In Chelmsford, semi’s account for 30% of property sales. Is that good?

Chelmsford attracts all sorts of property hunters seeking a home in our city and strikes a wonderful balance between old and new. Fortunately, just about every accommodation preference can be catered for, from highly desirable detached houses , as well as popular 1930’s bay front semi detached houses, late Victorian terraced houses and modern luxury apartments dotted around the City.

However, with newspapers and the media giving mixed messages on what is exactly happening in the City, let us have a look at what has happened over the latest 6 month data for between February 2015 & July 2015, in particular, what type of property is actually selling.

Between February 2015 and July 2015, 487 of the 69,667 properties in Chelmsford actually sold. The best performing type of property was, the semi detached house. 148 semi’s were sold within this period, with an average sale price of £299,696, representing 30% of the property sold in Chelmsford (which when you consider only 31.5% of Chelmsford property is semi detached, this means they have done well).

In very close second are terrace houses. They represented 27% of the sales, giving that terrace houses only make up 20% of the property in Chelmsford... this is fantastic news for all terrace house owners.

Of the 11,610 flats / apartments in Chelmsford, 106 changed hands between Feb & July, showing that whilst 16% of properties in Chelmsford are flats/apartments, they very respectably, represented 21% of the sales.

However, it is the detached houses that seem to have performed the worst. Whilst there are 20,907 detached houses in Chelmsford, (representing 30% of the housing stock), only 97 changed hands in the 6 month period, representing just 19% of the sales.

What does this mean for the property owners of Chelmsford? It means that there is a fairly even property market in Chelmsford. Most homeowners start with a terraced, aspire to move to semi detached houses, then as finances allow, they move to a detached property, which is where they will generally stay put.  The majority of apartments, especially in the city centre, may have been purchased by landlords to rent out to tenants, so they have no need/want to trade up on the property ladder, which is why these sales are a lower percentage compared to the others

In general, the Chelmsford property market is in full swing and ‘negative equity’ is becoming a long, distant memory. We are seeing some good sales and if you look hard enough, you may chance upon a "hidden property gem" in the most unlikely of places.

If you would like to discuss anything further then please pop in and see me in our office on Duke Street