Musings of a London Property Search Agent

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have revised their forecasts made in September, predicting a recession as severe as that of 1991, with a trough in the  second half of 2009.  The employers body expect the economy to contract by a further 1.7% and for unemployment to reach 9% leaving 3 million people without a job.

The Chief Economic Advisor to the CBI, Ian McCafferty has said that the picture has dramatically changed for business and clearly it will have an effect on property pricing.  We are already seeing some superb buys so investors and home buyers can definitely find bargains if they want to buy now.  Wise buyers will negotiate as significant a discount as possible – there is no exact percentage to aim for as the saleability of each property will depend on it’s desirability, plus points, location and the price at which it is offered but 20% – 34% discounts off the original asking price are no-longer uncommon and several new-build auction properties have sold recently for half their value a few years ago. 

Of course no vendor will be keen to lose money and vendors who have overpaid, particularly those buying in the last 2 years will only be amenable to a price reduction which doesn’t fall beneath the price they paid.  Buyers would be well advised to research the vendors in addition to any properties in which they are interested. 

If you need help with a property purchase, call this London Property Search Agent  on 020 7923 7564.  We are waiting for your call.

Technorati Tags: Economic Forecasts, London Property Search Agent, property prices, recession, Unemployment

Tags: Economic Forecasts, London Property Search Agent, property prices, recession, Unemployment

Musings of a London Property Finder

Guestinvest, the buy to let company which allowed private individuals to invest in hotel rooms has gone into administration.  The Guestinvest website is still advertising rooms for sale at £317,000 in The Jones Hotel, Inverness Terrace.  But a canny investor could also have bought a flat in the same road, which may not have come with room service but would have proved to be a more fluid investment, appealing equally to prospective buyers and tenants, be they students, commuters, first-time buyers, young professionals or down-sizers.

A number of flats in Inverness Terrace have sold for around the £315,000 mark over the last 18 months and a flat at 58 Inverness Terrace sold for £250,000 in May, according to the Land Registry figures published by house price comparison website www.ourpropety.co.uk

Guestinvest provided a more luxurious and hassle-free investment, offering to manage and sell the rooms and split the room income 50:50.  The investor was also entitled to stay for free up to 52 nights per year.

Property Week has reported comments from one of the Directors of Savills, Gerard Nolan who is an expert in hotel room investment.  Mr Nolan said that it may be possible to arrange a rescue package for the group and added:

‘The model was flawed as it split the existing income. Splitting the profit is a different story but giving away half your income is flawed. Secondly investors were given 52 days free and nothing is free. You still have to pay for servicing whether it is the owner or a paying guest in the hotel and that was a further hit on income. Hotel room investment can work but the Guestinvest model was not sustainable.’

The hotel group was reportedly put into administration by joint owners HBOS but Johnny Sandelson, the entrepreneur who set up the company is  trying to restructure the company.

Our opinion: Don’t be dazzled by polished presentations and the involvement of major financial backers.  With any investment take a step back and compare the deal with other property prices in the market and seek the help of a reliable London Property Finder.

www.ourproperty.co.uk

www.propertyweek.com

Technorati Tags: Buy-to-let, Buy-to-rent, Guestinvest, hotel rooms, investment, investors, London Property Finder, property investments, property investors, property prices

Tags: Buy-to-let, Buy-to-rent, Guestinvest, hotel rooms, investment, investors, London Property Finder, property investments, property investors, property prices

Musings of a London Proerty Search Agent

House prices in the South East have been particularly flaky in recent months but April statistics released on Friday from the Land Registry brought good news on the face of it, showing house prices up 0.5% month on month. Average house prices in the South East are up 4.1% since April 2007.

UK property anoraks will be aware that South East prices have oscillated in recent months as can be seen below:

2007 August + 0.78%

September + 0.26%

October + 0.58%

November + 0.32%

December – 0.31%

2008

January + 1.00%

February – 0.28%

March – 1.41%

April + 0.47%

As you can see from the figures above, the drops are far from the 10-20% slide reported in much of the press. In fact since prices started to stall, the net decrease is 0.45% which amounts to a drop of £1,031.80p off the average house price in the South East, which we think most sellers could live with. Perhaps the most important statistic is the fact that according to the Land Registry, since the credit crunch started in August 2007, average house prices in the South East have risen 1.45%. Now isn’t that good news? 

Buyers are down 50% in many areas, but while most people expect a bargain these days, sometimes buyers will still pay more than they need to for the home they fall in love with.  If you don’t want to be one of those buyers – call us London Property Search Agent on 020 7923 7564 or look at our website by clicking the links above or here:

www.manseandgarret.com

http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/

Technorati Tags: House Prices, London house price crash, London House Prices, london house prices rise, London property prices, London Property Search Agent, property prices, South East House Prices, south east house prices rise, south east property prices

Tags: House Prices, London house price crash, London House Prices, london house prices rise, London property prices, London Property Search Agent, property prices, South East House Prices, south east house prices rise, south east property prices