20 years on and still going strong………

Office in 1991 – 23 Sheep Street

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Richard James Estate Agents. James and I opened the doors at 23 Sheep Street, a small office with high hopes to establish a business in difficult times. Within weeks of opening interest rates had soared to about 15% and house prices were dropping like a stone.

We rolled up our sleeves and both worked seven days a week for the next few years. The hard work paid off … Continue Reading…

To Achieve a Sale this Summer….

A recent survey conducted by Home Sale Network amongst its members reports that 97% of Network respondents achieved an average 93% of a property’s asking price in June 2011 – demonstrating the calibre of estate agent we have on our Network.

Handpicked to join Home Sale Network, Richard James Estate Agents makes sure all of their customers are prepared for that summer sale with a sensible asking price, professional property photos and excellent presentation. Here are their handy hints for preparing … Continue Reading…

First Time Buyers Continue To Enter The Market

A recent Home Sale Network survey has found that first time buyers continue to enter the UK property market.

When asked whether there was an increase in first time buyers in 2011 compared to the end of 2010, over a third (35%) of respondents indicated that they had seen an increase.

A specially selected, national network of independent estate agents across England, Scotland and Wales, Home Sale Network is able to provide a good indication of the number of first time buyers … Continue Reading…

Wellingborough Office Has 33% Market Share

Since the start of the second quarter of the year, (1st April 2011 to 13th May 2011), Richard James Estate Agents Wellingborough office has agreed sales on 27 different properties. This is 33.3% of all property sales, agreed in the postal district of NN8 during this period. Our nearest competitor has a market share for this period of 22.22%, this equating to 18 agreed sales and every other Estate Agent in the area selling than ten properties each.

One in three house sales in Wellingborough are … Continue Reading…

Asking Price Remains Key to Achieving Sale

A recent survey conducted by Home Sale Network reports that getting a property’s asking price right is essential to selling your home. Indeed 83% of survey respondents indicated that the asking price remains key to achieving a successful and quick sale in the current market.

Half of Network respondents also reported that it was ‘critical’ for sellers to set the correct asking price as soon as the property comes to the market.

On average, the majority (57%) of Network members reported that … Continue Reading…

Home Sale Network Welcomes Government’s FirstBuy Scheme, But will it help?

Following the Budget speech announcement (23 March) that there will be a £250 million shared equity scheme within the UK – designed to help first time buyers purchase a new-build home on selected properties – a recent survey conducted by Home Sale Network discussed the scheme’s potential affect on the property market landscape.

The year-long programme, called FirstBuy, will provide interest-free loans for the first five years to first time buyers, if they fulfil the eligibility criteria, including a household income … Continue Reading…

UK Budget 2011 To Help First Time Buyers

George Osborne today announced a £250m package to help 10,000 first-time buyers get onto the property ladder in the Budget today.

The Firstbuy Direct scheme will help buyers struggling to get a deposit together, the opportunity to take up a five-year interest-free loan of up to 80% of the deposit, reported this morning suggested.

The scheme is set to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of the Labour government’s Homebuy Direct Scheme, which ended last autumn.

2011 Budget: Key Points

* Fuel duty … Continue Reading…

Should We Take House Price Data With A Pinch Of Salt?

Every month we are bombarded with statistics and data about house prices.

One month they are up 0.3%, the next they are down 0.9% and so on.

Is this data accurate?

The answer is, No!

First of all much of the data is based on sales put together by Estate Agents some months before. By the time a sale has completed and registered it can be four or five months after the price was originally agreed.

Furthermore two of the biggest mortgage lenders in the … Continue Reading…

A Happy New Year for Home Sale Network

A recent survey conducted by Home Sale Network indicated a promising start to the New Year. Over 91% of survey respondents saw an increase in the number of instructions in January 2011 compared to December 2010. Importantly 88% of respondents saw an increase in buyer enquires compared to the previous month with a quarter seeing more than a 50% increase.

When asked what was the most common buyer type, over half (54%) of Home Sale Network respondents saw more ‘trade up … Continue Reading…

Where’s the mortgage money?

This week saw “Project Merlin” put into force, an agreement for the largest UK banks to lend businesses £190bn this year.

There was no mention of more mortgage lending, why not?

Surely if the banks and lending institutions eased their criteria and lent more mortgage money to pent up homebuyers, this would act as a financial injection to many businesses instead of lending them money. Not only would estate agents and solicitors benefit from more proceedable buyers but so would many other … Continue Reading…