House prices in
East Midlands: 1.5/ 3.4/ 146,288
West Midlands: 1.3/ 3.9/ 155,405
South East: 1.1/ 7.8/ 231,958
South West: 1.0/ 5.4/ 198,401
North East: 0.9/ 5.4/ 132,458
Yorkshire & The Humber: 0.9/ 4.3/ 147,201
East: 0.2/ 5.7/ 195,245
Average prices/ Jan 2008/ Jan 2007/ Difference
Semi-detached: £174,691 £165,038 5.8
Terraced: £146,127 £136,853 6.8
Flat/maisonette: £175,712 £163,289 7.6
All: £186,045 £174,826 6.4
Interesting article in The Standard today written by Mira”The Guru” Barr- Hillel, about where’s hot and clod in relation to property prices per square foot in London. Hamptons have drawn up the figures, presumably from figures their branches in London have generated, so they’re probably accurate where Hamptons have a strong local office but weak where the local office is further away. £1,235 per foot, phew that’s hot! Not as hot as this though, £6,000 per foot. THAT’S SIX THOUSAND POUNDS PER SQUARE FOOT!!
Whilst searching for a client in W2 I viewed this amazing house today. Unfortunately not suitable for my client but possibly the nicest house I’ve seen for months. It’s situated in a quiet relatively little known old Victorian mews in Bayswater and has a lovely quaint old world feel to it. The house has recently been completely renovated but the attention to detail is out of this world. Stunning kitchen with clever wine cellar, fabulous sitting room on the second floor and a useful roof terrace complete with outdoor jacuzzi. What more could a girl want!!! See the details here http://www.marshandparsons.co.uk/details.dtx?propertyid=8F158035-9B59-4DEB-A070-59885D81E5C6 or phone Lucy on 07957 588599 - She’s the best.
The Circle Line, according to a recent survey quoted in Property Review.It goes on to say that prices of homes along the Circle Line are the most expensive in London, averaging more than £1.2million. The zone 1 tube line serves 27 stations and runs for 14 miles through prime central London, including Sloane Square and Notting Hill. The Victoria Line was the second most expensive to live on, with average prices around £1.1 million. For full details of the survey see www.findaproperty.com
1. Choosing an Agent. Get this right and your house sale will be considerably easier. Firstly you must research who is the best agent for your house. Look at which agent has the most amount of Sold By boards in your area specifically for your type of property. If you’ve got a house to sell make sure the Sold By boards are for houses and not flats or maisonettes in houses look similar to yours. If boards aren’t allowed in your area then you will have to go by the agents magazines and property portals to see which agent is marketing SUCESSFULLY recently, houses similar to yours. No use going with an agent who is great at selling flats if you want to sell a house. Finally choose an agent you can get on with. This might take some months and you will speak to the agent many times before you move.
2. Don’t over negotiate on the fees. Everyone wants to get a bargain but if you push the agent too much you will disincentivise them. He’ll be inclined to offer “the other house” before yours if he’s agreed a higher fee on that one. It’s human nature. You could consider offering a cash incentive, say £500, to the individual negotiator who sells your house, above the fee you agree with the agency. This will make your house stand out way above all the others and give you the best chance of grabbing that good buyer.
3. Presentation is critical. Buyers want to feel that they could live in your house, so neat and tidy EVERY WHERE is important. Get rid of all clutter and make all rooms feel as big as possible. How your house smells is critical. draw the curtains and make sure the windows are clean - let that light in. Some people are more sensitive to aromas than others. Again, if it smells nice, then it’s easier for a buyer to imagine living there. No buyer wants to live in a house that smells awful.
4. Make viewings easy. It can be very intrusive not to mention inconvenient to have people coming round to see your house but if you make it difficult then they will just go to “the other house”. Try not to put too many restrictions on when the agent can come round with viewers.
Looks like the banks are tightening their criteria when it comes to lending on Buy to Lets - expected really. I’ve heard recently that some are now not keen to lend on some city centre new build developments which are currently on offer because of an expected drop in the capital value of the units between now and completion. They’re also looking for deposits of up to 25% as opposed to the more usual 15%. Well established residential areas with good transport links to the city are still good buys as long as the rental income covers all of the outgoings. Try and get one in good condition and ideally with some good furniture included. It’s a good time to push for a bit of a bargain.
Contrary to popular belief the market in central London is still strong. Whilst the number of new buyers entering the market is considerably down on the first half of the year, there is still a strong demand for correctly priced flats and houses presented in good condition and in good locations. There is still good demand from local buyers as opposed to those from overseas who may be affected by the current world banking situation or those struggling with a strong pound. Londoners and those living here long term still need somewhere to live and changes in family circumstances is still providing good demand.