Walsall area

Walsall Unemployment Rates Drop to 7.3%! What Does This Mean for Walsall’s Property Owners?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall Unemployment Rates Drop to 7.3%! What Does This Mean for Walsall’s Property Owners?
Walsall Unemployment Rates Drop to 7.3%! What Does This Mean for Walsall’s Property Owners?

It was late May 2016, The Right Hon. Member for Tatton, Mr George Osborne, published an official HM Treasury analysis stating UK house prices would be lower by at least 10% (and up to 18%) by the middle of 2018 compared with what is expected if the UK remained in the European Union.  So, eight months on from the Referendum, are we beginning to show signs of that prophecy?

The simple answer is yes and no.

Good barometers of the housing market are the share prices of the big UK builders. Much was made of Barratt’s share price dropping by 42.5% in the two weeks after Brexit, along with Taylor Wimpey’s equally eye watering drop in the same two weeks by 37.9%. Looking at the most recent set of data from the Land Registry, property values in Walsall are 5.75% up month on month (however, the month before that, they had seen decrease of 0.1%) – so is this the time to panic and shout?

Doom and Gloom then?  Well, let me consider the other side of the coin.

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Walsall’s ‘Baby Boomers’ Vs Walsall’s ‘Millennials’

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall’s ‘Baby Boomers’ Vs Walsall’s ‘Millennials’ Walsall’s ‘Baby Boomers’ Vs Walsall’s ‘Millennials’

I was talking to my financial advisor friend the other day. He is an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) who does both residential and commercial mortgages. Recently we completed a property portfolio review for a Walsall Landlord. We got talking about the current mortgage market and why Walsall youngsters were choosing to rent.  It was fascinating listening to a different point of view which I thought my blog reading friends on here may be interested in.

Some property experts are directing the current crisis towards the 55 to 70-year-old Walsall citizens.

Also known as the ‘Baby Boomers Generation’, these Walsall people were born after the end of the Second World War when the country saw a massive rise in births as they slowly recovered from the economic hardships experienced during wartime.

Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, they experienced (whilst in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s) an unparalleled level of economic growth and prosperity throughout their working lifetime on the back of improved education, government subsidies, escalating property prices and technological developments, they have emerged as a successful and prosperous generation.

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Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , , ,
Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent? Walsall Letting Agent..Corporate or Independent?

Recently I read a really interesting article by Christopher Watkin, renowned property guru, which really made me think about whether landlords and vendors actually know who they are instructing when putting their property for let or for sale and the implications of being unaware of whether one of the large corporate owns your local agency!

I have noted my opinions and thoughts at the bottom of the article..

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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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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 →

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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EU vote!! Which way should Walsall landlords vote?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
EU vote!! Which way should Walsall landlords vote?
EU vote!! Which way should Walsall landlords vote?

In recent weeks concerned Walsall landlords have been asking my opinion on the looming EU vote.  “As a landlord which way should we vote”?  “IN or OUT”?  So, this week I thought I would share my thoughts on this subject.

If you read all the tabloids, the ‘Brexit’ debate seems to be focused solely on central London.  Many commentators have said Brexit would mean central London would have a lower standing in the world, meaning less people would be employed in central London, with the implication of lower wages, fewer jobs etc… but we are in Walsall, not Marylebone, Mayfair or any part of Zone 1 London!

For years – no, decades – the anti-EU camp has suggested that Britain’s natural habitat is not among its continental neighbours but in ‘the Anglosphere’, that solar system of English-speaking planets which revolves around the United States.  Break free from Brussels and we could embrace our kindred spirits in Sydney, Toronto and especially New York, Washington and Los Angeles.  The Brexit camp has long been like the man who dreams of leaving his wife for another woman, one who really understands him.

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This two bedroom apartment near Wolverhampton University (Walsall Campus) will give you a great yield.

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Buy to Let Property Deals , , , , , , ,

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Spring Court on Birmingham Road, Walsall, WS1 is on the market with Homepoint (01922 312002) at £95,000

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/photos/34782409

Now I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m not a fan of apartments but I have to tell you that this one is set in lovely grounds with more pros than cons.  Therefore, I have been compelled to inform you that I think this makes an ideal buy-to-let investment.  With a really good potential yield of 6.25% I feel this will make an ideal investment for any type of landlord be it novice or professional.  Ideally situated near the University and major commuting routes/ town centre.  If you are thinking of investing in a buy-to-let in Walsall why not get in touch.  If you want my opinion on any property in Walsall and how I think it will perform in the rental market please send me a link to the property at salekm@ashmorelettings.co.uk and I will be more than happy to pass judgement.