Musings of a London Property Search Agent

The four month deadline for lenders to join the Mortgage Support Scheme is up and surprise surprise, pretty much only the nationalised banks have agreed to join.  The government has supposedly claimed that the scheme will cover 80% of mortgages, but since the self-employed aren’t really covered and two of the biggest mortgage lenders, Abbey and Nationwide have not signed up, we would suggest that figure is pure fantasy.

Other lenders who haven’t signed up include Barclays, HSBC and the Post Office, although supposedly the Post Office will offer the scheme ‘as soon as possible’.  So don’t hold your breath.  When you have secured your finances the call this London Property Search Agent for a rapid move

Technorati Tags: London property, london property news, London Property Search Agent, Mortgage support scheme, mortgages

Tags: London property, london property news, London Property Search Agent, Mortgage support scheme, mortgages

Musings of a London Property Search Agent

There seems to have been an upswing in talk of ‘green shoots’ in the property media recently and certainly some estate agents are talking more confidently than they were 6 months ago.  As Property Search Agents such as ourselves, we have been involved in the purchase of some superb bargains and advised Clients to walk away from over-priced homes, where someone else is prepared to pay significantly over the odds for homes which are frankly, not worth it.

So it was with interest that we read Rightmove’s latest house price index which was published today.  The data, which reports initial asking prices as opposed to purchase prices, shows that nationally, asking prices have risen since January.  Interestingly every region in England bar London shows average asking prices have increased between March and April, however London asking prices are down the least of any region year on year, falling just 4% since April 2008.  According to Rightmove, asking prices in the South East are down 7.6% year on year.

As we have said in pretty much every post on house prices though, the situation is very different in different boroughs.  The credit crunch seems to have completely by-passed many vendors in Kensington and Chelsea for instance: asking prices there are up 32% since last year according to Rightmove, which is completely unrealistic apart from truly superb houses.  That said, Property Search Agents are very common in those areas and I have certainly had offers accepted at 40% below the asking price in Chelsea, Kensington and Belgravia so it is all relative.

In Westminster, which includes Mayfair, Marylebone and parts of Kensington, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Notting Hill,  asking prices are up 13% year on year.  Other boroughs boasting ambitious vendors are Harringey, Camden, Brent and Richmond.  Even in Islington, which was one of the first locations where Estate Agents really lost their nerve in 2007, asking prices have jumped 0.7% year on year.

So why the optimism in the Royal Borough?

Firstly, as I said above, offers 40% below the asking price are not unknown and may well be accepted if handled sensitively by a good negotiator or the vendor really needs to sell or they just want to get on with their lives or the property is ridiculously over-priced.

Boringly, this data is not seasonally adjusted and although anomalies are excluded, if vendors in certain areas routinely base their house price on 5% over what their neighbour’s house was advertised for, long-term trends can emerge, even if the prices are realistic.

Thirdly, there are certainly buyers out there who are paying well over the odds for property.  In our experience, overseas buyers leap immediately to mind, as for those buying in a currency other than sterling, property has been significantly discounted given the collapse of sterling.  And guess what?  Kensington and Chelsea is a favourite for the well-heeled, if not well-advised overseas buyer. 

If you need a canny Property Search Agent who knows Kensington and Chelsea, we would be happy to oblige!

Technorati Tags: bargain property in Kensington and Chelsea, House Prices, Kensington and Chelsea Property Prices, Kensington and Chelsea Property Search Agent, London House Prices, London Property Search Agent

Tags: bargain property in Kensington and Chelsea, House Prices, Kensington and Chelsea Property Prices, Kensington and Chelsea Property Search Agent, London House Prices, London Property Search Agent

Musings of a London Buyer’s Agent

The CEBR – the Centre for Economic and  Business Research published some research just before Easter with news that according to their forecasts, house prices have only got another 8-10% left to fall – and that’s their worst case scenario.  They also think, like us, that the property market will pick up early in 2010. 

They’ve also suggested that it could be alot sooner than that, depending on how fast mortgage lending recovers.  Pre-credit crunch, around 100,000 new home loans were approved each month.  Mortgage approvals, like property transactions has dipped by over two-thirds in the last year or so but there has been a little spike recently, fueled in our view by overseas investment, seasoned investors spotting bargains, first-time buyers finally able to take the plunge and the rest of the home-owning public just wanting to get on with our lives.

If new home loans continue to increase in what the CEBR describe as ‘a relatively modest rise’ to say 60 or 70,000 a month, ie to double, by the end of the summer, the market will bottom out in Q3 this year, according to the CEBR.  It does seem a bit much though, to suggest that mortgage approvals will double in the next few months,  view shared by the CEBR, hence the initial projections we stated at the beginning of this piece.

However there seems to have been a change of mood of late in the press.  It seems that we are all fed up of gloom and doom, as are the journalists who have been writing about it for the last 18 months.  So with the general populace gloom-weary and a more upbeat tone in the press, perhaps a doubling in new mortgage lending isn’t too much to hope for.  If it is coupled with a doubling of top end property purchases, London Buyer’s Agents like me will indeed be celebrating.

Technorati Tags: House Price Predictions, House Prices, London Buyer's Agents, London property prices

Tags: House Price Predictions, House Prices, London Buyer's Agents, London property prices