If I have one more person asking, with genuine interest in the answer for a change, what’s happening in the property market I’ll have to buy an even bigger megaphone and simply tell them that I’ve no idea. Whether we’re talking objective or subjective stats, expert or amateur opinion, boardroom or pub chat or as importantly, London or Country, North or South East or West we’re all just waffling.
Noughtie Parakeets
January 29th, 2010 by Ed MeadJust as we’ve got used to calling them the Noughties we’re into the Teens. The end of the Nineties saw prices and volumes in K&C moving higher very quickly, but the dot com bubble bursting caused ructions at the beginning of the new decade with a loss of volume and flattening of prices. Such worries were brushed aside and forward momentum quickly re-established. Prices in K&C have again been rising fast at the end of this decade at 10% up (Land Reg) over the last 6 months, but volumes, already half what they were in ’99 have been falling. Not really sure anyone expected this but the “perfect” central London storm looks set to continue for a few months irrespective of bankers and Tax. Will we get out of jail this time….what do I know, I’m just a stupid estate agent. We’re all bloody lucky to live in such a resilient City. On a lighter note, one of our finest spaces is Richmond Park, but every time I go there I’m shocked by the number of parakeets, and luckily they’ve just been designated as pests. Given that they’re not indigenous can I suggest that a charity parakeet shoot there would raise a fortune for charity.
Why we WON’T all be selling privately in the near future
January 25th, 2010 by Ed MeadThere has been plenty of press over the weekend and Twitter chat about how the Telegraph’s interview with Sarah Beeny points to the demise of the estate agent. To be fair she opines that 50% of all property sales will be done privately by 2015 so that would seem to give half of us a stay of execution at least.
Sarah has obvious charisma and appeal and it’s all too easy to denigrate agents and jump on the bandwagon. I wish her all the best with her site which is well thought out, slick and deserves to carve out a niche for itself. Private sales are not new and have in the past been the preserve of the bargain hunter, either buyer looking to buy without competition, or seller trying to avoid paying an estate agency a fee.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
January 21st, 2010 by Ivor Dickinson” The 500% increase in costs for the TenancyDepositScheme are exorbitant, monstrous and hardly in keeping with the biggest global recession in living memory!
Something must be done. I know the reason they have gone up, because a large majority of agents, particularly those new to lettings and with no experience of settling end of tenancy claims are now just forwarding every claim they have to the TDS and funnily enough TDS can`t cope. Maybe they should have thought about this when they launched the scheme! (why is everyone so incompetent, it beggars belief).
Buy yourself a pay as you go mobile when dealing with some agents.
January 19th, 2010 by Ed MeadIt depends of course which estate agent you’re talking about but the US style hard sell is here to stay and it takes various forms and involves differing levels of commitment from those paid to do the selling.
Market Predictions
January 14th, 2010 by Ivor DickinsonPrices/Stock- In D&G land, Central and SW London exclusively, prices last year rose bybetween 12 and 20% depending on the property.
Unless there is a dramatic rise in stock levels I don`t see any reason why things should be that different in 2010. The forthcoming election will deter house sellers yet again, with vendors delaying moving in the hope that a Tory government might remove some of the punitive shackles that this government have inflicted on the housing market.
Focus for 2010 – My main priority for this year is staff. This recession has deterred people from moving within the industry and has seriously impacted on the amount of quality candidates wishing to join the industry. The hunt is on for high calibre estate agents.
Plans for 2010-Probably consolidation, 2009 was actually a very good year for both sales and lettings due to the constant demand and limited stock. I think the electionwill play a big part this year and so despite last year`s success I am not entirely convinced that they will be repeated in 2010 and I am therefore not planning massive expansion or dramatically increased marketing.
Market wish for 2010-Damn location ,location, location………I want property, property, property, both for sales and lettings, and a few decent negotiators would be nice.
Looking ahead
January 13th, 2010 by Ed MeadThere’s a lot being written about the year ahead and never have there been so many unknowns. Reading many opinions it’s easy to see whether their authors are vested in the property market as buyers or sellers and estate agents are always prone to talk the market up. Anyone who knows me and D&G will hopefully know that we will at least say it as we see it. Given that we have a 15% share of the market across our not inconsiderable area (not just central London) that also means that our opinion, if you chose to read it, should carry at least some weight.
Misdescriptions all the rage…..apparently.
January 7th, 2010 by Ed MeadIt struck me last night crashed out in front of the TV that there’s an awful lot of misdescription going on in the adverts we’re all forced to watch. It’s beginning to get seriously annoying, and I’m sure you feel the same, seeing actress after TV presenter after reality “star” all claiming some potion or contraption keeps their skin looking young and that we’re all worth it. As a Court decided in 08 a certain brand was misleading, and they weren’t the only one. What makes these ads all the more difficult to watch is the obvious point that most of those you see with lovely hair skin or lashes seem to be either wearing false extensions or owe their new found lack or wrinkles to a plastic surgeon. There are times when it’s so obvious you almost feel it must be a p*** take.
Now if millions are forced to watch this claptrap it seems a bit silly to allow the pastiche that is property descriptions to be legislated out of existence by a few jobsworths. These people don’t seem to realize that most property descriptions are treated with the same seriousness as the audience treats widow twanky not seeing the obvious baddy behind her. It’s pantomime stupid, always has been and always will be.
In 30 years of doing this I’ve never once had a complaint about a description from a buyer, but sellers now complain all the time because existing rules allow almost no artistic license or indeed scant regard for any form of flattering prose at all.
No doubt there’s some QANGO somewhere that continues to meet and decide that we can’t be let off the leash and as long as estate agents are threatened with a criminal record (!) for being a bit adventurous another potentially vaguely interesting part of our heritage will fall victim to the pathetic creep of political correctness.
A little about the Chancellor’s credentials
December 9th, 2009 by Ed MeadThere’s going to be a lot of waffle about the pre budget statement, but what amazes me is the credentials of the person who’s delivered it.
Alastair Darling’s university career was alarmingly close to my own in chronological terms which, I suppose, makes me feel even more qualified to comment.
Look it up, he was a solicitor for four years before becoming a public servant. I’m not decrying those who wish to serve, yet there seems to be a lowest common denominator amongst politicians that’s simply not found in the true altruist.
Market Report – January 2010
February 3rd, 2010 by Ivor DickinsonEver since our return to work after the Christmas break, I have been besieged by requests from all corners as to what is going to happen to the market this year. My answer has been “we must wait until the end of January to get a good comparison of year on year statistics”. Considering two weeks of this January were virtually a non event because of the extreme weather conditions, the results are perhaps even more startling than they might first appear.
Sales
Tags: accidental landlords, applicants, demand, instructions, January 2010, lack of property, Lehman Brothers, Market Report, prices continued to rise, property demand, top estate agency
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