Chelmsford Eye Candy property of the week

Hello, I have found a beautiful property for this weeks Chelmsford Eye candy property. It's a gorgeous house, if you have a few quid spare, this would be worth it!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60730991.html

Fantastic yield potential on this 2 bed apartment in Chelmsford...

Hi everyone, another cracking buy to let deal for you today, finishing the week on a high! This is a lovely 2 bed apartment in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford. The yield potential is fantastic! Watch the viseo below and I'll tell you all about it...

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

167% increase in Property Values in Chelmsford since the Millennium

Chelmsford house prices since the Millennium have risen by 167.8%, whilst average salaries in Chelmsford have only grown by 51.27% over the same time frame. This has served to push homeownership further out of reach for many Chelmsford people as they have to battle against raising considerable deposits and meet sterner lending criteria, as a result of new mortgage regulations introduced in 2014/5.  The private rental market in Chelmsford has grown throughout the last twenty years with buy-to-let investors purchasing a high proportion of newly built residential properties that were built and designed for the owner occupier sales markets.  For example, in the Maldon and East Chelmsford Constituency, roll the clock back 20 years and there were 33,547 properties in the Constituency, whilst the most recent set of figures (in the Chelmsford Constituency) show there are 44,183 properties - a growth of 10,636 properties.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests that a large number of those 10,636 were bought by Chelmsford buy-to-let landlords, as over the same 20-year time frame, the number of rental properties has grown from 2,716 to 5,907 in the Constituency - a rise of 3,191 properties.

Nevertheless, some say this historic growth of the Chelmsford rental market might start to change with the new tax rules for landlords introduced by Mr. Osborne over the last seven or eight months. Yet the numbers tell another story. Across the board, mortgage borrowing climbed to a 9 year zenith in March this year as the British property markets traditional Easter rush corresponded with landlords hurrying to beat George Osborne’s new stamp duty changes – buy-to-let landlords borrowed £7.1bn in March 2016 (the latest set of figures released) which was 163% up on the £2.7bn borrowed in the previous March.

You see, from my point of view, I don’t think things will get worse in the buy-to-let market in Chelmsford and these are the reasons why I believe that:

Firstly, what else are Chelmsford landlords going to invest in if it isn’t property - the stock market? Since the Millennium, the stock market has risen by an unimpressive total of 5.54%, quite different to the 167.8% rise in Chelmsford property prices?

Secondly, its true the 3% stamp duty is the first blow on top of a number of other tax changes to be phased in between 2017 and 2021, such as landlords facing a constraint in their ability to offset mortgage interest and, if sizeable numbers of landlords do take the decision to sell their portfolios, this will lead to a substantial amount of second hand properties being put up for sale. Yet that might not be a bad thing, as I have mentioned in previous articles there is a serous shortage of properties to buy at the moment in Chelmsford: the stock of property for sale being at a six year all time low.

.. Thirdly, if there are fewer rental properties in Chelmsford, as supply drops and demand remains the same (although ask any letting agent in Chelmsford and they will say demand is constantly rising) this will create a squeeze in the Chelmsford rental market and as a result rents will rise. In fact, I predict even if landlords don’t sell up, Chelmsford rents will rise as Chelmsford landlords seek to compensate for increased costs, which means more landlords will be attracted back.

For more thoughts on the Chelmsford Property market to read articles like this, you might find the Chelmsford Property Market blog of interest www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk

Fantastic return on this 2 bed apartment in Springfield, Chelmsford

Morning all,  Check out todays' buy to let deal of the day, it's a lovely 2 bed apartment in Springfield, Chelmsford. These properties rent like 'hot-cakes' Check out the video to see what it's all about. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55240390.html

Great Buy to let property in the Moulsham area of Chelmsford...

Good morning, I hope you are all enjoying this mini heatwave that we've been having! 
I've picked a nice little 2 bed apartment in Chelmsford today that's just come to the market with Adrians. Click on the video to hear what I have to say about it.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42559383.html

1 Bed house in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford, could be a great buy to let...

Hello there, welcome to the last buy to let deal of the week. The one I have chosen to post today is a 1 bed house in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford, just come to the market for £180,000. Watch the video below as I talk about what the potential return could be on this one.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60563750.html

Chelmsford 'Eye Candy' property of the week

Hello everyone, check out today's 'Eye Candy' property in Chelmsford, it's a huge house and got something for everyone!  If you have a couple of minutes to spare and want to see how the other half live, check this out...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55170184.html

 

61.6% of Chelmsford Tenants are White Collar Middle Class

With Chelmsford youngsters not able to buy their own property, my research would suggests the progressively important role the private rented sector has been playing in housing people in need of a roof over their head, especially at a time of increasing affordability problems for first time buyers and growing difficulties faced by social housing providers (local authorities and housing associations) in their ability to secure funding from Westminster and then compete against the likes of the Bellway & Countryside of this world to buy highly priced building land.

Renting isn’t like it was in the 1960’s and 70’s, where tenants couldn’t wait to leave their rack-rent landlords, charging sky-high rents for properties with Second World War wood chip wallpaper, no central heating and drafty windows. Since 1997 with the introduction of buy to let mortgages and a new breed of Chelmsford landlord, the private rented sector in Chelmsford has offered increasingly high quality accommodation for younger Chelmsford households.

So whilst I knew in my own mind that the type and class of tenant has improved over the last 20 years, I had nothing to back that up ... until now. According to some detailed statistics from Durham University just released, for the Chelmsford City Council area, the current situation regarding social status of tenants shows some very interesting points. Using the well known Demographic ABC1 grade classifications which refers to the social grade definitions (which describe, measure and classify people of different social grade and income and earnings levels, for market research, social commentary, lifestyle statistics, and statistical research and analysis) this is what I found out.

Of the 13,209 tenants who live in a private rented property in the Chelmsford City Council area, 23.25% (or 3,071) of those tenants are classified in the AB category (AB Category being Higher and intermediate managerial / administrative / professional occupations), compared to 30.38% owner occupiers who own their property without a mortgage or 4.57% who rent their property from the local authority. Fascinating don’t you think?

Looking at the C1’s (C1’s being the Supervisory, clerical and junior managerial / administrative / professional occupations), of the already mentioned 13,209 tenants in the area, an impressive 5,075 of them are considered to be in the C1 category (or 38.42%). Again, when compared with the owner occupiers who own their property without a mortgage, that figure stands at 34.02%   and 16.51% who rent their property from the local authority.  So, if we use the conventional measurements recorded by the white-collar “ABC1” i.e. middle class ….

This means 61.67% of tenants are considered middle class in Chelmsford

I could go through all of the social categories through to ‘E’, but I humbly don’t want to bore you with too many numbers. The fact is that private tenants are moving up the social ladder and whilst back in the 1960’s and 70’s, the private rented sector in Chelmsford (and the rest of the UK) has customarily been viewed as a temporary tenure for 20 somethings before they bought a property, the increase in renting in Chelmsford, which I have talked about many times in the Chelmsford Property Market Blog may be a reflection of increasing difficulty for this group in accessing other tenures, but may also be a reflection that people nowadays choose to rent long term instead?

Chelmsford Landlords need to be aware that tenants now demand more from their properties, the agent and their landlord and whilst affordability for first-time buyers and tighter controls on lending may mean that potential first-time buyers are in the private rented sector for longer, they will still pay ‘top dollar’ rent for a ‘top dollar’ property.

For more articles like this ...please visit the Chelmsford Property Market Blog 

Don't let this buy to let deal in Chelmsford pass you by...

Hi there, please find below the details for today's buy to let deal in Chelmsford. This could be an amazing find. it's a great price, needs some work doing to it and theres a short lease, but this could work out all in your favor. I've gone into a bit more detail in my video, have a watch and see what you think

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38732229.html

Beautiful 3 bed house in chelmsfords' Old Moulsham...

Good morning everyone, my final post this week is for a lovely 3 bedroom house in Old Moulsham, Chelmsford, they don't come up very often, so get in there quick! It's just come on With Hawksley Pearce. I've gone into a bit more details about the numbers etc in my video, have a little watch and see what you think.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60485321.html

Lovely modern apartment in Chelmsford, could be great for buy to let

Another week almost over, I bet you are all looking forward to the weekend

My final deal for you this week is a 2 bed apartment on Lockside Marina in Chelmsford. It actually faces the marina, which is a plus point in this devlopement, because not all of them do and it looks lovely, just come to the market, so have a watch of my video to hear about the numbers to see if it 'floats your boat' and if so, get in touch with Balch and book yourself a viewing!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42593721.html

2.7% drop in Essex and Chelmsford Property Transactions

In this post credit crunch world of sub terrain low interest and annuity rates so low a limbo dancer would smart, the growth of buy to let since 2009 has been phenomenal. So much so, there has been an evolution in purchase of property in the UK from that of just buying the roof over one’s head to that of a buy to let investment where it is seen as a standalone financial asset to fund current and future (ie pensions) investment. So recently, a few days before the release of latest Land Registry data of property transactions, quite a few market commentators were anticipating a huge increase in the number of properties sold in January as the 1^st of April 2016 stamp duty deadline got closer.   

Looking at the most recent set of data from The Land Registry, it seems there has been a drop in the number of completed property sales in the Essex County Council area. Year on year, completed property sales in January (the latest set of data released) fell by 2.7% to 1,690 compared with 1,737 in January 2015. Nationally, the number is similar, as the number of completed house sales fell by 5% in January 2016 compared with January 2015. Some might say this counters the reports that there was a rush by landlords to buy ‘buy to let’ property ahead of the 1^st April 2016 deadline but where was the stampede that many expected?

Looking even closer to home, in the CM1 postcode in January 2016, 77 properties changed hands, whilst 89 properties did so in January 2015. It’s even more interesting when you look at the average price paid, in January 2016, it was £338,954 yet in January 2015, the average price paid was £298,457.

Is the buy to let dream over for Chelmsford landlords?

.. but as ever my Chelmsford Property Blog readers, the devil is in the detail. The 3% stamp duty surcharge for buy to let landlords was announced in the Autumn Statement on the 25^th November 2015. Anyone who has bought a property knows from their offer being accepted to receiving the keys and monies paid is a long drawn out affair, taking on average 8 to 12 weeks, as the Land Registry only get notified upon completion of the sale. We also need to factor in that Solicitors seem to have the last two weeks of December off anyway.

So if there was a rush in the last few days of November/early December in the Chelmsford property market, we would only see the results of that in the February figures (released in June) and more probably March’s (released in July).

So why all the doom and gloom? Simple .. bad news sells newspapers and gets the headlines. Let’s be honest, the headline to this article is designed to be eye catching. However, when we look at both the bigger and smaller picture; nationally, property values dropped (month on month) by 0.5%; in the East region they rose 0.2%, whilst in Essex they rose by 0.4%. The year on year figures tell a completely different story to that.

It just goes to show you should look deeper into something before making a judgment! For more thought provoking commentary on the Chelmsford property market – please visit the Chelmsford Property Blog  www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk

Chelmer Village apartment, with some great potential as a buy to let

Happy Wednesday everyone, my next deals is commin' atcha, have a look and see what you think. Todays' property is in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford and is a 2 bed apartment that has just come to the market with Owen Lyons, it's got some great potential.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55022803.html

Great 3 bed house in Chelmsford

Hello everyone, check out todays' deal and see what you think, it's a 3 bed house on the Tile Kiln development in Chelmsford. It's just come to the market with Hamilton Piers, so don't delay, give them a call!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42794274.html

See if this apartment in Chelmsford meets your investment needs...

Hello, another week has flown by, before we know it, it'll be Christmas! There, I've said it, can't take it back now!

Anyway, back to business, check out my video below for the details of my latest pick of the bunch to see what you think of this 2 bed apartment in Chelmsford. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41953440.html

Asking Prices of Chelmsford Property up 14% since December

I had an interesting question the other day from a homeowner in Chelmer Village who asked me the difference between asking prices and values and why it mattered. When it comes to selling property, there must be agreement between the purchaser (buyer) and seller (vendor) for a property sale to take place. The value a buyer applies to a property can massively differ from the value a seller or mortgage company places upon it. The seller, the buyer and the mortgage company must find an agreeable value to assign to a property so the sale can proceed.

In many of my articles about the Chelmsford property market, I talk about values, i.e. what property in Chelmsford actually sells for, but I haven’t spoken about asking prices for while. Now asking prices are important as they are one of the four key matters a potential buyer will judge your property on (the others being location, bedrooms and type). Price yourself too high and you will put off buyers. So let’s take a look at the Chelmsford numbers.

Over the last 12 months asking prices (i.e. the price advertised in the paper and on Rightmove) in Chelmsford have increased by 33%, taking the average asking price in Chelmsford to £431,300 (up from £323,300 twelve months ago).

Interestingly though, when we look at, say semi-detached and terraced property, a slightly different picture appears. Twelve months ago, the average asking price for a semi-detached house in Chelmsford was £325,600 and today its £371,200 (a rise of 14%); whilst over the same 12-month period, the average asking price of a terraced property was £291,100 a year ago, and today its £319,700 (a rise of 10%).

However, my research shows that the supply of property for sale in Chelmsford is beginning to increase. In December 2015, there were 389 on the market in Chelmsford today there are 508 properties on the market (up 31%). This will mean homeowners looking to sell will need to be conscious of how their property compares against others on the Chelmsford property market. The Chelmsford property market still has substantial momentum and sufficient demand remains to provoke more modest asking price rises. This noteworthy increase in supply since Christmas is currently providing more choice for buyers and is tempering asking price rises - and here is the devil in the detail - only 14% of the overall 33% annual figure (mentioned in para 3) has appeared since December.

… And here is the second point to make. Asking prices are one thing, but what a property sells for (i.e. value) is a completely different matter. These are the average prices achieved (i.e. what they sold for or the average value) for property in Chelmsford over the last 12 months...

·         Overall Average          £316,800

·         Semi-detached            £314,200

·         Terraced                     £273,600

You can quite clearly see, there is a difference between what people are asking for property and what it is selling for. The underlying fundamentals of low interest mortgages and tight supply remain prevalent in the Chelmsford property market however, the number one lesson has to be this ... if you want to sell, be realistic with your pricing.

Lovely Buy To Let deal in Chelmsford...

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjouying the sunshine today! I've grapped a couple of minutes to talk to you about my latest deal of the day on Tugby Place in Chelmsford. It's not long been on the market with William H Brown. Have a watch and see what you think.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60328667.html

Great apartment in Springfield, Chelmsford for buy to let...

Hi there, I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I've got a lovely apartment that I wanted to point out for you today, it's a 2 bedroom apartment in Chelmsford, just come to the market with The Home Partnership, on Cornflower Drive, Springfield. A great spot for tenants, the properties are cheaper here than in town and they rent just as quickly. 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60383162.html

This one has just come to market with a price of £164,995, it has an extended lease, 145 years remaining, which is great and also being an older property, the service charges are quite reasonable at only £90 per month. 

From a rental perspective, you are looking at a rental figure on the region of £750, given the condition of this particular property, which means, you could be looking at a potential return of 5.4% for the year! Not too shabby!!

If you would like some advice about this particular propert,y or any other proprty for that fact, by all means, get in touch and I'm happy to help .