Lights, Camera, Action

Nick Churton of our global Mayfair Group Network looks at estate agency in the media.

Once again the television cameras have been peeking into the working lives of estate agents.  The latest BBC 2 fly-on-the-wall series called Under Offer (Wednesdays, 8.00-9.00pm until 7^th May) has become required watching for many. So how are the estate agents in the programme doing?

Many documentary and reality TV programmes covering matters like this do look for the worst side of the story – and find it. But it is rarely the whole story. It might be a difficult truth about an occupation that the public loves to hate but the vast majority of people in estate agency are not on the side of the baddies. It’s just that it never comes over very well on TV.

As we can see in the programme agents differ greatly depending on which community they reflect. They can also be rather brash and overbearing, and one or two you might prefer not to have round to dinner. But that goes with this territory. Some agents can be indescribably arrogant, base and blunt to the point of rudeness, for which there is no excuse whatsoever. But others are not. Others are charming.

This fly-on-the-wall notices the other side. No matter in what price range the agents are dealing, and how many times their behaviour may make the viewer cringe, the camera also sees them trying to do their best for clients - who can, by deed of happenstance or nature, be very demanding.

We expect our vicars to be humble and our doctors to be painstaking and honestly sympathetic. We expect our teachers to be ideal role models and our policemen to uphold the law and not pervert it. What do we expect of estate agents? Well they are not Mother Teresa or rocket scientists. Their stock is not as high as they would like and they are often seen as brash and pushy. But that is the job. It needs push. The trouble is that many people don’t like pushy agents - until those agents are working for them. At which point the agent can be as pushy as he or she likes as long as the property gets sold at the right price and in short order.

So what we are seeing in the TV series are people genuinely trying their best for their clients – whether it is for £50,000 or £50 million. When a house is sold against the seemingly impossible odds presented by highly constrained lenders, ultra-careful surveyors, over-worked and under-manned solicitors, interlinked chains of other precarious deals, demanding sellers and, all too often, fickle buyers, it seems a miracle that any deals are ever done at all. But these people in the TV programme, just like thousands of agents across the country, do care. Which is why, in the main, people do get to move when and where they want to.

Call agents brash. Call them pushy and overbearing. But when all is said and done these estate agents are not merely pushy negotiators. They are closers. And what anyone wants when selling or buying a property in the UK today is a closer – and a pushy one at that.

Your estate agent should be able to answer any of your home moving questions. We are proud to represent this area and convey that passion to anyone looking to move here.

Please contact us on 020 8643 7777 or email at sales@christiesworld.com

www.christiesworld.com

Christies House Price Index - Prices now more than 3% above previous 2008 peak

The latest Christies House Price Index, uses the most up to date reliable data from the Land Registry, and also confirms that property in the local area continues to represent an outstanding investment.

Medium and long term gains are still exceptional. Based on past performance potential buyers will be very encouraged to see that prices have risen by 32% over the previous ten years and by an astonishing 160% over the previous 15 years.

 

What is perhaps even more impressive is that prices are now 24% higher than they were five years ago and are now more than 3% higher than at the previous peak of the market in March 2008.

 

The comparison is based on the average price of all local properties sold including flats, maisonettes, all types of houses and bungalows. Figures for April onwards are not yet available - the Index will be revised as soon as the data is released so please check this page regularly for any updates.

 

Date..............Average Price.........Average Price March 2014.......YEARS............INCREASE 

 

Mar-99..............£107,219.............................£279,192..............................15.....................160%

 

Mar-04..............£212,259.............................£270,245..............................10.......................32%

 

Mar-09..............£225,199.............................£270,245...............................5.........................24%

 

Over the years, and particularly in recent times, demand for properties in Cheam, Sutton, Carshalton, Worcester Park, Ewell, Epsom, Banstead, Kingswood, Leatherhead and surrounding towns and villages has increased dramatically. Much of this demand is due to the location of the properties we sell, which are ideally situated on the fringes of London, bordering rural Surrey greenbelt countryside with picture postcard villages and market towns full of rich heritage and character.

Buyers flood into the area to take advantage of a wide range of leisure and shopping amenities. The local schools are nationally renowned and attract large numbers of enquiries, ensuring that property sale levels and prices have remained well above quoted national averages.

Cheam, North Cheam, Sutton, Carshalton, Worcester Park, Ewell, Epsom, Banstead, Kingswood all enjoy flourishing local communities with many popular cafés, restaurants and varied independent shops and businesses; this, coupled with many high street names, creates an enviable mix of retail and food outlets. Combined with excellent road and rail links, demand for property remains constant and represents an exceptional investment.

Christies have an unparalleled understanding of the area and are dedicated to ensuring customers are always informed – not just on the property market and prices, but also the area and amenities. When looking at buying a new home, we believe it is imperative that our purchasers are fully informed about all aspects of the potential move.

Your estate agent should be able to answer any of your questions regarding this. We are proud to represent this area and convey that passion to anyone looking to move here.

Please contact either Andrew Richardson, Jeremy Richardson or Richard Killoughery on 020 8643 7777 to get moving or email us at sales@christiesworld.com.

www.christiesworld.com

A Right Royal Result?

Nick Churton of our London 'Mayfair Office' looks back to 30 years ago and compares the property market then and now.

The impending royal visit to Australia by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and young Prince George reminds us of another royal visit made by Prince William in 1983 when he was eight months old. On that occasion his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied him. Back then the UK property market was in much the same state as it is now – climbing out of a recession. The boom years of the late 1980s and the full significance of Mrs Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy were yet to come.

A great deal has happened in the property market over the past thirty years. Quite apart from two recessions - including the banking crisis of 2007 and its aftermath - the picture has changed dramatically.  Back then the average price for a home was just under £50,000. Today Land Registry figures show that the average price in the UK is £168,356 - up by 4.2 per cent in a year. Figures just released also show that last month alone house prices saw their biggest monthly rise for more than four years.

According to the Nationwide building society average prices increased by 8.4% last year and some forecasters expect an increase of 8% in 2014.

Halifax has the longest running survey, going back more than 30 years. The bank estimates that over that period the increase in prices means that homeowners have been making the equivalent of 5.84 per cent a year – tax free. 

If ever there was good news for buyers it was the Bank of England governor Mark Carney signaling recently that interest rates won’t rise for a year and even after that they will rise only slowly. It is difficult to think of another occasion when homebuyers had such advance warning that the mortgage rate won’t increase substantially for several years to come. 

But another reason to think seriously about buying now is this: Should Prince George and his young family visit Australia in 2044 the average price of a UK home – if house price inflation remains the same – could be over £950,000. Now that would be a right royal result!
Please contact us on 020 8643 7777 or email at sales@christiesworld.com

www.christiesworld.com