Chelmsford or Witham for a buy to let investment, which is the best?

Should you be investing in Chelmsford or Witham when it comes to property? Both areas have a mainline train station; therefore have an attraction from the professional commuter market.

The average property value in Chelmsford is £327,801 and in Witham is £255,108, (Chelmsford’s values are 28% higher than Witham). The average rents, goes the other way though, with Chelmsford having an average rent of £1105per month and Witham at £1250 per month. Witham is therefore 11% higher than Chelmsford, with their average rents. This means that Witham has the potential to give investors higher returns on their Investments with an average yield of 5.8%, compared to Chelmsford’s at 4%. This must mean that Witham is the place to buy, right? Well, before you go jumping in, I have done a little research to compare the two areas in more depth.

Investing in property is all about what you buy the property for. You make your money with your buying value, rather than your eventual sale value. Over the last five years, property values in Witham have increased by 18%. This is great for those that have already bought a property in the town. When I looked at property values in Chelmsford over this time, I found that they have increased by a similar amount of properties that have actually sold in each area at the same time, Chelmsford has had 12,532 house sales compared to Witham with 2,274. Chelmsford is a slightly bigger area than Witham, but even still, that is a huge difference.

If you are considering buying now, whilst the yields in Witham are potentially greater than Chelmsford, Chelmsford seems to have more stability in its re-sale market.