Walsall Property News

Walsall Home Ownership Drops – Smashing Thatcher’s Dream…

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

Walsall Home Ownership Drops – Smashing Thatcher’s Dream…

The housing data for Walsall has just been released from the 2021 Census and it makes interesting reading.  In 1975, Margaret Thatcher declared her conviction in a ‘property-owning democracy’.  Throughout the 1980s homeownership exploded and continued to grow for several decades thereafter.  What has happened to that dream nearly 50 years later?

Through prudence, saving and hard work, she believed that everyday British families should be able to purchase their own homes. Thus giving them security, self-esteem and independence and freeing them from the nanny state of local authority landlords. 

Although that idea was a Labour idea initially in the mid-1970s, Margaret Thatcher introduced legislation (Right-To-Buy) in 1980 to allow local authority tenants to buy their own council homes at significant discounts.  In the 1980s, homeownership boomed, although it had been on the increase for the previous two decades, the country and economy was led by Mrs. Thatcher into the direction to which house buying became a national passion. 

Between 1981 and 1990, home ownership went up from 11.88m to 15.47m.

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Is it time to jump ship for the Walsall Landlord? A Summary of the Rental Reform White Paper

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , ,
Is it time to jump ship for the Walsall Landlord? A Summary of the Rental Reform White Paper

In recent weeks I have been approached by many Walsall Landlords concerned about the impending changes proposed by the Government to reform the property rental market. In this article I will summarise the proposed changes and share my thoughts.

In June, the Government introduced a White Paper called “A Fairer Rented Private Sector”. It proposes the greatest changes to residential lettings law for 30 years. It talks about striking a balance between the need for tenants to live without fear of eviction but balanced against the need for landlords to recover possession of their properties…

The headline from the White Paper is that the Section 21 procedure, the so called “no fault eviction,” will be abolished…

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Why Does it Take 120 Days to Get the Keys When You Buy a Walsall House?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , ,
Why Does it Take 120 Days to Get the Keys When You Buy a Walsall House?

Nationally, the average length of time it takes from agreeing the sale of a property to the keys being handed over is 111 days (down from 117 days last year), yet in Walsall, we are above the national average at 120 days.

So why does it take just over 17 weeks, when all that is required is the lawyers to look at some paperwork and get a mortgage? Also, what can Walsall homebuyers and sellers do to speed this up?

  • 1,215 properties have sold in the Walsall area in the last 12 months (Detached 274, Semi-Detached 451, Terraced 385, Flats 105).
  • It only takes 36 days to sell a Walsall home, so why does it take 120 days from the sold board going up to the buyer getting the keys?
  • With a shortage of solicitors and a sub-standard conveyancing system, this article discusses what Walsall house sellers (and buyers) can do to speed up the house buying process.

The legal process to buy and sell a UK property is called conveyancing. The conveyancing system itself hasn’t really changed in hundreds of years. When the housing market was reopened after the first lockdown in the spring of 2020, the property market returned with a bang, helped on with the stamp duty holiday.

In 2021, the number of properties selling in Walsall in some months went up massively, e.g., by 65% in March 2021 and by 96% in June 2021. Many conveyancers and solicitors had to sort the legal paperwork out for upwards of 70 to 90 properties each at any one time.

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My BTL Deal for the end of the Year, is a 2 Bed Semi Detached House, Shropshire Close, Walsall, WS2 With Yields of 5.29%.

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

2021 001-3

More good news for Walsall landlords. Added to the market at the beginning of this month is this two bedroom semi detached house marketed at offers over £170k by Dixons (01902 596801) & Connells (01922 312536). What I would say here, is that having multiple agents marketing a property is good news for the investor landlord. This may be a sign of desperation from the vendor, but it also confuses any potential buyer. So there is some mileage in negotiation on the selling price.

Another perfect spec ready for a quick let.

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The Number of Days it takes to Sell my Walsall Home is…?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , , , ,
The Number of Days it takes to Sell my Walsall Home is…?

The Number of Days it takes to Sell my Walsall Home is…?

The past 15-17 months has been an interesting time in the Walsall property market without question. I can only speak for myself but many of my fellow professionals, clients and associates will attest to the feeling of being on a rollercoaster ride. With that being said, often I am asked the same question…how long is the average time it takes to sell my Walsall home? Well…     

…with 213,120 UK house buyers and 58,580 UK tenants moving home in September, the time has been manic for many people. This means that some Walsall homeowners are asking if they should be staying put? Or, should they wait for the best home to come onto the market before putting their home up for sale or find a buyer but be unable to find a property – it’s all rather confusing.

Then we have some Walsall landlords who are asking themselves if they should buy another property investment and some even wondering if they should sell and cash in on the boom.

Finally, with 95% mortgages back, first-time buyers are asking if they should look to take the plunge and buy their first home or wait.

In this article, I hope I can help you with the decisions you might want to make and to navigate this unusual post lockdown housing market. Let me start with some stats to show you what is happening at the moment in Walsall.

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Are we heading for a House Price Crash in Walsall?

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

Are we heading for a House Price Crash in Walsall?

Walsall house prices rose by 2.7% last month, according to the Land Registry. This means the annual rate of house price growth in Walsall has increased from 3.9% last year to 19.8% this year.  That is a whopping increase of 15.9%!!

Looking at the national figures, many people were concerned the UK property market was overheating as spring saw annual growth of 9.9%, the highest rate of house price growth documented since June 2007 when national house prices were rising by 10.8% p.a.

It was only a matter of a few months later the Credit Crunch hit, and the average value of a UK home plummeted from £190,032 to £154,452 in 18 months, a drop of 18.7%.

Government economic measures such as the Furlough Scheme and the Stamp Duty Holiday have so far shielded the Walsall property market from the worst economic recession since 1709.

So, the question is, can this growth in Walsall house prices continue, or is this the start of a house price crash?

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The Government’s 5% Mortgage Scheme and it’s Effect on the Walsall Property Market Explained

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , ,
Walsall’s Goverment Backed 5% Deposit Mortgage Scheme

Just before lockdown there were around 400 ‘5% deposit mortgage’ deals and first-time buyers were able to shop around to get the best deal. When the first lockdown hit, 5% deposit mortgages disappeared, meaning that as many Walsall would-be first-time buyers were about to buy their first Walsall home in 2020, the rug was pulled from under their feet.

Today, you can count on two hands the number of mortgage deals which allow a 5% deposit.  Even worse, the number of hoops one has to jump through to get a 5% deposit mortgage is very high.  On top of that, you have to pay handsomely for the privilege, with mortgage rates of at least 3.95%.

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Moving House in Walsall During Covid Times

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , ,
Moving House in Walsall During Covid Times


The property sector as a whole has been one of the highlights of the COVID-19 story so far.  After a shutdown of the industry in the first lockdown, the Government gave the go ahead for estate agents and lettings agents in Walsall to continue to work, meaning that people could still move.

The slight easing of restrictions coupled with the Stamp Duty Holiday gave our industry – and the economy – a real boost and according to the Office for National Statistics, UK average house prices “increased by 7.6% over the year to November 2020”, the highest growth rate since 2016.

We and other agents across the country have reported increased demand, and a strong appetite from both buyers and sellers to get moving.

And keep moving you can, but there are definite rules to be followed.

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The ‘CRASH’ of the Walsall Property Market 2021?

Head of Juicing @Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd Walsall Property Market , , , , ,
The ‘CRASH’ of the Walsall Property Market 2021?
The ‘Crash’ of the Walsall Property Market 2021?


Keeping a Blog updated is a full-time job and when you have other full-time commitments, something has to give!  So, like a lot of my readers and followers of the Blog, I must prioritise my workload.  Serving my clients is paramount and comes first therefore, you may have noticed I have not been on the blog much recently.  When I do get a chance, I try and give you a bit of a read instead of my usual word count.  In recent weeks I have had several conversations with Walsall Landlords and Walsall Property owners all asking me the same question time and again if, the Walsall property market will crash in 2021…??

..in the last few months, the Walsall (and UK) property market has resisted and defied every economist’s prediction.  With the economy a shadow of its former self, unemployment set to hit 11.9%, the Government on track to borrow nearly half a trillion pounds to pay for Coronavirus support packages etc., all of this has had no effect on Walsall homeowner’s enthusiasm or capability to want to move home.  It highlights the influence of both the emotional impact of lockdown and the enticing appeal of saving thousands of pounds on your Stamp Duty Tax bill.

For the last few months, the Walsall property market has been akin to a surfer, riding an unexpectedly large wave.  The question is, will the surfer crash down (i.e. the property market) into the rocks or will it calmly arrive at the beach unscathed?  Well looking at house prices firstly…

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3 reasons to stop being a Walsall Landlord and 6 that will make you want to become one!

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


3 reasons to stop being a Walsall Landlord and 6 that will make you want to become one!

The buy-to-let market in Walsall is about to enter a challenging 12 to 24 months. Yet by looking back at the last recession and what is happening now, there are crucial lessons all Walsall landlords can learn to protect themselves, and in fact create opportunities both in the short term and ultimately the longer term. For the purposes of this article, I would like to split these and look at the challenges and then the opportunities.

So, let’s consider the challenges ahead for Walsall landlords …

  1. The impending rise in unemployment stands to hamper tenants’ ability to pay their rent.
  2. The current rents being achieved pushing affordability in some cases out of reach for many tenants.
  3. The possible Capital Gains Tax changes might mean an increase in tax paid by Walsall landlords when they come to sell their Walsall buy-to-let (BTL) properties. 
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