Walsall Property Market

Comment on the Walsall property market

Walsall First Time Buyers Should Make Hay Whilst the Sun Shines!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall First Time Buyers Should Make Hay Whilst the Sun Shines!
Walsall First Time Buyers Should Make Hay Whilst the Sun Shines!

I was talking to one of my portfolio landlords the other day as I was helping him to source another buy-to-let property when he mentioned something that made me think.  He was complaining about the amount of additional Stamp Duty he had to pay (due to the increase in April 2016), which I have discussed in a previous article on this blog.  This made me think about the other side of the property market who stood to benefit from the investors gripe..first-time buyers of course!!

There’s a whole legion of wannabe Walsall first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder and they now have a 3% price advantage over the previously quicker responding army of Walsall landlords with cash at the ready. Since the start of April, buy-to-let landlords have had to pay an additional 3% stamp duty on their purchases so, whilst demand from some buy-to-let landlords has dropped away, in the interim, it offers first time buyers a chance to fill the vacuum with less competition from cash rich landlords – over two thirds of buy-to-let properties were purchased without a mortgage in the last 7 years – who could bid more and complete quicker.

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Walsall Tenants are Setting Their Own Rents!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,

Last week I went to meet a landlord who found me through my blog.  The property was a traditional end of terrace in north Walsall between Leamore and Coalpool.  The landlord had the property with an agent from out of the area and wanted my opinion.  Or at least that’s what I thought…

Quite often, when talking about the rental market, we talk about property, condition, area, location, amenities/ facilities etc. and seem to forget one of the most important parties to the equation… tenants.

Without tenants, there is no demand for the rental property. The profile of the Walsall tenant has changed and continues to change.  Although this is in part due to the credit crunch, job mobility and the raising of deposits, an increased number of people in their twenties are choosing to rent rather than buy and have done so, even when they were in a position when they could have bought a property.

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EU Referendum – 67.9% of Walsall Voters Vote With Their Feet…

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
EU Referendum - 67.9% of Walsall Voters Vote With Their Feet...
EU Referendum – 67.9% of Walsall Voters Vote With Their Feet…

As most of the polls suggested a Remain Vote, it came as a surprise to most people, including the City. The Sterling has dropped 6% this morning (at time of typing article), after the City Whiz kids got their predictions wrong and MP’s from the Remain camp are using words like “challenging times ahead”.

.. and now the vote has been made .. what next for the 67,280 Walsall homeowners especially the 33,748 of those Walsall homeowners with a mortgage?

The Chancellor in the campaign suggested property prices would drop by 18%. Using Treasury estimates, their method of calculating this was tenuous at best, but focused around the abrupt and hasty increase in UK interest rates, which in turn would raise the cost of mortgages, and therefore lower demand for property, causing a drop in property prices.… and I would agree and say, yes .. that will probably happen.

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Has the Walsall Property Market bubble finally burst?!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Has the Walsall Property Market bubble finally burst?!
Has the Walsall Property Market bubble finally burst?!

A number of landlords, first time buyers and investors have approached me recently, asking about the Walsall property market.  The common thread in these conversations is the question around all these headlines of massive increases in property values in the UK.  Should we be worried we are about to have a price crash?

I’m not going to proclaim that everything is now hunky dory with our economy but it is now actually looking a lot healthier (compared to the doom and gloom of 2008), and there are signs we are seeing more green shoots confirming an actual recovery after several false starts.

I am of the opinion that over the last few years, whilst mortgages have been a little more difficult to obtain than the last decade of the 2000’s, this lack of mortgages has produced some pent up demand for property.  Now we appear to be on the other side of the financial crisis, and the banks are more willing to lend, this is why sales, prices and first-time buyer numbers have improved so rapidly.    

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Walsall Letting Agency Fees – Cheap as Chips..??

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall Letting Agency Fees - Cheap as Chips..??
Walsall Letting Agency Fees – Cheap as Chips..??

I went out to a rental valuation a few days ago in Parkhall, Walsall and, as I always do, did my preparation on the property, the area and suitable tenants.  I introduced myself but, before I could begin speaking, he said “How much then? What are your fees?”.  Now don’t get me wrong, the subject comes up pretty much most of the time but not usually that quickly!

It got me thinking about landlord fees and how landlords perceive agents.  Lots of agents advertise ‘Free fee deals’ – we have in the past!  Do they work?  No!  But why don’t they?

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Can Empty Properties in Walsall be the Solution to our Housing Crisis?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Can Empty Properties in Walsall be the Solution to our Housing Crisis?
Can Empty Properties in Walsall be the Solution to our Housing Crisis?

Easy problems should have easy solutions  – shouldn’t they?

Problems like Walsall’s housing crisis, where we have a rudimentary numerical problem of too few homes for too many people… the answer is clearly to build more property in Walsall – but that, unfortunately for those desperately seeking to purchase or let a property, takes a lot of time and huge amounts of money.  So what of other solutions?

Whilst at the first BBQ of the ‘summer’ with friends recently, the subject of property was mentioned, as it usually does when I’m around!  During this particular conversation, someone mentioned empty properties as the solution to the problem.  On the face of it, it seems so obvious.  It got me thinking so, the next day; I did some research on this topic to see if this was a plausible potential solution.  The results of which are very interesting indeed…!

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Buy to Let..Why the Walsall Property Market?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
Buy to Let..Why the Walsall Property Market?
Buy to Let..Why the Walsall Property Market?

During the course of my day to day activities I talk to a number of landlords.  If you look on social media profiles you will probably find very few people, if any, who set their profile status as a landlord or claim to be one.  As the market evolves with the Private Rented Sector having already outpaced the Social Housing Sector, I have noticed a shift in a new breed of investors entering the property rental market.

Many people in our part of the West Midlands, over the last few years, have seen the buy to let market become all about nest egg investment.  It is fuelled by pitiful interest rates on building society savings and reflects the fact that building society savings accounts are paying half a per cent interest and pension returns are struggling to match expectations, turning more and more people into landlords to secure their future.

So what can you expect from your rental property investment?   Continue reading →

All aboard the Walsall Property Market Runaway Train!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
All aboard the Walsall Property Market Runaway Train!!
All aboard the Walsall Property Market Runaway Train!!

Some of my landlords invest for yield, some invest for capital growth (however, it’s very difficult to get both in this market).  Everyone is different; if you are a landlord in Walsall, who invests for capital growth as opposed to yield, it is crucial to look to build in capital growth in a  property by getting a property at a discount or by finding a way to add value.

So, how can you get a discount in this property market, with Walsall property values alight and property being snapped up over night?  Achieving capital growth in Walsall is going to be tough over the coming few years isn’t it?

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Rents in Walsall Increase!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , , ,
Rents in Walsall Increase!!
Rents in Walsall Increase!!

I was reading the Sunday newspapers last weekend whilst drinking my favourite concoction of freshly juiced Apple & Mango juice, when I spotted an article in the financial pages.  It was announced that UK inflation had increased to its highest level in a year.  Inflation, as calculated by the Government’s Consumer Prices Index, rose by 0.3% over the last 12 months.  The report said it had risen to those ‘heady’ levels by smaller falls in supermarket and petrol prices than a year ago.  If you recall, in early 2015, we had deflation where prices were dropping!

So what does this mean for the Walsall property market … especially the tenants?

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Walsall Private Renters Enjoy Better Health!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall Private Renters Enjoy Better Health!!
Walsall Private Renters Enjoy Better Health!!

Renting used to be a dirty word in the 60’s and 70’s.  You either lived in a ‘Rigsby Rising Damp’ style bedsit with wood chip on the wall and a coin operated electric meter that buzzed in the night, or you lived in a council house.  In the latter part of the 20th Century, the British were persuaded that rent payments were ‘wasted money’.  However, owning often makes less financial sense than renting and as the rate of home ownership is starting to drop substantially, as we roll the clock forward to today, there is no stigma at all to renting.. everyone is doing it.  In fact, of the 269,323 residents of Walsall, 96,418 of you rent your house from the local authority, housing association or private landlords – meaning 35.8% of Walsall people are tenants.

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