Chelmsford Property Market Update Summer 2019

The foundations of the Chelmsford Property Market over the summer have continued to be principally sound; yet the existing political macroclimate means that the critical element of consumer confidence has been reduced and that is triggering some potential Chelmsford property buyers and Chelmsford house sellers to falter slightly and hang fire making any firm decisions on property.

With record low interest rates at 0.75%, low unemployment rates of 3.8%, and decent mortgage availability (even those with low deposits – there were 224 mortgage deals available on the day of writing this article where only a 5% deposit was required and 5 main stream lenders that would offer 100% no deposit mortgages), Chelmsford buyers have a lot going in their favour, aside from the perceived political uncertainty.

Interestingly, Rightmove have stated there are more properties for sale today in the Country, than at any time since 2016, and Chelmsford follows that trend. Even with that in mind, property values have remained reasonably stable as The Land Registry has just released its House Price Index for Chelmsford and the surrounding locality and it makes very interesting reading.

Overall, property values in the Chelmsford area are 5.1% higher than a year ago as the average property value in Chelmsford now stands at £406,600.

When I looked at the types of Chelmsford properties, a slightly different picture appeared …

• Chelmsford Detached homes rose by 5.8%
• Chelmsford Semi-detached homes rose by 5.8%
• Chelmsford Terraced/Town-House rose by 4.9%
• Chelmsford Flats/Apartments rose by 3.7%

and splitting down the types of Chelmsford into property types …

• Chelmsford Detached £586,400
• Chelmsford Semi-Detached £379,800
• Chelmsford Terraced/Town-House £315,600
• Chelmsford Flats/Apartments £225,400

Yet, Chelmsford Property Market Blog readers will know I always like to measure the health of the Chelmsford property market not only by house prices but transaction levels as well …

2,198 properties were sold in the last year in Chelmsford, lower than the 10-year average of 2,673 properties per annum

Considering the uncertainty the Country has been through in the last three years with the ‘B’ word issue, I don’t think that’s too bad and shows the underlying resilience of the Chelmsford property market.

Now looking forward towards the end of the year .. how will Chelmsford house values change under the new Prime Minister?

Chelmsford buy-to-let landlords and Chelmsford first-time buyers seem to be sustaining their preceding activity levels, which is heartening news. It’s quite conceivable that both cohorts are presently profiting from the marginally increased numbers of Chelmsford homes on the market, which not only offers them greater choice, but aids with their negotiations. The suggested Stamp Duty changes made me look at previous Stamp Duty changes in the last decade and their effects have been rather short term.

That means those selling their homes in Chelmsford need to be realistic with their pricing, and, as most sellers also buy a property, what you might lose on your sale you will make up on the purchase.

BoJo, Brexit … to be honest are all short-term distractions from the long-term issues of the UK and Chelmsford property market. Until we start building at least 300,000 properties a year to meet the demand for UK property, demand will always outstrip supply, meaning irrespective of short-term fluctuations that may (or may not) be caused by domestic and world events (including the ‘B’ word’), prices will always in the medium to long term remain stable and increase.