And our survey said !

It seems every day there’s a new survey telling us what we can and can’t do, what’s good for us and what’s not and what we like and don’t like ! The media, newspapers, TV and the internet bombard us with information, statistics and percentages about every aspect of our lives. Only this morning I woke to the rather cheery news on breakfast TV that if I have a sausage or a rasher of bacon every day, I am 20% more likely to get a form of cancer. Clearly there is some evidence behind the claim, and common sense says that whilst we all like a fry up, having one every day is not going to be good for us (even if you are a builder).

My point is that we seem to be overloaded with this type of propoganda, and how do we keep up. One day we’re told it’s good to eat cheese, six months later it’s not.

Yes it’s good to have a glass of red wine every day, but its also recommended to have two alcohol free days a week – who and what do you believe !

When it comes to the property market, we are also subject to sometimes conflicting information, the worst offender being average sale prices. Last weeks headline “Property prices on the up”, is normally swiftly followed by another research group telling us “UK property values set to tumble.” No wonder they say don’t believe everything you read in the papers. So as a bit of fun, here’s ten property related survey headlines, some true, some made up, but can you tell which is which ?

1. Properties with red doors bring good luck so are therefore 20% more likely to sell.
2. 90% of people now start their property search online.
3. The smell of freshly baked bread will enhance your chances of selling.
4. You are 30% less likely to sell a house with the door number 13.
5. The average age of today’s first time buyers is 35, or is it 41 ?
6. Scottish first time buyers are on average 5 years younger than those in England & Wales.
7. Men with beards achieve quicker sales than those who are clean shaven.
8. The average sale price at the end of 2011 was just over £160000.
9. Blonde women sell their property for 10% more than brunettes.
10. Property prices will either increase, decrease or stay the same in 2012.

Whatever happens to the market in 2012, one thing is for sure that there will be comment and discussion in the media. Some will be positive, some negative, some true and some false, and you will have your own opinion. If you are contemplating a move in 2012, make sure you get a good agent to help you and good luck.

Now I am off to have a bacon sandwich !

Award winning blog

Congratulations to us (well me really !) on winning a runner up prize in the Best Newcomer category of the prestigious Primelocation.com Annual Blog Awards. Judged by a panel of industry experts, the awards were launched in 2009 to reward and celebrate the best bloggers both in the UK and overseas who write about property. With over 1000 blogs nominated, we are delighted to have been recognised with this award, and hope that we can go one better next year and win one of the categories ! Thanks Primelocation.com , thanks to our readers, and I hope we can keep you entertained throughout 2012 with our Award winning Blog !

The truth about property prices

I often get asked my “professional opinion” on what I think will happen with house prices. It seems that over the years this has become a hot topic of conversation, from the hairdressers chair to the stool at the bar we all love talking about the price of property. We talk about it, and we read about it, online and in print the media bombards us with conflicting headlines of prices up and then prices down. So what is the truth about house prices ?

So lets deal with the statistics and price indexes that generate those front page headlines in our daily papers. There are two things to take into account here. The first is propaganda, we like to hear good news so if some economics study group in Cambridge comes out with a report that property prices will double in our lifetime, you can bet your bottom dollar that The Daily Express will have this splashed across their front page with a feel good headline for every home-owner in the country. Is it the truth ? Maybe, but it is an opinion just like drinking a glass of red wine every day is good for you, which is one of my personal favourites ! The second point here is where the information comes from. The most quoted sources tend to be the Halifax and Nationwide, but remember their calculations are only based on their own mortgage data so doesn’t give any clarity. This is shown regularly, by one saying prices up and the other prices down, so who is right – neither I would say. The Land Registry in my opinion is the only index worth it’s salt as these are real prices of all registered completed sales across England & Wales. So I can tell you confidently that in the 12 months to October prices went up 0.3% in London, but came down 7.2% in the North East. What I can’t say is how many of those individual sales resulted in an increase or a decrease in value, as these figures are just the average of all transactions in the period.

The individual sale price of a property can be influenced by a number of factors, generally these being current market conditions, availability of other property and buyers, location and condition of the property, and the timescale to sale. For example we recently sold a property for 88% of the asking price. Quite a drop you may say, and yes I would agree but the owners managed to negotiate a similar % reduction on the house they bought, so what they lost with one hand they gained with the other. The owners have a sale whilst there are other properties still on the market in the street, the buyers are happy to have negotiated a deal, and the agent is happy to have another sold board !

Prices can also be influenced by personal factors – What is the property worth to me ? An investor will only look at the yield or return on their investment to determine a value, first time buyers are still wary of paying the right price in a “falling market”, but if you are selling the only property to come on the market in 3 years a few doors down from my family then as a buyer I may be prepared to pay “over the odds” to secure your house.

At the end of the day, it is all down to perceived value. I was interested to read the other day that a large percentage of prospective sellers thought that prices would increase in 2012. Well we can all hope can’t we, and let’s face it nobody wants to lose money on their house. Conversely if you asked 100 potential first time buyers the same question, I would guess all of them would want to see prices coming down. The reality is that none of us know categorically what will happen with house prices in 2012, 2013 or beyond, but we will all have an opinion. As I always say a property is worth what Joe Bloggs is prepared to pay for it, and what the owner is prepared to sell it for.

Dear Santa

It’s around this time of year that parents like myself are given a Christmas present wish list by their children. Depending on the age of your beloved offspring this can vary from a simple Dear Santa please may I have a puppy, to an extensive list including the relevant page numbers in the Argos book or website details of where these items can be purchased, and how much they cost ! Having been presented with this years lists to include new bike, Xbox gaming chair and various other expensive items, it got me thinking about what I would like Santa to bring us estate agents for Christmas ! So here it is, here’s my letter.

Dear Santa

My name is Darrin and I am 44 and 3/4 and yes before you ask I have been a good boy and I do still believe. I am an estate agent and as I am sure you know we haven’t had it easy this year and wondered whether you could help us all out in 2012. I am hoping with you being a global icon, that you may be able to have some influence, so I have put together a list for you to consider.

1. Eurozone crisis – I am getting a bit worried about this and the implications it may have on the housing market next year. Perhaps you could have a word with Angela Merkel, President Sarkozy and the rest of their gang, and tell them to get their house in order. Just don’t lend them any money !
2. Help for small businesses – Mr Cameron our PM keeps saying how vital it is for our economy that small businesses succeed. He is always talking about new initiatives, and how his friend Eddie at the bank is continuing with quantative easing and telling the other banks to lend to business. Call me a sceptic but is this really happening ?
3. Mortgage lending – This has got better, but we need the first time buyers to come back to the market. This will only happen if there are more competitive 90% and even 95% mortgage deals available. I know it’s a big ask but if you could ask our friends at Halifax, Santander, Nationwide and the other lenders to help out that would be great. After all you have I am sure made all their wishes come true.
4. Consistent and honest pricing – Can you also have a word with those estate agents who still overvalue to get the property on the market. It’s not big and it’s not clever, and more importantly you are not helping the clients who will just end up reducing their price in 6 months time when it doesn’t sell.
5. Lastly on a personal note can you make sure that West Ham get promoted back to the Premiership, that all my family and friends stay happy and healthy throughout 2012, and I have always really wanted a Tag Heuer watch !

Dear Darrin

Estate agent and property expert Darrin Carter answers your questions about all things related to moving home.

Dear Darrin – My house has been on the market for 3 months, and we haven’t heard anything from the agents, we know the market is quiet but thought we may have heard something from them. Do we need to call them ?

Why oh why do agents still let themselves down by not communicating with their clients ! Unfortunately yes it seems you will have to make the 1st move, although my initial question would be to ask why they haven’t been in touch before now. Whilst the market isn’t great, a good agent would have updated you regularly on the response they’ve had on your home, and made suggestions on how to improve your chances of selling. I would ask your agent back round to your house, and ask them to spell out what their plan is for the next 3 months. If they don’t have a plan, then get yourself a new agent – good luck.

Dear Darrin – My girlfriend and I are thinking of leaving home, and don’t know whether to rent or buy ? We would like to buy, and have what would relate to a 5% deposit saved up, but all our friends are renting and are telling us to do the same. What would you recommend to us ?

Well done on saving the deposit, at least you now have a choice. Renting has become more fashionable in the last few years, whilst mortgages have become more difficult to obtain, so maybe your friends have chosen to rent as this was the only option open to them. My advise would be to talk to an IFA (Independent financial advisor), and see how much you can borrow, what mortgage deals are available to you, and at what monthly cost. Then look at what you can buy in your area, compared to what you could get spending the same amount on rent. With rents rising, and better mortgage deals becoming available, the buy or rent argument may be finally swaying in the favour of buying.

Dear Darrin – I am about to put my house on the market, and want to know what low cost improvements I can do to help my chances of finding a buyer and getting the best possible price ?

There are a few things you can do with minimal expense, but a little bit of effort. Start out side by looking at the garden and what potential buyers will see when they drive up to view. Cut the grass, trim the hedge, weed those borders, and sweep the leaves off the driveway – this all creates a good 1st impression and the agent will get a better photo. Inside think declutter, you’re on the move hopefully, so box up those unused possessions or better still do a boot sale and make an extra few quid. You can then use these funds on a tin of paint and a new brush to tidy up the paintwork, fresh clean decor is always a winner in buyers eyes. Lastly look at how each room is presented, move furniture around to make rooms look bigger, and then just make sure you keep everywhere tidy– tidiness and cleanliness costs nothing, good luck with your sale.

 

 

Re-inventing the wheel

To make over completely, to bring back into existence or use. That’s what the dictionary quotes for reinventing the wheel.  I originally wrote this blog 18 months ago, so what’s changed since then, and can we reinvent the wheel with Estate Agency in the UK ?

I have spent all my working life selling houses, big ones, small ones, clean ones, dirty ones, cheap ones and expensive ones. I have sold thousands of properties across the UK for big corporate agencies, leading independents and now for the 2nd time my own business. The common denominator in all of these over the past 25 plus years was the process, match the house to the buyer and then hold it together through to exchange of contracts. So not much reinvention there, so how can we change the way we buy and sell our houses for the better.

When James Dyson first looked at a vacuum cleaner, he knew that the actual process wouldn’t change, but his ideas on cyclone suction, no bag and a ball would significantly improve the experience and end up revolutionising the industry. The same with budget airlines, you still go to the airport get on a plane and end up at your destination, what’s changed is that you probably book your tickets online, you don’t have an in-flight meal and the cost is less or should I say better value for money. So how can we link these analogies to what’s still rumoured to be one of the most stressful times of our lives …….moving house.

Where we find agents, how we interact with them, how we pay for their service, and who we use is more than likely going to change over the next few years. With improving technology and choices on how we communicate, some agents may start to leave the High Street and look at alternatives such as home working or lower cost managed offices. My personal view on this is that estate agency will never become totally virtual, as both sellers and buyers still like to meet the agent at their office. One thing that’s certain is there will be more ways for us to interact with eachother, with agents having better websites, and learning how to use technology and social media to the full. There will be choice for consumers on how they can pay, as more agents move away from the traditional percentage based no sale no fee model. We will also see other retailers, and internet companies joining the market and offering alternative ways to market our homes.

What also needs improvement is the actual sale process, and my hope is that the government do look at this over the next few years. Buyers and sellers losing thousands of pound to a whim; weeks and sometimes months of hard work being lost to a simple change of mind; buying chains collapsing unnecessarily. None of this would be tolerated when buying cars, washing machines or computers. So why homes, which are worth so much more?

To go back to the analogies, both are about choice. You can choose to buy a Dyson or a traditional hoover, but  Dyson has changed the way we look at the technology and how we clean our homes. You can choose to fly with a budget airline or  first class with BA, but Ryanair and Easyjet offer us an alternative and lets face it cheaper option. I am sure in the future we will look back in the same way to the changes that are coming to estate agency.

So have I personally reinvented the wheel ? Well my own business model is built around change www.carterestateagents.com but choice will remain and as they say at the BBC ……other alternative agents are available.

Looking back on 26 years of selling houses

In 26 years of being an estate agent,  the core ethics and practices of estate agency haven’t really changed, certainly the house moving process is much the same as it was all those years ago. There have though been a lot of other changes, changes in market conditions, changes in property prices, and lots of changes in how estate agents work.

One thing that has changed is the technology we use every day to promote  our properties. Back in 1985, we thought sticky back colour photos on details and colour adverts in the local paper were revolutionary. Fast forward to today, and Facebook, twitter, smart phones and the internet are for many of us part of our day to day lives, and sometimes it’s hard to see how we would function without them ! So how did we communicate with clients, and promote our products in the days before Mark Zuckerberg invented Facebook, and Steve Jobs and the guys at apple thought they may be on to a winner with their iphone. Well back in the 80s the local paper was the internet, and agents took multiple pages every week to ensure their properties got the maximum possible exposure. Back then printed media worked extremely well for agents, and many a house was sold through an advert in the paper. These days however, the majority of agents have retreated from this media. As they say today’s news or in this case advert is tomorrows chip paper, and the internet now gives us 24/7 coverage to the largest possible audience 365 days a year !

The internet has transformed how people look for property, and how agents engage with their customer base. Back in 1985, our target audience was primarily contacted through our mailing list. Once registered with us, potential buyers would be bombarded with posted paper details on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. We literally sent hundreds of mailers, I remember taking boxes of envelopes to the post office. Today’s buyers can make their own choices, conduct their 1st viewing online, and then compile a short-list of potential properties without leaving home, or having unnecessary junk mail through their letterbox from the local agents.

So what about prices, how have these changed over 26 years. To give you an example, the first house I ever sold as a fresh faced 18 year old trainee was a terraced house in Maidstone, Kent sold for the grand sum of £24995 !! I remember the guy that bought it was a milkman for Unigate (remember milkmen ??) and it was right at the top of his budget. What’s interesting is that the average salary in 1985 was £9000 so this house was less than 3 times this amount. Having checked online today, houses in the same street now sell for around £150000,  a whopping 600% increase on the 1985 value. Perhaps more importantly though this is 6 times the average salary of £26,000, so you could say these properties have doubled in terms of affordability over the period and maybe one factor why more young people are struggling to get onto the property ladder today.

Another reason potential first time buyers remain in the rented sector today is the lack of lending and difficulty getting mortgages. Clearly the amount of deposit needed now is relevant, as 10% or more of £150000 is a lot of money, especially when you compare it to the £1500 or so deposit that our milkman friend probably had to find back in ’85. That said, the base rate in 1985 was 14%, compared with the historic low of 0.5% today. Over the years I have seen huge ups and downs in the mortgage market, and lending coupled with consumer confidence, is I believe the key to unlocking the problems of today’s market. I am not advocating we go back to the silly days of 100% and even 120% mortgages as we have seen the repercussions of this irresponsible lending, but we need to get the first time buyers back somehow.

So what does the next 25 years hold for us agents, and the moving public. Well if I had a crystal ball I wouldn’t be here writing this blog ! What I do know is that we will need to adapt to new fast moving technology and how we communicate with the next generation of buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants. Some things won’t change,  people will still move as their life circumstances change, and properties will still only be worth what Jo Bloggs is prepared to pay for them !

Summer sale

With the market continuing to be tough, selling your home is not the easy exercise it has been in years gone by. The 2nd half of 2011 continues to be a buyers market, and good quality  buyers who are ready to proceed are there but are in short supply. In previous blogs I have given advice on choosing your agent wisely, and ensuring that they present your home to its best, but what about YOU the seller, what should YOU be doing to turn that viewer into a buyer ? Now more than ever you need to be working with the agent to aid a sale. Only last weekend I showed a couple around 3 properties we currently have for sale. They had sold their own property and had whittled down all the potential houses on the web to a short-list to view that day. They were viewing 11 properties, yes that’s right 11 properties, so each owner had at best an 11-1 chance of getting an offer. With those odds if you are looking to sell you need your home to stand out from the crowd.

Now the summer is here, properties and especially gardens are looking at their best, so my 1st tip is to keep those lawns, driveways, beds and borders tidy. First impressions count and if you have good kerb appeal this will get you a tick in the box from your viewers. Not only that a lot of people will have a drive by before committing to a viewing, and if they are greeted by weeds on the drive and an unruly lawn, they may discount you there and then, and not book that appointment.

My second tip is to remember that 9/10 viewers have already completed their 1st viewing online, so let’s not disappoint them when they see the property for real. Now I don’t expect all my clients to try and live in a “show house” all the time they are on the market, but if you and the agent cleared the kitchen work tops to get that great photo that you have been showing all your friends, then don’t greet the viewers with washing up in the sink and an over flowing bin ! These potential buyers booked the appointment because of what they saw online, so make sure the beds are made, clutter cleared and if you have time why not quickly push the hoover around. The analogy I always use is that if you were selling a second hand car for £5000 and someone was coming to see it, chances are you would put it through the car wash and clean out the interior, so why would you not do the same for your £100000 house ?

My final tip is to be prepared, don’t rush home 5 minutes before the viewing and frantically throw things into cupboards. You don’t need to bake bread, or roast coffee, but if you can give yourself time to have a last tidy up, and then spend a few minutes having a walk around the house checking each room looks good. Try and see the house through their eyes, what will they see, as this is your one chance to make a good impression.

How can I sell my house ?

Selling your home DIY  instructions – Get yourself a 3ft x 2ft flat piece of wood or plastic, paint the words For Sale and your telephone number on both sides, attach to a long wooden pole, place in the ground outside your house and wait for the phone to ring ! Sounds simple doesn’t it, but lets face it if it was that easy we would all be doing it, and I for one would be out of a job. The fact is there are now a number of ways to attract and find a buyer, from private sale to the traditional route of using an estate agent, all have benefits and all have pitfalls, but what is best ?

Private sales – Why pay agents all that money when you can do it yourself. From home made for sale boards, to classified ads in the local paper, and now perhaps even your own advert online, there has and always will be a market for the private seller. In a good market you may have more success, as the supply to demand seesaw tips in your favour, but with the current market conditions this could be a harder option than you think. Yes you will save money, but remember you will have to do everything on your own from placing your ads, through to negotiating your own sale, and you may not have the target audience that an agent can give you.

BMV buyers - You will have seen the adverts in the press and on the web – “We guarantee to buy your property” or words to such effect. These companies seem to be popping up everywhere as the market has got tougher over the last few years. BMV stands for below market value, and that in a nutshell is what they do, they promise to buy your home but for below market value, typically 80% of the valuation. This also may not be 80% of what you think the house is worth, as generally it is based on their valuation. There are lots of variances, with some offering to rent it back to you, whilst others try and sell on to another 3rd party and offer to split the profit with you. Clearly this is not a fix for all, but may tick the boxes for some, especially if they are in financial problems and want to sell quickly. My advice would be make sure you know what the terms and conditions are before you commit to anything, and remember your local agent probably knows an investor who would give you the same or maybe even more.

Online agents - With the increased use of the internet over the last 10 years, has come the emergence of the online agent and there are many to choose from just google ” Sell my house”. So what do they do different to traditional estate agents ? They say that all you need to do now to sell your property is get it on the major internet sites, and that they can do everything a “high street” agent does but for a much lower fixed fee. In 2011 there is a place for well run fixed fee online agents, and I agree that the majority of leads now come from the web, but its how these potential buyers are dealt with.   Depending on the company and how much they have charged you, you may have to take your own photos, and create your own property details, and remember they are unlikely to be on your doorstep so don’t expect too much local knowledge.

Auctions - Now this really is a mix of the old and the new. On one side is the traditional auctioneer having a sale every 3 months at a local hotel, looking to sell your home “in the room” on that day. Now the major benefit of this type of sale is that once the gavel (that’s the little hammer looking thing) has gone down on a successful bid, that’s it you have a buyer you have effectively exchanged contracts at that point, and the money will be in your bank 28 days later. The new auction method, is a bit different and is more like ebay. Your property is advertised online by the agent , and the auction lasts for generally 30 days. The successful bidder pays a non refundable deposit and then has 28 days to exchange contracts and then complete. This I think is an area that will grow over time, but just like the traditional auction will not suit every property.

Estate Agents - Love them or hate them, more people sell through agents than any other route. Yes they can be expensive, although this is changing with some agents looking how they can provide quality service alongside value for money fees. They are local, and know the area, but can also give you the widest coverage on the internet, they are the professionals in their field (well most are !). A good agent will guide you through the moving process from valuation to completion, giving you the support and advice you need at this potentially stressful time. So my advice would always be to use an agent, but then I would say that wouldn’t I !

 

Does my house look good in this ?

I wrote this blog last year, but thought it was time it got another airing, with a few add ons. With the market continuing to be tough in 2011, and with buyers in short supply, one thing agents can do is ensure that every single one of their properties is not only priced right, but is presented to the highest standard. Well that’s what you’d think, but some agents it seems are still letting the side down !

Estate agents have a bad enough name as it is, and no wonder when you look at how some agents present their properties. Bad spelling, bad grammar and rubbish photos, it still astonishes me when I look at some of the basic mistakes that estate agents make ! Presentation is one of the key elements of selling any property whether its a grotty 2 bed terrace or a lovely 4 bed detached. An Englishmens home is their castle, and vendors want to see their property shown in its best light. So why do agents still make their jobs even more difficult than they have to by not getting it right in the 1st place ?

Spelling and grammar - detatched, three story, acommodation – As an agent  I always have a chuckle to myself when I see my competitors basic spelling mistakes on their details and adverts. It takes 5 minutes to spell check and proof read property particulars before they are sent off to the internet. Similarly most local papers send a proof back to the agent before printing, so why are there still mistakes on the finished advert ? No wonder the grammar aint no good on details if they cant get the spelling right init !

The internet is now the estate agents shop window, it’s where 99% of buyers see the property for the first time. With this in mind, and with agents wanting their properties to stand out from the competition, you would think that time would be taken to ensure that all the photos are helping to create more interest in the property. So why do we continually see wheely bins, unmade beds, cluttered surfaces and toilet seats left up ! It takes 2 minutes to move those unsightly multi coloured bins from the front of the house to get the best shot, and why not help the vendor clear those kitchen tops before you click away. I have never had a seller complain that I want to move a few things before I take the shot, and when they see the finished article they will thank you for taking the time to get it right.

Seriously though, lets look at the implications of getting it wrong and the benefits of getting it right. What confidence is the seller going to have in their newly appointed agent if they have to get their teachers red pen out and circle all the typo errors on the property details.  Also how are they going to feel when they look at the photos on the internet, and think they could have done better themselves. Not a good start eh !

Conversely if they receive properly proof read details, with punchy benefit statements (there’s another blog topic), and well taken photos you have started the relationship on the right footing. Theres a well used training phrase ….Preparation prevents poor performance. Taking that extra time to cross the Ts and dot the Is will win and keep more customers and help build a reputation as the agent that gets it right.