Category Archives: News

February 2020 Market Comment

Last month we reported a sense of renewed optimism in the air. Well we were right! The post-election-post-Brexit surge means that the property market is once again buzzing with activity. And it’s not only our own agents who are working flat out to service our clients – Rightmove reported a 15% uplift in buyer enquiries to estate agents generally in the month immediately after the election compared to the previous year. This coincided with a 7.4% increase in sales agreed.

The … Continue Reading…

Generate Offers

One of the most important aspects of your estate agents role is not only to negotiate a price (or ideally secure the full asking price of course) but actually to generate an offer in the first place! Too many agents simply see themselves as people who show buyers around property, hoping that an offer will be forthcoming as a result. It probably won’t!

Purchasing a property is potentially such a big decision that even if a buyer prefers your property to … Continue Reading…

Accompanied Viewings

The layman’s view of an estate agent is simply someone who shows prospective buyers round properties. Whilst understandable, this simplistic perspective belies the fact that the well-trained agent knows how to maximize the viewing opportunity with the specific objective of prompting a sale.

Whilst “showing someone round” might appear straightforward, vendors who do this themselves as opposed to allowing their agent to do so may be missing out on opportunities on several fronts.

Firstly, a good agent recognizes that they cannot “force” … Continue Reading…

Are you wasting your money?

“What a waste of money.”

It’s something we’ve all heard someone say. And if we’re honest with ourselves, something we’ve all done at some point.

Buying that jumper that never saw the light of day.
The gym membership that got about as much use as a sun lounger in Antarctica.

Or forgetting you were subscribed to that ‘it’ll change my life’ monthly service you never ended up using.
But don’t feel too bad because your money spending mistakes probably pale into insignificance compared to the … Continue Reading…

What Will Homes Look Like in 2030?

Back in 1989 the BBC technology show Tomorrow’s World looked at what the average UK home of 2020 would look like.

Its predictions were hit and miss, but they did forecast technology would play a huge part in how we lived.

They said we’d be able to control our lighting, music and heating by voice commands (Alexa, Google
Assistant, etc.). That our homes would be more energy efficient (we’re getting there) and that our windows would be able to turn into TV screens … Continue Reading…

January Market Comment

As we predicted, the end of December proved to be one of the busiest in estate agents’ living memory. The apparent end of three years of Brexit confusion, prompted by the definitive general election result intensified buyers’ feeding frenzy between Christmas and New Year. We were open for business during that time and our clients are now reaping the rewards, with a number of sales having already been agreed.

Those buyers and potential sellers who understandably adopted a wait-and-see approach during … Continue Reading…

Busting the January Property Market Myth!

“Nothing happens in January, does it?”

It’s a question we hear a lot from homeowners who are thinking of selling but considering putting things off until spring.

While that statement might be true about the number of events on people’s social calendars, it doesn’t apply to the property market because there’s plenty of activity happening.

The truth is January sees five out of the ten busiest property searching days on the internet, according to the portal Rightmove.

The five dates when new home seeking … Continue Reading…

Will you stick to your resolutions in 2020?

We all know making New Year’s resolutions are simple but sticking to them is a lot harder.

The top six most popular changes people usually want to make are to exercise more, lose weight, get organised, learn a new skill or hobby, drink less alcohol and spend more time with people they love.

Easy to say – harder to do.
The good news is an American psychoanalyst has come up with five easy tips to help you keep your resolutions in 2020.

Own up … Continue Reading…

We wish you a Merry Christmas – Especially our community heroes

Christmas Time, Mistletoe and W…wait, perhaps we won’t go down the Sir Cliff route just yet.

But festive songs aside it’s a most wonderful time for family, friends, eating too much, watching TV specials and relaxing (usually once the relatives have left).

However, let’s spare a thought for the people, around 1 million of them across the UK, who must work on December 25th.

Emergency services, hospital staff, carers, traffic officers and hospitality workers all spring to mind as people who will be … Continue Reading…

Qualifying Buyers

The phrase “Willing and Able” is seldom heard today, as it no longer appears on estate agency documentation. However, it remains important to discover if a prospective buyer for your property is indeed willing and able to proceed, should they express interest in your home.

This is especially the case today, when people are finding it harder to get a mortgage than they did last time they bought. But apart from the obvious financial issues governing the buyer’s “ability” to proceed, … Continue Reading…