When my research showed me this statistic, the first question that popped into my mind was; “Is this a problem or an opportunity?”

The orthodox way of classifying property in the UK is to look at the number of bedrooms rather than its size in square metres – although now we are leaving the EU, I wonder if we can go back to feet and inches!

It seems that homeowners and tenants are happy to pay for more space. It’s quite obvious, the more bedrooms a house or apartment has, the bigger it is likely to be. The reason being, not only the actual additional bedroom space, but the properties with more bedrooms tend to have larger or more reception/ living rooms. However, if you think about it, this isn’t so astonishing given that properties with more bedrooms would typically accommodate more people.

In today’s Walsall property market, the homeowners and landlords I talk to are always asking me which attributes and features are likely to make their property comparatively more attractive and which ones may detract from the price and demand. Over time, buyers’ and tenants’ wants and needs have changed. In Walsall, location is still the prime factor affecting the value of property, and a property in the sought after areas, say Aldridge, Parkhall or Tamebridge can command a price nearly 50% higher than a similar house in another area. However, after location, the next characteristic that has a significant influence on the desirability, and thus price, of property is the number of bedrooms and the type of property – Detached, Semi, Terraced, and Apartment.

In previous articles, I have analysed the Walsall housing stock into bedrooms and type of property, but never before now have I cross-referenced type against bedrooms. These figures for the Walsall Council area make fascinating reading. It shows that 83.17% of all properties in the area have 3 or more bedrooms!

I was genuinely surprised at the low numbers of one and two bed properties, especially 2 bed semi-detached houses, especially as tenants like the smaller one and two bedroom properties in Walsall.  You see, it might interest the homeowners and landlords of Walsall, that there has been a change in the numbers of properties on the market and the split in bedrooms on the market over the last 12 months

• 12 months ago, 48 one bedroom properties were for sale in Walsall, today 49, a rise of 2%
• 522 two bedroom properties, today 488, a drop of 6%
• 618 three bedroom properties, today 564, a drop of 9%
• 367 four bedroom properties, today 307, a drop of 17%
• 87 five+ bedroom properties, today 78, a drop of 8%

For several years, Walsall property investors have been the only buyers at the starter home end of the market, as they have been enticed by high tenant demand and attractive returns. Some Walsall landlords believe that their window of opportunity has started to close with the new tax regime for landlords, whilst it already appears to be opening wider for first-time buyers.

Whilst this is great news for first time buyers, all is not lost for Walsall landlords! You can still pick up bargains, you just need to be a lot savvier and do your homework!  Keep reading my blog for regular buy to let recommendations or call me on 01922 311016.

Email: info@ashmorelettings.co.uk