The property market has had something of a torrid time of it recently; over the last ten years we have had referenda on proportional representation, Scottish devolution and membership of the European Union, we’ve also had four general elections, three Prime Ministers, the threat of a very radical … [Read more...]
Are you hiring a ‘search’ agent or a ‘buying’ agent? Be sure you know the difference.
When selecting a buying agent, it’s important to check if they really are a ‘buying’ agent, as there is a big difference between ‘search’ and ‘buying’ in an agent’s description. I’m not being pedantic. It’s not just semantics either. A search agent does precisely what the name suggests – they find … [Read more...]
What a difference a day makes
Simone Signoret, the great French actress once said “Nostalgia is just not what it used to be” and it’s all too easy to get into the mindset that things today are not as good as they once were. When I sit down to write our market comments, I try very hard to focus on property - and property alone – … [Read more...]
What’s involved in finding an ‘off-market’ property to buy? (updated Spring 2020)
I have bought around 400 properties for clients over the last 34 years, and in most cases the buyer just wouldn’t have found the house on their own. Many people ask me, how do you find owners that want to sell their properties privately? This is what’s termed ‘off market’: when a property for sale … [Read more...]
Clear as Mud
A year ago, I wrote a piece titled “London Gravity” where we talked about how it felt as if we had rung a bell to signal the bottom of the market for London residential property, and the big question was how long it would take before the excess supply got mopped up and prices firmed up … [Read more...]
Swimming in Treacle
Ever since the Stamp-duty hikes of 2015, the British country house market has been overshadowed by the increase in stamp duty (SDLT) and this has resulted in a fall in the number of transactions and a partial paralysis of the market. We are often asked if the Brexit vote has been the problem and … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 6
- Next Page »