Skip to main content

Stop the negativity!

Someone said the other day that they hadn't had anything new to read on my blog for a while. After I told them they should get out more I realised that I was just building up a head of steam!


 

This week has been exasperating. For estate agents all over the UK that is probably an understatement and I think even my favourites in Government might have something stronger to say about the way the country's lenders have responded to being bailed out by the tax payer i.e. you and me.


 

To step away from the 'Big Picture' for a moment my exasperation has been caused by so called fellow professionals at a local level.


 

We have sold a development of high specification 2 bedroom apartments in a very central location, all bar two plots. Our client told us to get them sold and I found a first time buyer prepared to pay £120,000. This offer was duly accepted on a property where similar apartments had sold between £184,950 and £190,000 in the last 9 months. I make that a reduction of about 35%. After the buyer's broker had been unable to find a mortgage for 90% of the purchase our mortgage adviser was able to produce a viable product. Showing loyalty to her original broker the first time buyer went back to them to be told along the lines of "....ooohh, I'd hang on to your deposit if I were you. You don't want to be buying anything."


 

What??? Was it sour grapes because they had boobed on the mortgage? Or did they genuinely believe that 35% off was not enough. They are in danger of creating a self fulfilling prophecy if they keep advising buyers to stay out of the market.


 

The second was a firm of solicitors who must only do conveyancing as a small part of their business, or at least I hope it is!


 

A client of theirs rang them to say they had made a cash offer on a property. The response was "Oh no! You really shouldn't be making offers and buying houses in this market". Ask anyone the best time to buy anything and the answer is when the market is down. The fact that these people were offering on a fairly unique property that rarely comes to the market is pertinent but not totally relevant. Their position allowed them to pay cash now and take advantage of a poor market leaving them time to do works to the property whilst staying in their own home which could be sold when the market improves.


 

It's unfortunate that we are all going through the times we are but we don't need the professionals among us depressing things further and creating the climate for further inactivity.


 

By the way we're selling more than the national 'average' estate agent – but then you'd expect that wouldn't you!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I totally agree, this has all come about because of sub-prime people having difficulty getting credit, the ones that can should take advantage of the reduced sale prices, and not be put off by the 'professionals'. If the country is going to recover from this vicious circle then the whole system needs to be more positive. Keep it up!
October 20, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's July 2022!

 How many bloggers find that it's only something they do when they have found some time to fill, for whatever reason? I admit that there are companies and individuals who will write something for me on a regular basis, but my feeling is that it needs to be authentic and my 'voice'. When I get back to my keyboard to do this it makes me worry that the market may be changing and we'll need to start adapting again to new circumstances, new problems and constraints. The dreaded COVID has not gone away, just adapted itself. My wife Janet managed to pick it up from her 93 year old father after spending several hours with him coughing and sneezing on the way back from a trip to Wales. Her first time contracting it since the pandemic began and it's been 4 days now since she tested positive. My results are negative. I told my colleagues that's because I'm a 64 year old Teflon coated estate agent! But then, who knows when a variant particularly targeted at the property
Post a Comment
Read more
Interest rates and inflation First of all, let’s get some basics together. Reproduced below is The Times ‘explainer’ with my numbering of reasons and highlighting of the players involved: The Bank of England has warned that it could peak at 13% this year when the energy price cap goes up again. But what is pushing up prices? Energy bills are by far one of the biggest contributors. (1) Gas prices rocketed as economies around the world reopened after the coronavirus lockdowns. (2) The war in Ukraine has exacerbated the problem. In April, average gas and electricity prices jumped by 53.5% and 95.5% respectively compared with a year ago. (3) Average energy bills are now forecast to hit £3,850 by January 2023 after Russia cut gas supplies further. Fuel remains at some of the highest levels seen on record, although pump prices are falling, slowly . Average petrol prices were 182.69p a litre in July . In early June you could expect to pay 186.59p. In May you could expect to pay 160.31p
Post a Comment
Read more

House builders discuss 95% mortgages with lenders

So the house builders and the lenders have had a meeting to discuss how they can create 95% mortgages. Basically a good thing, as you would imagine most estate agents would say. But what proportion of the housing Market is represented by new homes sales to first time buyers? Also any first time buyer who purchases a new home is then a cost to the second hand Market of who knows how many sales! If I think back 30 years my wife and I as first time buyers were providing a deposit of 10%. To do this we sold her car, saved up by not going out as much and generally committed ourselves to the task of buying our first home together. Ah, you might say, but house prices were so much cheaper then. True but my salary was just under £2,000 per annum with the prospect of perhaps another £1,000 in commission from selling at lease 6 houses per month personally. The first 4 didn't count towards commission but were to cover my costs to my employer! I personally don't think 95% mortgages are
3 comments
Read more