A few months ago I wrote an article on the Locks Heath Property Blog about the length of time it took to sell a property in Locks Heath and the saleability of the different price bands (i.e. whether the lower/middle or upper local property markets were moving slower or quicker than the others).  For reference, a few months ago it was taking on average 62 days from the property coming on the market for it to be sold subject to contract (and that was based on every Estate Agent in Locks Heath)… and today… 108 days… does that surprise you with what is happening in the UK economy?

Well, a number of Locks Heath Landlords and homeowners who are looking to sell in the coming months contacted me following that article to enquire what difference the type of property (i.e. Detached/Semi/Terraced/Apartment) made to saleability and also the saleability of property by the number of bedrooms).  As I have said before, whether you are a Locks Heath Landlord looking to liquidate your buy to let investment or a homeowner looking to sell your home, finding a buyer and selling your property can take an annoyingly long time… but anything you can do to mitigate that is helpful to everyone.

So I did some research on the whole of the Locks Heath property market and these were my findings… to start with by type (i.e. Detached/Semi/Terraced/Apartment):

As you can see, the star players are the terraced/town house and semi-detached variants of Locks Heath property, whilst apartments seem to be sticking in Locks Heath.

Next I looked at what the number of bedrooms does to the saleability of Locks Heath property..

As you can see the one and five bedroom properties seem to be taking the longest time to sell.

And to answer the question in the title….. it is three bed properties!

So, what does this mean for Locks Heath buy-to-let Landlords and homeowners?

There is no doubt that there is a plethora of properties on the market in Locks Heath compared to 18 months ago…  it is not because more houses are coming on to the market, it is because they are also taking a little longer to sell.  This makes it slightly more a buyer’s market than the seller’s market we had back in 2014/5/6.  Therefore, in some sectors of the Locks Heath property market, it is much tougher to sell, especially if you want to sell your Locks Heath home fast.

Therefore, to conclude, on the run up to the New Year, if you are looking to buy and plan to stay in the buy to let market a long time, perhaps take a look at the Locks Heath properties that are sticking as there could be some bargains to be had there(?).  Want to know where they are?  Drop me a line and I will tell you a nifty little trick to find all the properties that are sticking.

The Locks Heath housing market is a fascinating beast and has been particularly interesting since the Credit Crunch of 2008/9 with the subsequent property market crash.  There is currently some talk of a ‘property bubble’ nationally as Brexit seems to be the ‘go-to’ excuse for every issue in the Country.  Upon saying that, looking at both what we do as an agent, and chatting with my fellow property professionals in the area, the market has certainly changed for both buyers and sellers alike (be they Locks Heath buy to let Landlords, Locks Heath first time buyers or Locks Heath owner occupiers looking to make the move up the Locks Heath property ladder).

Locks Heath House Values are 4.97% higher than a year ago, and the rents Locks Heath Tenants have to pay are 1.5% higher than a year ago

When we compare little old Locks Heath to the national picture, national property values have risen by 0.4% compared to last month and risen by 3.0% compared to a year ago, and this will surprise you even more, as nationally, property values are 19.8% higher than January 2015 (compared to 11.4% higher in the EU in the same time frame).

However, if we look further back…

Since 2006, Locks Heath House Values are 57.84% higher, yet the rents Locks Heath tenants have had to pay for their Locks Heath rental property are 26.4% higher

… which sounds a lot, yet UK inflation in those 12 years has been 42%, meaning Locks Heath Tenants are 15.6% better off in ‘real spending power terms’.

Looking at the graph, the rental changes have been much gentler than the roller coaster ride of property values.  I particularly want to bring to your attention to the dip in Locks Heath house values (in red) in the years of 2008 and 2009… yet as Locks Heath property values started to rise after the summer of 2009, see how Locks Heath rents dipped 6/12 months later (the yellow bars)….  Fascinating!

So, we have a win for tenants and a win for the homeowners, as they are also happy due to the increase in the value of their Locks Heath property.

However, maybe an even more interesting point is for the long-term Locks Heath buy to let Landlords.  The performance of Locks Heath rental income vs Locks Heath house values has seen the resultant yields drop over time (if house prices rise quicker than rents – yields drop).

Whilst, it’s true Locks Heath Landlords have benefited from decent capital growth over the last decade, with the new tax rules for landlords, now more than ever, it’s so important to maximise one’s yields to ensure the long term health of your Locks Heath buy to let portfolio.  More and more I am sitting down with both Locks Heath Landlords of mine and Landlords of other agents who might not be trained in these skills – to carry out an MOT style check on their Locks Heath portfolio, to ensure your investment will meet your future needs of capital growth and income.  If you don’t want to miss out on such a MOT check up, drop me a line – what have you got to lose?  30 minutes of time against peace of mind – the choice is yours.

As the memory of a glorious summer starts to dwindle some interesting statistics have come to light on the Locks Heath Property Market which will be thought provoking for both homeowners and buy to let Landlords alike.

Over the last 12 months 193 households have changed hands in Locks Heath, interesting when compared with the 10-year average of 199 households per year.

Yet, for the purpose of this week’s article, I want to discuss the pricing of the current crop of Locks Heath’s property sellers and the prices they are asking for their homes and the prices they are achieving (or not as at the case may be).  It is so important for all property owners to know the real story, so they can judge for themselves where they stand in the current Locks Heath housing market, thus enabling them to make suitable and informed decisions… and that is why, in my blog about the Locks Heath Property Market, I pride myself in telling the people of Locks Heath the real answers, not just the ones they want to hear.

The national average of homes selling at or above the asking price currently stands at around 10%, so around 90% go below the asking price – but by how much?  Well according to Rightmove, in the Locks Heath area, the average difference between the ‘FINAL asking price’ to the price agreed is 3.1%… yet note I highlighted the word FINAL in the last statement.

You see some Estate Agents will deliberately over inflate the suggested initial asking price to the house seller, because it gives them a greater chance to secure the property on that agent’s books, as opposed to a competitor.  This practice is called overvaluing. Now of course, each homeowner wants to get the most for their property, it is quite often their biggest asset – yet some agents know this and prey on those house sellers.  You might ask, what is the issue with that?

Well, you only get one chance of hitting the market as a new property.  Everyone has access to the internet, Rightmove and Zoopla etc, and your potential buyers will know the market like the back of their hand.  If you have a 3 bed semi that is on the market for a 3 bed detached house price those buyers will ignore you.  Your Locks Heath property sticks on the market, potential buyers will keep seeing your Locks Heath property on Rightmove each week, then start to think there is something wrong with it, dismiss it even further, until you as the house seller have to reduce the asking price so much (to make it appear inexpensive) to get it away.  According to our own research, the average house buyer only views between 4 and 5 houses before buying – so don’t assume viewers will come round to your optimistically priced (i.e. overvalued) property, thinking they will knock you down – no quite the opposite!

So how widespread is overvaluing in Locks Heath? The results might surprise you…

39.3% of properties in Locks Heath, currently on the market, have reduced their asking price by an average reduction of 5.2% (which equates to £18,700 each)

So, all I ask is this… be realistic and you will sell at a decent price to a decent buyer.  First time, every time, enabling you to move on to the next chapter of your life.