Walsall Property Expert

Walsall And The Next Generation Of Households.

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
Walsall And The Next Generation Of Households
Walsall And The Next Generation Of Households

Do you remember the good old days of the 1970’s and 1980’s? The new generation may be surprised to learn certain facts such as the days when we had 24% inflation, 17% interest rates, a 3 day working week, 13% unemployment and power cuts! But hey…at least people could afford to buy their own home! So why aren’t the 20 and 30 year old’s buying in the same volume as they were 30 or 40 years ago?

A number of people blame the credit crunch and global recession of 2008, which had an enormous impact on the Walsall (and UK) housing market. For the most part, the 20-something first-time buyers who, faced with a tricky mortgage market, the perceived need for big deposits, reduced job security and diminishing disposable income, discovered it simply too challenging to get on to the Walsall property ladder.

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Walsall Properties…”How Much to Buy Them All?!”

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Walsall Properties…”How Much to Buy Them All?!”
Walsall Properties…”How Much to Buy Them All?!”

My 14 year-old has started his GCSE’s this year. He wants to be a Chartered Surveyor as he loves buildings and anything to do with cars. He posed the fascinating question last week which got me thinking…

So this weekend, I sat down and calculated what the total value of all the properties in Walsall are worth … and just for fun, worked out how much they have gone up in value since he was born back in the summer of 2002! I used information from the latest census, land registry and the ONS.

So, here you are…

In the last 14 years, since the autumn of 2002, the total value of Walsall property has increased by 95% or £8.3 billion to a total of £16.1 billion. Interesting, when you consider the FTSE100 has risen by 68.9% and inflation (i.e. the UK Retail Price Index) rose by 38.7% during the same 14 years.

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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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Are Walsall Landlords Exploiting Walsall Property?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , ,
Are Walsall Landlords Exploiting Walsall Property?
Are Walsall Landlords Exploiting Walsall Property?

I can’t remember who coined it first but the first time I heard it was when Mrs Thatcher said it…“An Englishman’s home is his castle-and everyone should own their own home”.

In 1971, around 50% of people owned their own home and, as the baby-boomers got better jobs and pay, that proportion of homeowners rose to 69% by 2001.  Homeownership was here to stay as many baby boomers assumed it’s very much a cultural thing here in Britain to own your own home.

But on the back of TV programmes like Homes Under the Hammer, these same baby boomers started to jump on the band wagon of Walsall buy to let properties as an investment. Walsall first time buyers were in competition with Walsall landlords to buy these smaller starter homes… pushing house prices up in the 2000’s beyond the reach of first time buyers. Alas, it is not as simple as that. Many factors come into play, such as economics, the banks and government policy. But are Walsall landlords fanning the flames of the Walsall housing crisis by adding to the bonfire?

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Are Walsall Pensioners ‘Trapped’ in their Homes?!

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
Are Walsall Pensioners ‘Trapped’ in their Homes?!
Are Walsall Pensioners ‘Trapped’ in their Homes?!

During a site visit last week I was approached by a mature, friendly gentleman who lives next door to one of the properties I manage in Pelsall. He lives in a Bungalow, which is one of my favourite property types that he owns outright (mortgage free). We got talking about the Walsall property market and then he mentioned something which piqued my curiosity. How many other Walsall pensioners are in a similar situation?!

Walsall people aged over 65 currently hold more housing wealth in their homes than the annual GDP of the whole of Northumberland (strictly speaking a county can’t have a GDP, but as everyone knows the phrase, it works for comparison purposes!)

This is a problem for everyone in Walsall!

Many retiree’s want to move but cannot, as there is a shortage of such homes for mature people to downsize into. Due to the shortage, bungalows command a 10% to 20% premium per square foot over houses of the same size with stairs. To add to the woes, in 2014, just 1% of new builds in the UK were bungalows, according to the National House Building Council – down from 7% in 1996.

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How Much Rent Can I Get For My Walsall Property?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , , , ,
How Much Rent Can I Get For My Walsall Property
How Much Rent Can I Get For My Walsall Property

Welcome back to the first Walsall Property Market blog article of the New Year! I hope you enjoyed a well deserved break over the holidays?

Over the weekend I received a call from a newbie landlord living in the south who was purchasing his first buy to let Walsall property.  He said he had been following my blog for a while and wanted to ask a few questions. His first question was “How much rent can I achieve for my property?”  A question I get asked once or twice a year…!!

I thought it was only fair to explain the thoughts behind an appraisal and how I arrive at the appraisal level when I go out to a property.  Below are the key points of that conversation and my thoughts…

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WALSALL LANDLORDS – THREE THINGS I’LL BE DOING OVER CHRISTMAS

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , , ,
WALSALL LANDLORDS - THREE THINGS I’LL BE DOING OVER CHRISTMAS
WALSALL LANDLORDS – THREE THINGS I’LL BE DOING OVER CHRISTMAS

I don’t know about you but at some point over the Christmas break I get fed up of all the eating, drinking and partying.  “Bah! Humbug!” I hear you say…but in reality I think it’s simply that as a busy business owner, my mind and body can’t take the change in pace from mad and hectic to practically a vegetative like state.

So when I hit that point and I need to re-engage my brain, this is what I plan to do…

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