March Market Comment
Sensation sells! The press is having a field day with all sorts of Brexit-related headlines and claims about how the current state of confusion is negatively impacting on the housing market. The reality is that latest figures published by respected sources support our own view that it’s not quite a buyers’ market yet, even though, according to the Nationwide, house prices are just 0.4% higher than this time last year.
The latest Propertymark Housing Report found that NAEA members report a … Continue Reading…
Low up-take of online estate agency
Some local sellers have approached us to sell their property following a less-than-impressive performance by an online alternative to “proper” estate agency. Although it is always tempting to say “I told you so”, we wouldn’t be so harsh with someone who has just been through the mill with the wrong choice of agent.
And it seems they are not alone. In fact, a survey* of over 14,000 sellers, the largest ever undertaken, has demonstrated that 93% of people would prefer to … Continue Reading…
The Advertising Myth
It would not be unreasonable to assume that as a property comes onto the market, the instructed estate agent will post the property details on various property portals and wait for the enquiries to roll in.
However, this approach is somewhat simplistic! We take a much more strategic and proactive approach to handling new buyer enquiries. There is a fallacy surrounding adverts in that many people think that a property sells as a direct result of the publication of its corresponding … Continue Reading…
February Market Comment
It’s a funny old thing, the British housing market. Just when you might expect the political uncertainty prompted by the “B” word to dull the market further, it leaps! That’s the way things look from where we’re standing anyway! Not only have we experienced an extremely strong start to the year, both in terms of new instructions and offers agreed, but this appears to be supported across the board.
For example, a founder of MyHomeMove, a major conveyancing firm, reported that … Continue Reading…
January Market Comment
The media would have us believe that the property market is nursing a New Year’s party hangover. Certainly the issues that influenced the market during 2018 remain, such as Brexit-related confusion, lack of supply and affordability problems for first time buyers. And whilst the media does love to scaremonger, they tend to ignore, the perhaps rather boring reality, that the UK property market is actually surprisingly resilient.
Property has always been generally low-risk and any annual capital appreciation over 3% can … Continue Reading…
Buyers Warm To a Real Fire
The fireplace was traditionally the heart of every home, but changing lifestyles over the past four decades have relegated many of them to the scrap heap, with many families choosing to huddle around the TV instead.
However, the fireplace has seen a huge resurgence in popularity as a design feature among buyers, so if you are considering selling, it might be worthwhile investing in a fireplace or revamping your old one before going on the market. There’s a huge choice.
If you … Continue Reading…
December Market Comment
As we approach the end of the year we find ourselves in politically turbulent times, with the Brexit debate continuing to undermine confidence, but only slightly. Certainly there are some scary concepts being tabled, not least the Governor of the Bank of England suggesting that a no-deal Brexit could trigger property price falls of up to 35%.
Far be it for us to argue with the Governor, but this rather dramatic suggestion relies on a) a no Brexit deal and, b) … Continue Reading…
Winter Checklist
Household emergencies generally occur during the depths of winter, but we recommend that homeowners undertake a pre-winter checklist now to prevent unforeseen property headaches in the months to come, especially remembering last year’s weather! Here are some pointers:
• Don’t wait until the really cold weather arrives to discover that the central heating is not working. Time your central heating to click on for one minute a day throughout the year to avoid it seizing.
• A sudden cold snap can burst … Continue Reading…
Richard James Wins Top Award At Prestigious Estate Agency Event
Richard James – 2018 Award Winners
We are celebrating after being crowned the 2018 Relocation Agent Network Agent of the Year. We received the award at this year’s 25th Relocation Agent Network Awards Dinner held on Friday 23 November at London’s Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel.
The Agent of the Year Award is the most coveted prize Relocation Agent Network, the national network of selected estate agents, can give. Nominees are selected for the award because of the outstanding service that they … Continue Reading…
Autumn Selling Tips
As the evenings begin to draw in, sellers should take stock of their property if they are to maximise their chances of securing an early sale. Buyer activity is traditionally very good at this time of year, but your property still needs to compete well if it is to sell readily. Here are some tips, with our compliments:
• Kerb appeal. You only get one chance to make a first impression – so make it count, as buyers make instant judgements. … Continue Reading…