I do like to have
a coffee at Queenies Coffee Shop in the High Chelmer Shopping Centre in Chelmsford.
Whilst in there, a suited gentleman approached me and asked if I was the person
who wrote the newsletters about the Chelmsford property market. We ended up
having an interesting chat about the local property market, as he was concerned
his daughter would never be able to buy her own property, a place in Chelmsford
she herself can call home.
My latest analysis, using the Land
Registry and Office of National Statistics, shows that overall, month on month,
Chelmsford property values increased by 0.3%. The year on year figures showed the
value of residential property in Chelmsford has increased by 5.8% in the year
to the end February 2016, taking the average value of a property in the council
area to £157,400.
It gets even more interesting when
we look at the last few months’ figures and see the patterns that seem to be
emerging.
·
January 2016 - a rise of 1.1%
·
December 2015 - a rise of 0.2%
·
November 2015 - a rise of 0.5%
We have talked in many recent
articles about the lack of properties being built in Chelmsford over the last
30 years. This lack of new building has been the biggest factor that has
contributed to Chelmsford property values still being 168.75% higher than in
1995. At the risk of repeating myself, until the Government addresses this
issue, and allows more properties to be built, things will continue to get
worse as the UK population grows at just under 500,000 people a year (which is a
combination of around 226,000 people because of higher birth rates/people
living longer and 259,000 net migration) whilst the country is only building
152,400 properties a year – no wonder demand is outstripping supply.
Another reason
intensifying the current level of property values in Chelmsford, is the fact
that people aren’t moving home as much as they used to, meaning fewer
properties are coming onto the market for sale, so in consequence, there is a
lack of choice of property to buy, meaning people thinking of moving are discouraged
from putting their property on the market ... thus perpetuating the problem, as
the scarcity of possible properties to buy in order to move also deters people
from offering their home for sale. This unevenness between demand from would-be
purchasers and the number of properties coming on to the market for sale is
causing pressures in Chelmsford (and the rest of the UK).
So what of the
future of the Chelmsford property market and this man’s daughter? I firmly
believe the property market in Chelmsford and the country as a whole is changing
its attitude about homeownership. Back in the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s,
getting on the property ladder was everything. Since the late 1990’s, we as a
country (in particular, the young) have slowly started to change our attitude to
homeownership. We are moving to a more European model, where people choose to
rent in their 20’s and 30’s (meaning they can move freely and not be tied to a
property), then inherit money in their 50’s when their property owning parents
pass away, allowing them to buy property themselves ... just like they do in
Germany and other sophisticated and mature European counties, meaning his
daughter will end up owning property, just later in life than we did. So,
whatever the vote on the 23rd of June, if you think about it, we might be more
European than we think!
If you want to read more articles
on the Chelmsford property market, whether you are Chelmsford landlord, Chelmsford
homeowner, first time landlord or a first time buyer – then visit the Chelmsford
Property Market Blog… www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk
No comments :
Post a Comment