A local property investor/ landlord contacted me last week with a million questions which I really enjoy.  Those of you that know me personally know I love to talk about Walsall property to anyone who would lend me an ear (at this point I wish I had some emoticons to add a couple of smiley faces)! Now, our investor was a shrewd individual it seemed and informed me how he had several properties achieving, what seems like from the outset, some great rental values..which got me thinking..what is actually happening with current property values and rents over the past year? What is the route to getting more ‘bang for your buck’?

The new year started with some positive interest in the Walsall property market. Taking a snap shot of the Walsall property market for the first quarter of 2017, the picture suggests some interesting trends when it comes to the asking prices for property and what prices properties are actually selling for.  This is really important to understand as everything connected to these two factors has a ripple effect which ultimately affects your final numbers whether you decide to flip (re-sell) or rent it out.

Let us first consider the number of properties which sold (in WS1), compared to 12 months ago:

Type of Walsall Property	Number of Properties on the Market 12 Months Ago	Number of Properties on the Market Now	Percentage Change
Detached	13	16	23%
Semi	26	25	-4%
Terraced	28	17	-39%
Flats	17	7	-59%

Ignoring building plots and other types of properties that don’t fit into the four main categories of interest to us that means 65 properties sold today compared with 84 a year ago, a drop of 19.75%.

What about Walsall asking prices, compared to the same as a year ago?  Surprisingly they are 7.4% higher.

With that in mind, I wanted to look at what property was actually selling for in Walsall. Taking my information from the Land Registry, the last available six months property transactions for WS1 show an interesting picture (note the Land Registry data is always a few months behind due to the nature of the house buying process and so January 2017 is the latest set of data). The price shown is the average price paid and the number in brackets is the number of properties actually sold.

Walsall Property Type	1 Bed	2 Beds	3 Beds	4 Beds	5 Beds
Houses	£157,750 (2)	£160,838 (4)	£139,167 (24)	£221,245 (12)	£299,000 (5)
Flats	£77,227 (11)	£91,968 (20)	–	–	–
All	£89,615 (13)	£103,221 (24)	£139,167 (24)	£221,245 (12)	£299,000 (5)

So what does all this mean for the property owning folk of Walsall?

Well, with less property on the market than a year ago and asking prices 7.4% higher, those trying to sell their property need to be mindful that buyers, be they first timers, buy to let landlords or people moving up the Walsall property ladder, have much more price information about the Walsall property market at their fingertips than ever before.

Walsall property owners who are looking to sell or rent their property in 2017, need to be aware of the risks of over pricing their property when initially placing it on the market. Over the last 12 months, I have noticed the approach of a few Walsall estate/ letting agents is to suggest an inflated asking price to encourage the homeowner and secure the property to sell/ rent on their books. The down side to this is that when offered to the market for the first time, buyers and potential tenants alike will realise it is overpriced and won’t waste their time asking for a brochure. They won’t even view the property, let alone make an offer. So when the price is reduced a few months later, the property has become market stale and continues to be ignored.

Whilst the Walsall property-market has an unassailable demand for property – there is one saying that always rings true – as long as the property is being marketed at the right price it will sell/ rent.

Whether you are a client of mine or not I am always happy to share my opinion – call me, email me or lets meet up and talk over a cuppa. Either way I don’t charge for sharing my opinions and I certainly don’t do any of the ‘hard sell can’t get away from this person’ thing so, rest assured.

Phone: 01922 311016

Email: salekm@ashmorelettings.co.uk