Walsall News

Walsall needs to build 5,400 mixed tenure properties in 7 years..

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
Walsall needs to build 5,400 mixed tenure properties in 7 years..
Walsall needs to build 5,400 mixed tenure properties in 7 years..

I was having a most interesting chat the other day with a Walsall landlord when we were looking at a property he was thinking of buying. As I am sure you are aware, I am always happy to cast my eye over any potential buy-to-let purchase in Walsall, be that you emailing me a Rightmove/ Zoopla link, a brochure in the post or even treading the carpet and seeing it together. I don’t charge for that, and you don’t even need to be a client of mine.

We got talking about the Walsall Property Market and this landlord brought up the subject of a report he had read that stated almost 1.8m new rental homes are needed by 2025 to keep up with current demand from tenants. He wanted to know what this meant for Walsall.

Well my blog reading friends, some commentators said last winter that buy-to-let was about to die, what with the new stamp duty changes and how mortgage tax relief will be calculated. Others even said 500,000 rental properties would flood the market nationally in the 12 months after the new Stamp Duty rules came into force on the 1st April 2016 as landlords left the rental market. Well, all I can say is, I wish all the landlords of those half a million properties would hurry up and put them on the market – because I have plenty of other potential landlords wanting to buy them!

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Walsall’s humble Semi-Detached house increased by 227% in value

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
Walsall's humble semi increased in value by 227%
Walsall’s humble semi increased in value by 227%

The humble semi-detached house with its bay windows and net curtains has long been ridiculed as an emblem of safe, lacklustre and desperately uncool suburban life; the homes of the likes of Hyacinth Bucket in ‘Keeping up Appearances’ and more latterly Alan Partridge – but they could have the last laugh – having enjoyed one of the highest price growths of any property type in Walsall, up by an average 227% increase in the last twenty years!

The semi is, of course, still hugely popular on new build developments; although slightly more modern in appearance compared to its older ancestor!

The semi can now laugh in the face of its posher detached counterpart, which saw a rise of only 161% in the same 20-year period. Looking at smaller properties, flats/apartments rose 106%, whilst terraced houses did slightly better at 229% although they were starting from a lower base and demand from buy to let landlords has had a big part in driving up the values on that type of house based upon its rental potential.

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5 reasons why NOT to use Gumtree to let a Walsall Property

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
5 reasons why NOT to use Gumtree to let a Walsall Property
5 reasons why NOT to use Gumtree to let a Walsall Property

Honestly I could write a book about this. Time and time again through my agency career I would have landlords calling me, desperate for advice after they’ve placed a “lovely” tenant in their property using a free (or low cost) DIY advertising website. The tenant presented themselves as honest, open, and above all very capable of paying the rent.

But the truth is a different matter. They got into the property by deception, and ended up costing these landlords thousands of pounds in damages, unpaid rent, and above all…the stress. These landlords had to cover the mortgage whilst funding the legal battle. One made very difficult because they weren’t aware of all the legislation surrounding lettings. This could prejudice their position in court. Didn’t serve the Prescribed Information? Didn’t register the deposit within 30 days? That means the tenant could actually sue you for 3 times the deposit amount! And there’s more…

It has been said that some 30% of the PRS is made up of accidental landlords (Source: Landlordnews.co.uk). Here lies the problem. As an accidental, or amateur (not a bad thing!) landlord, it is unlikely that they invest the time to make themselves aware of all the legislation surrounding lettings. There is a lot, but as the saying goes “you don’t know what you don’t know,” so most are blissfully unaware – until it goes wrong, and they can do with disastrous consequences!

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Are Walsall landlords stifling the Walsall property market…?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , , ,
Are Walsall landlords stifling the Walsall property market…?
Are Walsall landlords stifling the Walsall property market…?

Following the publication of a recent blog article about ‘Generation Rent’ a local homeowner of Walsall contacted me.   He said that he felt that the plight of our Walsall youngsters (first time buyers), was that like of a novice football player trying to bend it like Beckham!  You’re in a minus game playing Beckham at his own game right?  Play him a 100 times and you’re bound to lose 100 times!!  There is no doubt that buy to let landlords have played a major role in driving up property values in Walsall (and the UK) and from that made housing a lot less affordable for the 20-30 somethings of Walsall.

Let us look at how affordable Walsall is.  The best way to measure affordability is to measure Walsall property prices against Walsall average salary (the higher the ratio, the less affordable properties are).  Looking at the table below, for example in 2014, the average value of a Walsall property was 5.95 times higher than the average annual wage in Walsall.

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The 2017 General Election and the Walsall Property Market.

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
The 2017 General Election and the Walsall Property Market.
The 2017 General Election and the Walsall Property Market.

The past does not equal the future however, it’s as good a barometer as any when it comes to making  attempts to predict it.

Looking and analysing the past 5 general elections I have made some interesting discoveries on the before and after a general election and how this affects the property market…if at all.

Out of the five general elections (1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015) two were not certain (2010 with the coalition government of   Lib-Dems and Conservatives and 2015 with the surprising Tory majority).  So I wanted to compare what happened to the number of houses sold and prices achieved between the three certain elections (1997, 2001 and 2005) against the unexpected ones of 2010 and 2015.

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Walsall Babies Cause Walsall Property Shortage!!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Walsall Babies Cause Walsall Property Shortage!!
Walsall Babies Cause Walsall Property Shortage!!

What is the relation to babies being born and the Walsall property shortage I hear you ask!  Well…

….as more babies are being born to Walsall mothers, this increase will continue to add pressure to the already strained Walsall property market – and greatly affect the local property market in the future.

The past eight years of ever incremental increasing birth rates, a significant 3.96 babies were born for every new home that was built in the Walsall area in 2016.

My belief is that it has and will continue to aggravate the Walsall housing shortage. This means demand for housing (be it to buy or rent) has remained high.  The high birth rate has meant Walsall rents and property prices have remained resilient and they will continue to remain high in the years to come – even with the challenges the economy has felt over the last eight years.

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The effects of a ‘Hard Brexit’ on the Walsall Property Market…

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
The effects of a ‘Hard Brexit’ on the Walsall Property Market…
The effects of a ‘Hard Brexit’ on the Walsall Property Market…

Through the many conversations I have with my clients on a daily basis I find the Brexit effect is a real and worrying one for many.  This is usually the case when there is uncertainty in the air and as many questions remain unanswered…we can but attempt to make educated guesses on the how, what, when and if’s of the Brexit effect on the Walsall Property Market.  I can only comment on matters as they unravel and we learn together what the strategies of this exit may be as and when these are revealed to us.

Recently I feel Theresa May has wasted an opportunity to give peace of mind to our EU co-workers by not confirming their rights as EU citizens working and living in Walsall (and the rest of the UK). No.10 Downing Street’s point of view is that in promising the rights of EU citizens in the UK, it will postpone the same guarantee to the 1.5 million UK citizens living in the other nations of the EU.

For a moment let’s put aside the politics…the simple fact is now Article 50 has been set in motion, we have two years to make a deal with the EU, otherwise it will be a ‘hard Brexit’.  Now you might not think a hard Brexit will affect you in your home in Walsall…but nothing could be further from the truth.

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Walsall Property – 5 Helpful Tips on Getting the Best Out of a Refurbishment

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall Property – 5 Helpful Tips on Getting the Best Out of a Refurbishment
Walsall Property – 5 Helpful Tips on Getting the Best Out of a Refurbishment

Not everything you do to a property adds a premium to the price.  A question I get asked time and time again from landlords, who think by maintaining a property where they replaced a boiler or a tenant, who through choice, changed the flooring and some minor decorative work feel they have done. So what does constitute value and how does this work with Walsall property?

Below are my thoughts and examples of 5 improvements that will add the most value to your next Walsall refurbishment (weigh up the costs against the extra you will achieve in rent though, each project is different):

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Walsall’s Train Stations are used by 1.2m People a Year!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , ,
Walsall’s Train Stations are used by 1.2m People a Year!
Walsall’s Train Stations are used by 1.2m People a Year!

My blog reading friends may or may not be aware that I source and manage properties for a living.  I have my own portfolio therefore, I am a landlord as well.  Perhaps at times I haven’t made this obvious which was highlighted by a landlord who recently asked me the question.. “so what is it that you do apart from writing this blog”..?!  I have many clients locally, nationally and internationally who use my services to source and manage property meeting their criteria.

Of the recent conversations I have been having with people looking to enter the Walsall property market, I’ve noticed a common thread in my response.  It might surprise you to learn that our small and quaint town of Walsall is serviced by 3 train stations (Bescot, Tamebridge Parkway and Walsall).  This makes it an ideal location for commuters to our two neighbouring cities – Birmingham and Wolverhampton.  I mean, there is a reason why one of the most popular property programmes on television is called Location, Location, Location!

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Rents in Walsall Will Increase More Than Walsall Property Prices By 21%!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , , ,
Rents in Walsall Will Increase More Than Walsall Property Prices In Next 5 Years!
Rents in Walsall Will Increase More Than Walsall Property Prices In Next 5 Years!

Last weekend I had a meeting with a professional landlord who has an extensive portfolio of properties.  By his own admission, he confirmed that he has somewhat neglected the portfolio which he has kind of left to look after itself.  In recent years his focus was his family-run business so the portfolio wasn’t a priority.  He wanted to change this attitude and become more aggressive with his Walsall property ambitions by expanding on a healthy and varied portfolio.

During our meeting he asked me where in Walsall and what type of property he should purchase to create the best capital growth and great rental yields.  This got me thinking about our property market in Walsall and what has actually happened to rents and property prices..and more importantly for him..projections for the future.

Some fascinating changes are in the air in the Walsall property market.  Just to give you a flavour of the full article below, upon conclusion of my research I found that the rent private tenants pay will rise faster than property prices over the next five years. Creating further issues to Walsall’s growing multitude of renters.  In fact, my examination of statistical forecasts found that –

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