Chelmsford Homeowners Pocket £7,956 a Year in Profit Since 2005

As we are now half way through 2025, it’s certain the Chelmsford housing market has been more restrained than the post pandemic 24 months of the summer of 2020 through to July/August of 2022, and I believe that the ‘steady as she goes’ outlook will continue into the rest of 2025 and beyond.

As I always say in my Chelmsford property market updates, home ownership is a medium to long-term investment, so I feel it’s always important to measure what has happened to Chelmsford house prices over those medium to long terms.

Since the summer of 2005 the average Chelmsford homeowner has seen their property’s value rise by an average of 76%.

This is significant as house prices are a national fascination and sub-consciously tied into the perceived health of the UK economy. Most of that 76% gain has come from the overall growth in all Chelmsford property values, while some of it will have come about by modernising, extending or developing their Chelmsford home.

Analysing the different types of property in Chelmsford and the profit made by each type, it makes interesting reading:

• Overall Average for All Homes in Chelmsford. The average price paid for all homes in Chelmsford in 2005 was £212,462. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £371,587. This is a total profit of £159,125 (which is £7,956 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 3.8% per year).
• Apartments in Chelmsford. The average price paid for apartments in Chelmsford in 2005 was £162,620. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £234,628. This is a total profit of £72,008 (which is £3,600 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 2.3% per year).
• Terraced/Town Houses in Chelmsford. The average price paid for all town house/terraced houses in Chelmsford in 2005 was £189,706. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £339,703. This is a total profit of £149,997 (which is £7,500 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 4.0% per year).
• Semi-Detached Homes in Chelmsford. The average price paid of all semi-detached homes in Chelmsford in 2005 was £222,089. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £509,927. This is a total profit of £287,838 (which is £14,392 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 6.5% per year).
• Detached Homes in Chelmsford. The average price paid of all detached homes in Chelmsford in 2005 was £303,711. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £686,129. This is a total profit of £382,418 (which is £19,121 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 6.3% per year).

However, we can’t forget there has been 77% inflation over those 20 years, which eats into the ‘real’ value (or true spending power of that profit) … so if we consider inflation since 2005, the true ‘spending power’ of that profit has been lower.

• Overall Average for All Homes in Chelmsford. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Chelmsford home is £89,800 for the last 20 years. This equates to £4,490 ‘real’ profit per annum.
• Apartments in Chelmsford. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Chelmsford apartment is £40,637 for the last 20 years. This equates to £2,032 ‘real’ profit per annum.
• Terraced/Town Houses in Chelmsford. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Chelmsford town house/terraced home is £84,648 for the last 20 years. This equates to £4,232 ‘real’ profit per annum.
• Semi-Detached Homes in Chelmsford. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Chelmsford semi-detached home is £162,437 for the last 20 years. This equates to £8,122 ‘real’ profit per annum.
• Detached Homes in Chelmsford. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been removed) for the average Chelmsford detached home is £215,812 for the last 20 years. This equates to £10,791 ‘real’ profit per annum.

Therefore, the profit for an average Chelmsford home over the last two decades, adjusted for inflation, stands at £4,490 per year.

I wanted to show you that despite the 2008/09 Credit Crunch property market crash, which saw Chelmsford property values plummet by 16% to 19% over 18 months, Chelmsford homeowners have still fared better over the long term than those renting.

Looking ahead, a common question I get asked is about the future direction of the Chelmsford property market.

The main influence on maintaining house price growth in Chelmsford over the medium to long term will be the construction of new homes (on the supply side) and employment and interest rates (on the demand side). Although we have yet to get the official figures for 2024, independent sources indicate that the number of new households is expected to be around 217,900. Bearing in mind the annual need is for 300,000 new UK households – to meet demands arising from factors such as increased life expectancy, immigration, and later cohabitation – it’s clear that demand will continue to exceed supply unless the government heavily builds council houses.

This can only be good news for Chelmsford homeowners.

What about Chelmsford landlords, though?

Even though the quantity of landlords selling up their rental portfolios has increased in the last couple of years and the number of landlords purchasing buy-to-let properties is lower than in the last couple of decades, there is still margin net growth in the size of the private rented sector each year. This is all notwithstanding landlords facing higher taxes. The fact is many Chelmsford landlords continue to be keen on expanding their rental portfolios in the medium to long term.

Many of the 20 and 30 something’s of Chelmsford view renting as a choice that offers flexibility and options that homeownership does not provide. This means that demand for rentals will keep rising, allowing landlords to enjoy capital appreciation and rising rents. However, Chelmsford buy-to-let landlords must accept more considerate strategies to maintain profitable returns from their investments.

As a Chelmsford buy-to-let landlord, the issue for you is how to ensure this growth continues.

Up until 2017, generating profits from buy-to-let property investments was like falling off a log. Since then, with changes in legislation and taxation, the balance of power, achieving similar returns will be more effortful. Over the past 8 years, I have observed the evolution of agents from mere rent collectors to tactical rental portfolio managers. I, along with a select number of agents in Chelmsford, am skilful at providing strategic and comprehensive portfolio leadership. This service offers a structured overview of your investment goals across short, medium and long-term horizons, focusing on your expected returns, yields and capital growth. If you seek such advice, feel free to contact your current agent or me directly at no cost or obligation.