Perhaps it’s a function of age, but increasingly I look around and am struck by a strong sense of deja-vu; conversations that seem familiar, houses that I’m certain I’ve seen before, and cycles of the property market that come around over and over again – rather like a distant relation at … [Read more...]
Beyond the call of duty
The British country house market is a vast and richly varied picture, with many different layers depending on area and price range, so trying to come up with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ comment can be something of a struggle - but some universal truths seem to be emerging. George Osborne’s 2015 parting … [Read more...]
How’s the market?
There is a general truism in life that says if you ask ten people to describe the same event, you’ll get ten very different accounts, all seen from subtly different perspectives; this is partly why insurance companies are frequently confronted by two wildly differing accounts of the same car … [Read more...]
Now you see them, now you don’t…
A popular device among novelists is to take the hero of the story down a tortuous road and then dribble misfortune after misfortune on his head, until the reader really begins to wonder “whatever next”? Over the last 20 years, it feels as if we have staggered from Dot-com-bomb, Russian debt … [Read more...]
Should I stay or should I go?
Market Comment, Autumn 2015 As I write this in October, it seems clear that the Indian summer of the last few weeks is finally over and, as the joyful colours of autumn spread across the countryside and six months after the election, it would seem like a good time to reflect on the prime country … [Read more...]
The Law of unintended consequences
Once again it's election season and - contrary to what we read in the papers - I genuinely think that most people are fundamentally good by nature; at home, they love their families and when they go to work, they try to do the best they can and, whether it be sweeping the streets, teaching a new … [Read more...]