alone.



I was taught at school (all those years ago!), that’s it’s all about supply and demand, this economics game.   The demand for Chelmsford property has been particularly strong for properties in the good areas of the City and it is my considered opinion that it is likely to continue this year, driven by growing demand among buyers (both Chelmsford homebuyers and Chelmsford landlords alike). You see Chelmsford’s economy is quite varied, meaning activity is expected to remain relatively strong into the early Summer of 2016, especially as some Chelmsford buy to let landlords try to complete purchases ahead of the introduction of new stamp duty rules in April.



.. and of supply, well we have spoken about the lack of new building in the City holding things back, but there is another issue relating to supply.   Of the existing properties already built, the concern is the number of properties on the market and for sale.   The number of properties for sale last month in Chelmsford was 388, whilst 12 months ago, that figure was 528, whilst three years ago it stood at 756… a massive drop!



With demand for Chelmsford property rising, minimal new homes being built and less properties coming onto the market, that can only mean one thing ... now is a good time to be a homeowner or landlord in Chelmsford.   For more articles like this, please visit the Chelmsford Property Market Blog www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk


Wednesday 30 March 2016

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Chelmsford Apartment with potential 5.1% Yield...

Todays' Buy to Let deal of the day is ready to be viewed. I have talked about the specifics in the video, if you want to have a watch. It's a 2 bed modern apartment, on the market with Hamilton Piers:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53516275.html

Friday 25 March 2016

3rd ready made investment for you this week in Chelmsford...

Good morning, please find below the details of todays buy to let deal of the day on the video. IT's a 2 bedroom apartment, on the market with Property Stop in Chelmsford, see what you think...

This Weeks Eye Candy Property in Chelmsford...

Morning all,  Check out today's 'Eye Candy' property in Chelmsford, I've given it a bit of blurb in the video below, click on it for more details!

Thursday 24 March 2016

Chelmsford Buy to Let sees returns of 12.61% in 2015

Well, as a New Year begins I remembered that a few days before Christmas, I got chatting with one of my out of town landlords who was back in Chelsmsford visiting his family.  Brought up in Chelmsford, he went to the King Edward V1 Grammar School for Boys back in the 1970’s and is now a University Lecturer in central London.  To enhance his retirement, he has a small portfolio of four properties in the City and wanted my advice on where to buy the next property in Chelsmsford (as he lives in a college owned flat and anyway, would never dream of buying where he lives in Kensington (where the average value of a flat is £1.62m and a City house £4.1m.    Eye-watering to say the least!!).

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Friday 18 March 2016

End of the week Buy to Let deal in Chelmsford...

Good morning all, I hope you have enjoyed this weeks buy to let offerings, I have another here for you which is worth a look, click on the video for more details

Thursday 17 March 2016

Private Renting in Chelmsford increases by 362.28% in 20 years

You find me in a reflective mood today as I want to talk about the future of investing in property in Chelmsford. The truth is that we have got fat and lethargic, with many people having mistaken the ever rising Chelmsford (and in fact the whole of the UK) property market since the 1960’s as the eternal gift that kept giving as property prices constantly rose and doubled every five to seven years.

The days of making money from property as easy
as falling off a log, like taking candy from a baby are sadly
over my Chelmsford Property Blog reading friends

Whilst George Osborne has decided now is the time to milk the ‘Golden Cow’ of UK’s private landlords, with changes in taxation for buy to let property,

Wednesday 16 March 2016

The North plays big role in March Budget Announcement Infrastructure and travel prime focus of spending north of London




The Northern Powerhouse was a central theme in George Osborne’s latest Budget, with a strong focus on travel networks and infrastructure.

The Chancellor announced plans to build a tunnel road from Manchester to Sheffield, improve the M62 (Liverpool, Hull, Manchester and Leeds) and A66 and A69 roads, and build the new HS3 rail between Manchester and Leeds.

Mid Week Buy to Let deal in Chelmsford...

See what you think of todays Buy to let deal, I thinks it's got some great potential, click the video for more details...


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40575213.html

Thursday 10 March 2016

4,272 Chelmsford Homes bought by private landlords in the last 20 years – Is this the end for first time buyers?

There I was, out with the family at Tropical Wings Zoo last weekend, when a smart gentleman approached me. ‘Hello’, he said, ‘You are the person writes that Property Blog aren’t you? We have met before at that Business Networking event in Chelmsford a few months ago’. I did then recognise him and, whilst I wont mention his name, he runs a small but perfectly formed well known independent retailers in the city ... It’s amazing who you see when out walking! Anyway, I was at a loose end for five or ten minutes as the other half was sorting things with the family, so we had a chat.

He wanted to know my thoughts on the future of the Chelmsford property market, and I would now like to share with you that conversation, my Chelmsford property Blog reading friends. People are always going to need a roof over their heads and somewhere to live will never go out of fashion – it’s a necessity for every single person. The 22 to 30 year olds of the city have a choice to what type of roof they have ... they rent from the Council, they can rent from a private landlord or finally they can get a mortgage and buy one. In the 1970’s/80’s and 90’s, the expected thing was to save like mad for two years for the deposit (going without luxuries) whilst living at home or renting a cheap two up two down, then buy your first house. However, more recently fewer Chelmsford youngsters have been buying, choosing to rent instead – mainly from private landlords (as Councils have been selling off council housing on the Right to Buy Schemes). The numbers are truly staggering ... and I want to share them with you.

Roll the clock back 20 years and Chelmsford was a different place. There were 40,430 households in Chelmsford and 29,099 of those were owner occupied. Move to the present, and with all the building in the city, the total number of households has increased by 14.32% to 46,220 and quite surprising (to me at least), the number of owner-occupiers has increased to 32,357 (although as a proportion, it is only 70% compared to 71.9% twenty years ago).

However, it’s rented sector that is truly fascinating … twenty years ago, only 1,823 properties were privately rented in Chelmsford ... and now its 6,095, a rise of 4,272.

The twentysomethings of Chelmsford housing difficulties haven’t been helped by the local authority selling off council housing, with the number of council houses dropping from 6,616 to 1,144 over the same twenty-year period. Demand for decent rented property remains high, as Cameron’s much vaunted house building program is years away and has decades of under investment to catch up on before it starts to affect demand. Even with the Buy to Let tax rule changes over the coming few years (which will see the maximum tax relief available to landlords drop from 45% to 20%), private landlords still have an important role to play in housing the people of Chelmsford and those who educate themselves and treat it as a business will survive and prosper.

The best way Chelmsford landlords can protect their income from property (and mitigate the affects of the tax rises) is to keep the homes they let out in Grade A condition. I have found, especially over the last three or four years, Chelmsford tenants have ever growing demands from their rental property, but many are prepared to pay ‘top dollar‘ for houses and apartments that meet their high expectations. You must not forget, letting property in Chelmsford (in fact anywhere) is a business, so all private landlords should also seek the advice, opinion and commentary of property professionals.

... And just as the other half had sorted the family, he asked ‘What of the news of Stamp Duty changes for Landlords coming in April?’ My thoughts are with such low supply (i.e. numbers of property for sale), and high demand it is hard to imagine Chelmsford property values will see much impact – but I predict, ever so slightly, the proportion of owner occupiers should increase slightly compared to buy to let landlords in the coming decade as the the housing market should return to balance. For more in-depth thoughts on the Chelmsford Property Market, which have a library of similar articles like this, all on the Chelmsford Property Market, please visit my blog – www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk

Friday 4 March 2016

"Chelmsford Eye Candy Property Of The Week "


"Eye Candy Property of the Week" on Rightmove this week I have chosen a property in the  South Primrose Hill Area.


Have a good weekend and look forward to next weeks Eye Candy Property of the week.

End of week buy to let deal of the day...

Last deal for the week, tried to make it a tasty one for you. Have a watch to see what you think...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58078988.html

Thursday 3 March 2016

£260,000 Inheritance - Is buying Chelmsford property still the best place for my windfall?

I had an interesting email from someone in Chelmsford a few weeks ago that I want to share with you (don’t worry I asked his permission to share this with you all). In a nutshell, the gentleman lives in Writtle, he is in his mid 60’s and still working. He has a decent pension, so that when he does retire in a couple of years’ time, it will give him a comfortable life. He had recently inherited £260,000 from an elderly aunt. One option he told me was put it into a savings account. The best he could find was a 2 year bond with the Post Office which paid 1.9%; meaning he would get £4,940 in interest a year. One of his other options was to buy a property in Chelmsford to rent out and he wanted to know my thoughts on what he should buy, but he had concerns as he didn’t want to take a mortgage out at his time of life. He was also worried about all the tax changes he had read about in the papers for landlords.

Notwithstanding the war on Chelmsford landlords being waged by George Osborne, the attraction of bricks and mortar endures for many. As our man is a cash buyer, he would not have to deal with the intricate cut to mortgage interest tax relief that will diminish, or even eradicate, the profits of many Chelmsford landlords. It’s true he would face the extra 3% in stamp duty to buy a second property, but with some good negotiation techniques, that could soon be mitigated.

I told him that buying a Chelmsford buy to let property is all about the total return on investment. True, he could put the money in the Post Office bond and receive his interest of £4,940 a year or, as he rightly suggested, invest in property in Chelmsford. The average yield (yield being the equivalent of the interest rate on the property) at the moment in Chelmsford is 3.72% per annum, meaning our potential F.T.L (First Time Landlord) should be able to, depending on what he bought in the town, earn before costs £9,672 a year. (However, I told him there are plenty of landlords in Chelmsford earning half as much again (if not more), if he was willing to consider more specialist investment types of properties – again, if you want to know where – look at my blog or drop me an email).

The bottom line is that the success of investing in Chelmsford buy to let property versus a savings account with the Post Office (or whatever Bank or Building Society is offering the best rate) will depend on the performance of those assets. Unlike with a savings account, with property the capital you invested can also go up (and yes, it can go down as well – more of that in second). Property values in Chelmsford have risen in the last twelve months by 9.5% meaning, that if our chap had bought a year ago, not only would he have received the £9,672 in rent, but also seen an uplift of £24,700 …meaning his overall return for the year would have been £34,372 (not bad when compared to the Post Office!).
..  but the doom mongers amongst you will say, property values can go down, as they did in 2008, and in 1988 and 1979. Yes, but after 1979 prices had bounced back to their ’79 levels by 1984 and went on to grow an additional 58% in the following four years. Then again, they dropped in 1988 and did take 13 years to reach back to those ’88 figures, but the following six years (between 2001 and 2007) they then increased by an additional 66%. Now, according to the Land Registry, average property values in Essex currently stand 11.56% above the January 2008 level, and anecdotal evidence suggests that in the nicer parts of Chelmsford, we are well above these sorts of levels. Therefore, all this talk of property crashes is unfounded.


… and what would that £260,000 get you in Chelmsford? A really nice 2 bed terrace in Chelmer Village, a very decent 2 bed apartment in the Kings Tower development or a lovely 2 bed apartment in Victoria Court .. in fact, the world is your oyster. But which Oyster? Well, my blog reading friends, if you want to read similar articles like this and what I consider to be the very best of buy to let deals in Chelmsford, irrespective of which agent is selling it, then you need to visit the Chelmsford Property Blog - www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk 

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Buy to let deal in Chelmsford, see what you think...

Another little buy to let deal which I thought would interest some investors out there, click the play button and see what you think!


 (I haven't taken this photo, don't judge me, It's actually a nice block, so don't let this put you off!)
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40108311.html