The Chelmsford Property Market and The Euro 2016 Football Tournament

With the Referendum on EU membership out of the way, our households can concentrate on something European that doesn’t involve party political broadcasts or politician’s treating us all like children – the Euro 2016 Football Tournament. Chelmsford is home to all different backgrounds and nationalities so if you're not lucky enough to be jetting off to France for the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament, have no fear! For a bit of fun (although there is a serious side to this – you know there would be with me!) I have taken a look at which European people live in Chelmsford so I know who to soak up the best atmosphere with!

During my research some interesting numbers appear. Going into the Euro 2016 tournament, France were 3/1 favourite’s, then Germany 7/2, third Spain 11/2, then England 9/1, Italy 16/1, Poland 50/1, Romania and Wales at 100/1, Ireland at 150/1 and Northern Ireland 500/1 (although Leicester were 5000/1 at the start of last season).

Of the 105,424 residents of the Chelmsford Constituency for Westminster, of the Home Nations going into the competition, 93,361 of them are from England, 770 from Wales, 354 from Northern Ireland and 826 from Ireland, although I do feel sorry for the 1,323 Scots who didn’t get into the finals. Now interestingly, looking at the Mainland Europeans residents in the Chelmsford Constituency, it might not surprise you that they make up 2.46% of the population as a whole in the Westminster area.

However, even more fascinating, of those 2.46% European’s residents, 1.26% are from Western Europe because EU residents from Eastern Europe - i.e. the Accession Countries to the EU between 2003 to 2007 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania) - only make up 1.19% of the population of the Chelmsford Constituency.

Broken down into the relevant football teams, there are in the Chelmsford Constituency …  

160 French people

426 Germans

259 Italians

127 Spanish

604 Poles

124 Romanians

… I feel sorry for the Romanian and Spanish football supporters in Chelmsford!

But what does this have to do with the Chelmsford property market? Quite a lot in fact. Many of these European people were economic migrants, especially those from Eastern Europe. A lot of people’s concerns over migration are exaggerated as this EU migration has acted to fill gaps in skills and labour supply during growth periods of the mid 2000’s and subsequently over the last five years in Chelmsford, EU migrants have done little to displace native workers but do the jobs us Brits don’t often want to do. There is no preferential treatment for council housing in Chelmsford, so EU migrants have in fact increased demand for privately rented accommodation in Chelmsford. 
This has meant, as demand for housing in Chelmsford has remained strong, Chelmsford landlords have continued to buy properties to rent out to keep up with this demand. Therefore, the value of every homeowner’s property in Chelmsford has been kept high because of the demand from these Chelmsford landlords buying starter homes to rent out, releasing existing homeowners to go up the property ladder – benefiting everyone in the chain.
However, rents have remained relatively subdued, in Chelmsford rents are only 18.3% higher than they were in 2005, not bad when you consider we have had 38.52% inflation in the UK economy as a whole over the same 11 years.
EU migration has meant existing homeowners, landlords and the economy as a whole in Chelmsford (and the UK) have benefitted from better economic conditions, property prices not slumping whilst rents have been kept in check by wage inflation. Now I wonder who will win the footy? Back to the TV!

For more thoughts on the Chelmsford property market like this – visit the Chelmsford Property Blog www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk

This 3 bed in Chelmsford could be an easy buy to let property...

Hi Everyone, I hope we are all enjoying the week so far. My next buy to let snippet is a 3 bedroom house in Springfield, Chelmsford, on Primula Way. Just come to the market with Northwood, says it's being sold with a tenant in place, so could be a good one, but make sure you get all the facts first. Have a watch and see what I mean.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40342326.html

Lovely 2 bed in Chelmsford, for potential buy to let

Good morning, I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

I'm kickstarting this weeks deals with a 2 bed apartment I have found on Courtlands, just off Patching Hall Lane in Chelmsford. got a great potential return and the flat itself is lovely, take a look to see what you think...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60102872.html#

52.8% of Chelmsford Voters voted to leave the EU – What now for the 38452 Chelmsford Landlords and Homeowners?

It’s 5.50am as I start to type this article and David Dimbleby has just announced the UK will be leaving the EU as the final votes are counted. As most of the polls suggested a Remain Vote, it came as a surprise to most people, including the City. The Pound has dropped 6% this morning after the City Whiz kids got their predictions wrong and MP’s from the Remain camp are using words like “challenging times ahead”.

.. and now the vote has been made .. what next for the 32357 Chelmsford homeowners especially the 17884 of those Chelmsford homeowners with a mortgage?
The Chancellor in the campaign suggested property prices would drop by 18%. Using Treasury estimates, their method of calculating this was tenuous at best, but focused around the abrupt and hasty increase in UK interest rates, which in turn would raise the cost of mortgages, and therefore lower demand for property, causing a drop in property prices.… and I would say, yes .. that will probably happen.
Chelmsford Property Values
Chelmsford property values will probably drop in the coming 12 to 18 months – but by 18% - I am sorry I find that a little pessimistic and believe that figure was rhetoric to get homeowners and landlords to vote in a particular way. But the UK property market is quite a monster.

Since the last In/Out EU Referendum in June 1975, property values in Chelmsford have risen by 2098.9%

(That isn’t a typo) and whilst property prices did drop nationally by 18.7% between the peak of 2007 and bottom of the market in 2009, when one compares property values today in the country, compared to that all-time high of 2007, (the period before the financial crisis of the Credit Crunch of 2008/9) .. they are still up 10.14% higher.

Another Credit Crunch?

And so, notwithstanding the Credit Crunch, the worst global economic outlook since the 1930s and the recession it brought us, a matter of a few years later, the Government were panicking in 2012/3/4 that the housing market was a runaway train.

Now the same Credit Crunch doom-mongers and Sooth-Sayers that predicted soup kitchens in 2008/9 are predicting Brexit meltdown. Bad news sells newspapers. Stock markets may rise, stock markets may fall, yet the British public continued to buy property in 2009/10 and beyond. Aspiring first time buyers and buy to let landlords dusted themselves down, took a deep breath and carried on buying… because us Brit’s love our Bricks and Mortar .. we need a roof over our head.

However, as mentioned previously, if the value of the pound drops, in the past UK Interest Rates have risen to reverse that drop. However, whilst a cheaper pound will make your pint of Sangria a little more expensive on your Spanish holiday this year and make your brand new BMW pricier .. it will make British export cheaper! Which is great for the economy.

Interest rates

… and what of interest rates? Since 2009, interest rates have been at 0.5% and lots of people have become accustomed to those sorts of levels. So what if interest rates rise .. end of the world? Interest rates in the 1986/88 property boom were on average 9.25%, the 1990’s they were on average around 6.5% and uber-boom years (when UK property values were rising by 20% a year for three or four straight years across the UK) .. 4.5%. Many of you reading this who are in their 50’s and older will remember interest rates at 15%.

But I suspect interest rates won’t rise that much anyway, as Matt Carney (Chief of the Bank Of England) knows, raising interest rates causes deflation – which is the last thing the British economy needs at the moment. In fact they have been printing money (aka Quantitative Easing) for the last few years (which causes inflation) to the tune of £375bn a month. A bit of inflation because the pound has slipped on the money markets (not too much mind you) might be a good thing?

.. because whilst property values might drop in the country, they will bounce back. It’s only a paper loss.. because it only becomes real if you sell. And if you have to sell, again as most people move up market when they sell, whilst your property might have dropped by 5% or 10%, the one you want to buy would have dropped by the same 5% to 10% .. and here is the best part – (and work your sums out) you would actually be better off because the more expensive property you would be purchasing would have come down in value (in actual pound notes) than the one you are selling.

The Chelmsford landlords of the 6095 Chelmsford buy to let properties have nothing to fear neither, nor do the 13864 tenants living in their properties.

Buy to let is a long term investment. I think there might even be some buy to let bargains in the coming months as some people, irrespective of evidence, panic.  Even if we pull up the drawbridge at Dover and immigration stopped today, the British population will still increase at a rate that will exceed the current property building level. Britain is building 139,600 properties a year, but needs according to the eminent ‘Barker Review of Housing Supply Report’, the country needs to build about 250,000 properties a year to even stand still, and as the birth rate is increasing, the population is living longer and just under a quarter of all UK households now are occupied by a single person demand is only going up whilst supply is stifled. Greater demand than supply equals higher prices. That is definitely a fact.

So, what will happen next?

Well, there are many challenges ahead. The country has spoken and we are now in unchartered territory – but we have been through a couple of World Wars, an Oil Crisis, Black Monday, Black Wednesday, 15% interest rates and a Credit Crunch … and we survived!

And the value of your Chelmsford property? It might have a short term wobble… but in the long term -it’s safe as houses regardless.

Cracking apartment in Chelmsford with 6.6% return...

Hi everyone, the sun is out again, so putting a smile on everyone's faces now!

My next deal of the day for you is locatred in Springfield, Chelmsford  and is on for a great price. Just come on with Charles David Casson for £134,995. Just before you get too excited, have a watch of the video and see what it's all about.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42559587.html

£7,800 boost to Chelmsford First time buyers

There’s a whole legion of wannabe Chelmsford first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder and they now have a 3% price advantage over the previously quicker responding army of Chelmsford landlords with cash at the ready. Since the start of April, buy to let landlords have had to pay an additional 3% stamp duty so whilst demand from some Chelmsford buy to let landlords has dropped away, in the interim, it offers Chelmsford first time buyers (FTB’s) a chance to fill the vacuum with less competition from cash rich landlords (over two thirds of BTL properties were purchased without a mortgage in the last 7 years) who could bid more and complete quicker.

Looking at the average value of a terraced house in Chelmsford currently standing at £260,400, that means if our Chelmsford FTB went up against a Chelmsford landlord, the landlord would have to pay an additional £7,812 in stamp duty. Early antidotal evidence from fellow property professionals in the city is suggesting landlords are reducing their offers slightly on Chelmsford properties to reflect the extra stamp duty.  

Whilst on the face of it, it appears landlords are being punished by No.11 Downing Street, I actually believe this increase in stamp duty for landlords is a good thing for the Chelmsford property market as a whole.

Since 2011/12, the Chelmsford property market has performed very well indeed. Over the last 12 months, £876,600,896 has been spent buying 2,818 Chelmsford properties.  Figures from the Land Registry have just been released and month on month in our council area, property values are 0.4% higher, yet 9.9% higher year on year. These figures are nowhere near the heady days of 2003 (February to be exact), when Chelmsford property prices rose by 27.2% in 12 months.

So as property values in Chelmsford (and the UK as whole) start to stablise and come back to some kind of balance, I am beginning to see savvy landlords view the Chelmsford property market in a different light. Even with the Spring rush, gone are the days where you could make limitless money on anything that had a door, a few windows and roof. This stamp duty change has made more and more landlords, after reading the Chelmsford Property Market Blog www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk take advice on what or not to buy and what to pay, meaning Chelmsford landlords are being more calculated with their Chelmsford BTL purchases. I am also seeing a variance between relatively brisk current price momentum and softer expectations in terms of property value growth in Chelmsford, this in part reflects amplified uncertainty about the short term economic outlook (eg Brexit, Issues in the Far East etc).

Now I know a lot of Chelmsford landlords brought forward their BTL purchases to beat the stamp duty deadline. However, it is probable that hunger from Chelmsford investors will return for the right Chelmsford property later in the year, especially if it’s at the right price and offers a decent yield. However, in the meantime, Chelmsford FTB’s could and should, in the short term, make hay whilst the sun shines plug the gap and grab a bargain!

3 Bed house in Chelmsford, could be a corking buy to let deal!

Have a look at the details for this 3 bed house in Chelmsford, that has just come to the market with Adrians. In need of a little TLC, but overall, could be a great buy to let property, see what you think!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40836261.html

A cracking buy to let propertyin Chelmsford with a 6.2% potential yield!

Good afternoon everyone, the rain has finally stopped! I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you about today's buy to let deal which has just come to the market in Springfield, Chelmsford for £119,995, sounds like a bargain! have a watch and see what you think.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54646231.html

End of the week Eye Candy property in Chelmsford

It's Eye Candy day! Have a look at this great house on Beaulieu Park in Chelmsford. IF you have a few spare quid going, this could be the one for you!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59991839.html

Check out Friday's buy to let property in Chelmsford...

Good morning, I'm putting out a cheeky property that we have just listed with our agency, I don't normally do it but it is in my opinion a great buy to let deal and didn't want anyone to miss it. It's on Springfield Road in Chelmsford, have a click on the video to see what you think.

Here's a link to the property details:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54613225.html

1,278 Chelmsford Properties lie empty– An injustice for the 5,251 people on the Chelmsford Council House Waiting List?

Easy problems should have easy solutions  - shouldn’t they?

Problems like Chelmsford’s housing crisis, where we have a rudimentary numerical problem of too few homes for too many people ... the answer is clearly to build more property in Chelmsford - but that, unfortunately for those desperately seeking to purchase or let a property, takes a lot of time and huge amounts of money. So what of other solutions?

Whilst at a dinner with friends recently, the subject of property was mentioned (as I am sure it does at most dinner parties up and down the country). Normally someone always mentions empty properties as the solution to the problem. On the face of it, it seems so obvious. Now quite interestingly, I had recently done some research on this topic, which I want to share with you (as I did with those at the dinner table).

The most recent set of figures from 2015 state there are 1,278 empty homes in the Chelmsford City Council area. So it begs the question ... why not put them back onto the system and help ease the Chelmsford housing crisis? Whilst they stand empty, 5,251 Chelmsford households (not people – households) are on the Council House Waiting List for council houses. Surely, we can undoubtedly all agree that property left empty for years and years isn’t morally right with the burgeoning Council House Waiting List, not to also mention the issue of homelessness.

But a different story emerges when you look deeper into the numbers. Of those 1,278 homes lying empty, only 356 properties were empty for more than six months. The local authority has to report a property being empty, even if its for a week. So many of the Chelmsford properties are either awaiting new homeowners or, in the case of rental properties, new tenants. Also most certainly, some properties are being refurbished and renovated, while others properties have homeowners who are anxious to sell but cannot find a buyer.

And this is where its gets even more interesting. Of the 356 long-term vacant properties (those empty more than six months), only 6 belong to the council, whereas in most other areas that number is considerably higher. However, anecdotal evidence suggests these empty council houses are habitually in need of so much restoration anyway that it’s not worth the Council’s while to do and are in the roughest parts of the council estates, they are properties that even the Council find difficult to fill.

The fact is that the number of genuinely long term empty properties is only a tiny drop in the ocean of the 69,667 properties in the area covered by Chelmsford City Council and, even if every one of those empty homes were filled with happy cheerful tenants tomorrow, it would only meet a small fraction of Chelmsford housing needs.

So what does this mean for all the homeowners and landlords of Chelmsford? Well it means with demand being so high, especially for rental properties, the certainty of the rental market growing is an inevitability because young people cannot buy and councils don’t have the money to build new council houses. This in turn bolsters property prices as landlords continue to buy at the lower end of the market (starter homes, etc), which in turn sustains the rest of the market as those sellers move up the property ladder, releasing others in turn to buy on again.

These are interesting times in the Chelmsford property market!

Lovely house in Chelmsford, could be a great buy to let property

Good morning, have a look at todays' deal of the day, I have picked out a 3 bed house in Moulsham Lodge, Chelmsfords. Looks as thought it's got some potential to be a great buy to let property...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57569144.html

2 Bed apartment in Chelmsford with over 5% potential Yield

Hi everyone. Think I've picked a good'n for today. It's a 2 bed apartment in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford, just come onto the market with Adrians. It's a lovely flat as well. Have a little watch on the video to see if you think this apartment Chelmsford makes sense!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41923092.html

Check out todays Chelsmford Eye Candy property...

We have a belting property in the Chelmsford area for you to get your teeth into today, my colleague Rebecca raves about it in her video, have a watch...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42151401.html

2 Bed maisonette in Chelmsford with cracking return...

Have a look at this 2 bed maisonette in Springfield, just come to the market with Hamilton Piers 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54469162.html

Brexit and Chelmsford Property market – 39% more properties on the market

April Fools Day was no joke for some landlords, as they rushed their buy to let property purchases throughout late March to beat the extra 3% stamp duty George Osborne imposed on buy to let properties after the 31^st March 2016. Because some investors brought forward their 2016 property purchases to save the extra tax, speaking to fellow property professionals in Chelmsford, all of us have noticed, since the clocks went forward, demand to buy in April and May from these landlords has eased.

Then we have the Brexit issue, which is also having a tempering effect on the Chelmsford property market – although if you recall I wrote about this a few weeks ago, and whilst an exit will have an effect – it won’t be the end of the world scenario some commentators are suggesting. In another article I wrote previously, I spoke of the growth rate of Chelmsford property values, and whilst the rate of growth is slowing, Chelmsford property values are still 5.8% higher year on year, albeit the growth rate month on month has started to moderate when compared to the heady days of month on month rises of 2014 and 2015. Interestingly though, a very recent members survey of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors states that only 17% of members believed property values would increase over the next Quarter compared to 44% at the end of 2015.

All this had led to increase in the number of properties for sale. For example in the CM1 postcode, which mainly comprises of Chelmsford and Writtle there were 275 properties for sale in the postcode in December (of which 69 came on to the market for the first time). In January, February and March, 499 properties came onto the market in the postcode district (or an average of 166 per month), meaning by end of the first Quarter, there were 383 properties available for homeowners and landlords alike to buy in CM1 (i.e. a rise of 39.2% more properties for sale). These figures are mirrored in neighbouring postcodes throughout the Chelmsford area.

Nevertheless, I believe this easing of the Chelmsford property market is a good thing, as investment landlords wont have to pay top dollar to secure a property because of the lower competition. On the face of it, this easing should be bad news for the 78,538 Chelmsford homeowners, but nothing could be further from the truth. The majority of homeowners that move, move up market, (i.e. from a flat to terrace/town house, then a semi and then detached), so whilst last year you would have achieved a top dollar figure for your property, you would would have had to have paid an even higher top dollar to secure the one you wanted to buy. The Swings and Roundabouts of the Chelmsford Property Market!

However, all the signals suggest that whatever the aftermath of the approaching EU referendum, in the long term, the disparity between demand for Chelmsford property and the supply (i.e. the number of actual properties) will still exercise a sturdy and definitive influence on the Chelmsford property market. It would surprise me that if by 2021, whichever way we vote in late June, assuming we don’t have another credit crunch or issues like a major world conflict, property prices will be between 18% to 23% higher than they are today.

For more articles about the Chelmsford property market, visit our blog, www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk

1 bed apartment in Chelmsford, great for Buy To Let

Hi everyone, have a look at the details for todays deal of the day. I've picked out a 1 bed apartment on The Village in Chelmsford. Have a look and see what you think...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54468031.html

Lovely 2 bed apartment would be great for buy to let in Chelmsford....

Good morning, check out the details for todays deal of the day. I've picked a 2 bed flat in a very popular spot in chelmsford, Just come to the market with The Home Partnership.

Have a little watch of the video and see if this is the onw for you!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59830835.html

Chelmsford Eye Candy property of the week

I'm in love! 

This house in Chignal St James is amazing, click on the video and I'll tell you all about it.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42180819.html

Check out this 2 bed apartment in Chelmsford...

Good morning, I've picked out a nice 2 bed apartment in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford for you today,. It's just come on with Owen Lyons and looks like it is in pretty good nick. Have a watch of the video to learn more...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54342052.html

Chelmsford Property Market in Crisis : Who is to blame?

‘An Englishman’s Home is his Castle’ is the phrase that was coined in Victorian times as the UK has a reputation for being a country of home owners  .. but the truth could be further from the point, because in a league of the top 46 economic nations of the world, where owning your property is permissible, the UK is only ranked no.37.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, at the end of the First World War, 77% of people rented their home (the vast majority renting from a private landlord as Council Housing was still very much in its infancy). Homeownership rose very slowly in the 1920’s and started to grow as the economy grew after the Great Depression. However, after the Luftwaffe had flattened huge swathes of housing in the early 40’s, the priority was to get people into clean and decent accommodation .. so Local Authority’s (Councils) took up the baton and they built large council estates in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

As the UK economy got back on its feet in the middle part of the 20^th Century and wages rose, people decided they wanted to own their own home instead of renting. Throughout the post war decades, it became easier to secure a mortgage. Interestingly, by 1977, 61.6% of 30 to 34 year olds were owner occupiers with a mortgage compared to 8.7% of 30 to 34 year olds being in private rented accommodation (the remaining either being in council housing or living with friends or family). Ten years later, in 1987, we saw some significant growth in homeownership, as 68.2% of 30 to 34 year olds had a mortgage and only 4.6% of people privately rented. A decade later and there wasn’t much change as, in 1997, the homeownership figure was 68.3% but private renting had jumped to 12.1% in the same 30 to 34 year old age group.

Move on another ten years to the 2007 figures, and this showed a slight drop in homeownership to 65.8% but renting had continued to increase to 18.7% (in the 30 to 34 year old age group). The latest set of figures is for 2014, and only 47.2% of 30 to 34 year olds had a mortgage and an eye watering 33.4% of 30 to 34 year olds privately rent.

When we look at the Chelmsford figures of homeownership, looking back to 1991, 77.84 % of Chelmsford households were owned by the homeowner, whilst 8.49% of Chelmsford households were privately rented, whilst the 2011 census showed home ownership in Chelmsford had dropped to 69.88% and private rented had increased to 13.37%. Much of the recent rise in the occurrence of private renting in Chelmsford since the turn of the Millennium is not because property has become more expensive, but the fact these 30 somethings haven’t got a council house to move into (because they were all sold off) – so they have to rent. The selling of council housing in the 1980’s (a subject I have talked about in a previous article in the Chelmsford Property Market Blog) artificially grew homeownership in the 1980’s, but as these people have got older, the younger generation didn’t have the same opportunity to buy their council house in the 1990’s, 2000’s or 2010’s. That is why, unless the council start building council houses by the acre, and hundreds of acres, private renting will continue to grow in Chelmsford.

So if you want blame anyone .. blame the Grocer’s daughter from Grantham – Mrs T …. but before you do – do remember in the 1970s, the UK was called the "sick man of Europe" by critics of the UK government, because of industrial strife and poor economic performance compared to other European countries culminating with the Winter of Discontent of 1978/9 and if it hadn’t been for her we wouldn’t be where we are today.