One of my landlords rang me last week from Springfield, after he had spoken to a friend of his. Over Christmas, they were discussing the Chelmsford property market and neither of them could make their mind up if it was time to either sell or buy property. If you read the newspapers and the landlord forums on the internet, there is a good slice of doom and gloom, especially with changes in the taxation towards landlords, new legislation on checking tenants and the general uncertainty in the world economic situation.
Since 2005, then inflation, i.e. the cost of living, has increased by 33.4%. That means to retain its value, Chelmsford terraced property bought for £183,619 in 2005 needs to be worth £244,890 today. Therefore, our landlord has seen the ‘real’ value of his property only increase by 12.6% (i.e. 37% less 33.4% inflation).
The reality is, since around 2004/2005 we haven’t seen anything like the capital growth in property we have seen in the past and it’s not predicted to grow at the rates it has previously done either. So it is high time anyone considering investing in property stopped believing the hype and did some serious research using independent investment expertise. You can still make money by buying the right Chelmsford property at the right price and finding the right tenant. However, remember, investing in Chelmsford property is not only about capital growth, but also about the yield (the return from the rent). It’s also about having a balanced property portfolio that will match what you want from your investment – and what is a ‘balanced property portfolio’? Well we discuss such matters on the Chelmsford Property Blog … if you haven’t been, then it might be worth a few minutes of your time? www.chelmsfordpropertyblog.co.uk
