“When Walsall people move home how far do they actually go?” This was a fascinating question asked by one of my clients the other week. Readers of my blog will know I love a challenge, especially when it comes to talking about the Walsall Property Market!

 For the majority, the response is not very far. It is much more common for homeowners and tenants in Great Britain to move across town than to the next town or county. Until now, it’s been hard to say how many homeowners and tenants moved from (and to) relatively far away to buy or rent their new home. However, I carried out some research and requested some statistics from the Royal Mail. What came back was very interesting to say the least!

Using statistics for the 12 months up to the middle of Autumn 2016, 165 households moved out of the Walsall (WS1) area, moving an average distance of 18.12 miles – the equivalent of moving from Walsall to Stafford (as the crow flies).  The greatest distance travelled was 237 miles – that’s more than 9.1 London marathons (when someone moved to Kings Knowe in Scotland).

Considering there were 1217 property sales in Walsall in the year and countless tenant moves, the numbers seem consistent – once you find a town you like, you tend to want to settle down and if you do move, you might only move to a different neighbourhood, or for better transport links or, to be closer to the school you want to get your children into, but the likelihood is you won’t travel far.

I then turned my attention to people moving into Walsall. Using the same statistics for the 12 months up to the middle of Autumn 2016, 136 households moved into the Walsall Metropolitan Borough area, moving an average distance of 20.52 miles – the equivalent of moving from Telford to Walsall (again as the crow flies). The greatest distance travelled was 138.43 miles – that’s 5.30 London marathons (when someone moved from Weymouth to Walsall).

I have looked at the data of every person moving into Walsall and these have been plotted on a map of the UK. Looking at the map below, it shows exactly where most people come from, when moving into Walsall. As you can see, there are a high proportion of people moving from the East and South East.

So, what does all this mean for the landlords and homeowners of Walsall?

When an agent markets a property for rent or let, it is vital to know the tenant or property buyer well, that the properties they are letting/selling fit those tenants/buyers, so they almost sell themselves. These days that means not only knowing how many bedrooms, reception rooms etc., a property offers but the budget buyers and tenants want to spend on a property in that area as well as where they come from.

The estate and lettings industry loves the mantra “location, location, location”. I say it might be helpful to factor in where (and how) far people are moving from, so the property can be sold or let more easily. Many say knowledge is power and whilst I do enjoy writing my blog on the Walsall property market, I also use the information to help my clients buy, let and sell well. So for example, the information gained for this article, will enable my team and I to be more efficient in where to direct our marketing resources to ensure we maximise our clients’ properties rent-ability.

Whether you are a client of mine or not why don’t you send me an email or pick up the phone to start the conversation?

Email: salekm@ashmorelettings.co.uk

Phone: 01922 311016