However, with newspapers and the media giving mixed messages on what is exactly happening in the City, let us have a look at what has happened over the last 12 months, in particular, what type of property is actually selling.
Between November 2013 and November 2014, 2323 of the 71,247 properties in Chelmsford actually sold. The best performing type of property was, the semi detached house. 634 semi’s were sold in the last year, with an average sale price of £286,870, representing 27.3% of the property sold in Chelmsford (which when you consider only 31.4% of Chelmsford property is semi detached, this means they have done well).
In very close second are detached houses. They represented 26.8% of the sales, but then detached houses only make up 29.8% of the property in Chelmsford… again good news for all detached house owners.
Of the 14,576 terraced houses in Chelmsford, 573 changed hands in the last year, showing that whilst 20.5% of properties in Chelmsford are terraced houses, they only, but very respectably, represented 24.6% of the sales.
However, it is the flats/apartments that seem to have performed the worst (although not by much). Whilst there are 12,757 apartments in Chelmsford, (representing 17.6% of the housing stock). Only 492 changed hands in the year, representing 21.1% of the sales.
What does this mean for the property owners of Chelmsford? It means that there is a fairly even property market in Chelmsford. Most homeowners start with a terraced, aspire to move to semi detached houses, then as finances allow, they move to a detached property. The majority of apartments, especially in the city centre, may have been purchased by landlords to rent out to tenants, so they have no need/want to trade up on the property ladder., which is why these sales are a lower percentage compared to the others
However, in general, the Chelmsford property market is in full swing and ‘negative equity’ is becoming a distant memory. We are seeing some good sales and if you look hard enough, you may chance upon a “hidden property gem” in the most unlikely of places.
If you would like to discuss anything further then please pop in and see me in our office on Duke Street
