Property Market News

Team GB, second in the world. Who needs Europe?

After an amazing Olympics in which Great Britain beat everybody out of sight (bar USA), team GB arrive home to a hero’s welcome. Richly deserved, it was an amazing achievement.

And the performance went a long way to showing how our little island can perform on the world stage, both in sporting terms and also in economic terms. After some of the post Brexit negativity, this is a real boost to the nation and should inspire everybody to rally together now and get on with the business of finding our way in the world, without the ties and regulations of the European Union.

Team GB won more Gold medals than Germany and France put together. Which goes to show when we organise things ourselves, we get the job done.

My money is on more of the same in Japan, 2020 and by then Brexit and Europe will be long forgotten as our economy and property market grow in strength. We’ll show everyone that our little island can make it’s own way and become a truly global sporting and economic force.

Congratulations everyone!

As London Property Falters Much Of The UK Bucks The Trend!

When we have written about London pricing soaring and the rest of us catching up, the London marketplace may have smirked. Now, the boot seems to be on the other foot with active growth and non deterred sellers coming to the market in the majority of regions outside of the Bubble. If we take a snapshot over the last six weeks of activity we can see that the two weeks prior to the Referendum saw a like for like drop in instructions by 8% while interestingly the first two weeks post Brexit saw instructions rise by 6%.

Regionally Estate Agents report that the property market continues to build momentum due to the lack of property coming onto the market. The interesting dynamic here is that prices will likely continue to rise unless the volume of instructions increase. With Mortgage rates remaining low and buyers experiencing a degree of panic that further “suitable” properties will “not” come to the market, the higher prices are being,in the majority of cases, offered.

At Elizabeth Davenport we like to see what the public really feel about the price of there ideal home. Our goal is to generate as much interest as possible and not just to sell, but to find the very best buyer; have a choice if you like. This is not going to happen if you price the buyers of your property out of the equation. If the advertised price isn’t cynical the public will appreciate it and multiple buyers can be found. As I’m sure you can see, this does not occur from demanding a price above that which the property is worth. Our Sold to For Sale ratio reflects this with over 65% of our stock consistently sold.

Brexit has not affected the market place in Coventry and Warwickshire because there is not enough stock for sale. Whilst the demand outweighs the supply the prices will, for many of us, remain too high for comfort. But everyone does need to live somewhere. Possibly not London though.

Goodbye Mr Cameron & Hello Mrs May, Let’s Crack On!

Having just received a call from BBC Coventry and Warwickshire with a question regarding David Cameron’s legacy and his impact on the property market, I found myself having to look at the same results but from two contradictory angles.

Are dramatic property price increases a positive or a negative? It’s that fundamental. Who is to congratulate and who’s to wave a fist at?

According to data from the Land Registry, average UK house prices have risen from £161,148 in 2009, just before Mr Cameron became Prime Minister, to £206,953 in 2016 – a 28 per cent increase. If you own a home and don’t want to move then could this be irrelevant? Well, not if you want to remortgage and borrow more thus releasing more money into the economy. And what if you want to move? Well, unless you are moving from an area of wealth and high property value to an area not so, then irrelevant it is. The property you purchase will likely have risen proportionally too.

As far as I can see, David Cameron, Britain’s youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812, has been sturdy if not so Gung Ho as New Labours last elected incumbent. His parties decision to increase Stamp Duty for investment landlords seems flawed but his restructure of traditional stamp duty was welcome.

Now, we must move forward as a country, not just a political party and Theresa May be the right person to do this (See what I did there!) . Until Labour’s leadership creates solidarity within it’s own party I see we have little choice other than hoping that this Governments moral decision making prevails within our new “Brexit” nation. No rash decisions, some cleverly thought through policies and a goal of making everyone who at least lives here now as comfortable and productive as possible.

Brexit, Your Property & Not Falling Into The North Sea

Stocks & Shares, the Euro Sterling Exchange rate and the global financial markets have reacted as everyone either predicted or expected.

What of property? Where do we stand? We haven’t fallen into the North Sea since Friday last but listening to the media we’ve done almost everything but.

Property at it’s heart has always been a safe investment. We all need homes to live in whether we are lucky enough to own or to rent. The housing shortage in this country has needed addressing for a long time and the governments investment in new homes has not made a dent in this whatsoever. Supply and demand therefore suggests no immediate change to this dynamic. Families will continue to grow and first time buyers will still have a passion to own. Housing will therefore still be needed.

In the short term (after a week or two of head scratching) there is every chance that sellers, worried, perhaps unnecessarily of a potential slow down, will come to the market before a slump. This will create more property for sale. Let’s say that an equivalent amount of buyers don’t buy either for the very same reason. This will create more available property for sale. This could, as the market has needed for a long time, create a cool down where a choice of homes means lower selling prices and demand and supply become equal.

This, surely, would be great news for everyone. More choice and lower prices.

Unlike Brexit, this suggests that everybody wins. As far as England’s Euro 2016 challenge, that would have been a nice result as well!

Euro 2016 Poster Giveaway!

Well it’s here and what a curious start! With Iceland’s draw with Portugal summing up how truly open the field is at this early stage, it’s all to play for. Disgraceful and archaic hooliganism aside, it’s always exciting (petrifying/embarrassing/humiliating!) to support your country, whichever it may be.

The emphasis is on attack not defence for England with the five recognised strikers of Rooney, Kane, Vardy, Sturridge and Rashford making the trip.

The team at Elizabeth Davenport have been on the attack too having raced into the lead selling more houses then any other estate agent since the beginning of the year, between £170,000 and £2m!*

We have decided it would be good idea to hand out some free posters so people can chart the results as the tournament progresses!

With the three home nations of England, Wales and Northern Ireland along with the the Republic of Ireland qualifying interest is going to be a high as ever!

The posters are available in two sizes A1 and A3 and will be given away from our office in Warwick Row or can be posted out on request. Plot your way through the tournament and record all of the scores as well as seeing all of the kick off times and the channel the game is being broadcast on. The wall charts are ideal for kids bedrooms or for those really keen supports – the living room wall!

If you would like take advantage of this free promotion please get in touch and one of our friendly team we will be delighted to get a poster to you. Lets hope one of the home nations can make history and bring the cup home!

*source rightmove sale stats.

London Shifts as Coventry Twists

Miles Shipside, Housing analyst and director of Rightmove, has commented upon the interesting shifts in boroughs throughout London. At the end of March, London has seen the second lowest monthly rise in the last Seven years. I say lowest monthly rise, we are still looking at growth but not to the extent we have been familiar with.

The most exciting analysis of growth is directly relevant to Coventry and it’s own twists and turns. Suburbs of London and neighbouring towns with Train Station improvements have seen dramatic growth over recent months. Rochester in Kent, having spent £26 million on it’s own improved terminal, has seen a mini boom of 20% over the last year. Slough, Gillingham and Gravesend have seen very similar.

A further reason for “abnormal growth” is due to the most obvious and archaic commercial adage of all time. Supply and demand. In a number of these regions the reason for such rapid growth is the lack of property coming onto the market. Coventry and a number of its most desirable areas are seeing multiple buyers for each. We have properties sold whose sellers are desperate for that right property to come to the market to move in to. When it does, the price they have to pay, by default, is a premium.

Very interestingly, if we take this analysis at it’s most simple and if all sellers placed their houses on the market before finding another property (rather than waiting to see what properties appear before marketing), the stock levels of property would increase and the demand therefore wouldn’t be as great. In time the prices would stabilise as sellers and buyers began to match each other in number. Rather than sell high and buy high we would all be selling sensible and buying sensible. I like the sound of that. That’s how solid and sustainable growth occurs. I wonder what Mr Shipside thinks of that. MovingDay

Friargate, Coventry Train Station & This New Commuter City Of Ours!

Well it’s really beginning to happen! Mastery of the much maligned but surprisingly safe 1960’s ring road requires a touch more forethought but otherwise FriarGate is really beginning to take shape. All being well and if politics, procrastination, budget and bloody mindedness don’t interfere the new Train Station development will see 39 sustainable new buildings, including Offices, Residential Accommodation, Hotels, Restaurants and open spaces for families to enjoy. With completion in 2018 we’ve still got awhile to go but it’s clear improvement, throughout the city, is at the forefront of minds and not simply brushed under the table as has appeared in years passed.

With Coventry – London in under an hour and buyers relocating to Coventry from the Capital City, improvement and investment seems set to continue. Let’s not panic though. These buyers are not driving prices upwards like the Oligarch’s in Chelsea and Kensington. They’re a small proportion but certainly a demographic that haven’t been so familiar before. Home owners in Styvechale, Cheylesmore and Earlsdon certainly could take advantage of this affluent new wave though.

Property a 10 minute walk from the Station, whatever you own, whether Apartment, Terrace or Detached, should certainly see above average growth as FriarGate continues to prosper.

Together with Virgin Trains we’ve invested on Platform One & being situated on Greyfriars Green, just a stones throw from the development, we’ve already begun to see a difference.

The Birmingham Children’s Hospital & Thank You

The Birmingham Children’s Hospital is very close to my heart. We promised a donation from Elizabeth Davenport after running the Coventry Half Marathon. George and I had a great day, completing the course whilst being cheered on by wonderful spectators. The Birmingham Children’s Hospital treats about 250,000 children a year and by the nature of never being good enough, they are a fundraiser in themselves. From a £5 donation for colouring books to £45,000 for a mechanical heart, the hospital genuinely believes that the families who are treated know that the care of their child is the most precious priority. We wanted to raise enough money to be able to buy a Glideaway bed. These enable Mum’s and Dad’s to spent the night next to their little ones at times when they simply couldn’t be apart. By donating from fees earned between Christmas and now, we are really pleased to have succeeded. Thank you all for your instructions. Every one of our clients has helped!

I’d also like to add that George beat me and that I am not at all bitter. I haven’t dwelt on it. Not at all. I haven’t really given it a second thought. I swear he must have jumped a hedge. Or a corner. Maybe both. Yes, that’s it. I feel much better now.

The Secret To Selling Your Property

Its a question that we here all too often. “What’s the secret of selling my home quickly and for the highest possible price?”

This questions gets asked of us by not just homeowners looking to sell, we also hear it from some of our own competitors in the Estate Agency Industry. At Elizabeth Davenport we have years of experience trying and testing different formulas and know exactly what works and what doesn’t when it comes to getting a Sold board up outside a property.

And today I am happy to reveal a very large secret (but please don’t tell the other Estate Agents!). The secret to selling a property in any given price range and in any given condition in the quickest possible time and for the maximum possible price is this:

Quite simply, you need to generate as many viewings on the property as possible, concentrated together within a set time frame. That’s it! Not Rocket Science. Just common sense. Simple economics dictates that high demand equals high price. By contrast, low demand (low number of viewings) equals low price.

“But how do I get a higher than average number of viewings?” I hear you ask. That’s easy too. Simply call Elizabeth Davenport Estate Agents on 02476 010105 and invite us to market your property with our specialised methods and we promise to get you a high demand for your home.

Simples.

Saving You 10’s of £000,s

When you decide to sell your home the net amount you walk away with will be critical to the amount you can afford to pay for your next home. This net amount is what your property sells for minus all of the costs of selling and moving.

The costs of selling and moving include the estate agents fee, solicitors fees, removal costs, stamp duty, plus any mortgage redemption and set-up fees. In total these costs can typically amount to between 2 and 5% of what your home sells for. That’s a lot and so trying to keep these costs down can seem like a sensible idea.

So if you hunt around and bargain hard on these fees by choosing the cheapest options you could possibly save yourself perhaps 0.5% of the sale price and on a £200,000 house that’s £1,000 in savings. Nice job.

Here’s the flip side. When it comes to selling property, the difference between good marketing, skilled negotiation and professional local knowledge versus cheap marketing, call centre negotiation and a distinct lack of local knowledge, the result can be as much as a 5% reduction in the sale price of a property, sometimes more. On a £200,000 house this would be a difference of £10,000.

Elizabeth Davenport offer a high quality estate agency service via skilled local professionals who will fight hard to get you the maximum price for your property and could ultimately save you 10s of £thousands by getting you a better sale price.

Call us today to find out more about our exceptional service and dramatic sales results.