Prestige estate agent Fine & Country blamed property pundits for trying to talk the market into a self-fulfilling double-dip recession, after one expert accused some agents of being in denial.
While the organisation produced no figures it said that anecdotal feedback from its 200 franchised offices is that demand remains strong for £750,000-plus properties.
Chief operating officer Mike Bidwell said: “All the evidence now points to a two-tier property market across the UK. Our offices are reporting healthy demand for those homes at or above three-quarters of a million pounds. At that level, people are still viewing, we’re seeing good activity levels, and offers are being made at or just below asking prices.”
He added: “Our analysis explains the widely contrasting reports published about the property market over the past few months. Many only reflect the position at the lower end of the market – which is a different world as far as the top 25% of homes are concerned. Our properties may not be recession-proof, but they are at least recession-resistant.
“What’s more, many of the more downbeat indices are based on mortgages – which ignores the fact that nearly a third of UK sales are cash purchases.
“The negative portrayals of market conditions at the moment simply don’t tally with what we’re experiencing out there at the top end. It’s my very real concern that some of the some of the more pessimistic pundits make fears of a double-dip recession a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
But housing analyst Henry Pryor said: “There are still some property folk in denial, determined to assure us that the party is still in full swing.”
He said the reality is that asking prices are dropping “at close to terminal velocity”. He added: “It’s like parachuting in the dark: hard to know how fast you’re falling and impossible to see the bottom.”
He claimed that about 30% of properties for sale had had their prices ‘reviewed’ over the summer after average asking prices crept up to £64,000 above the average sales price recorded by the Halifax.
Pryor said: “Part of this near-record gap reflects the greed of sellers, but those few buyers who have transacted this year have been savage, in some cases paying thousands of pounds less than the seller was seeking.”
Pryor produced research showing instances of house prices, all in the upper price bracket, having cuts of up to 28%.
Fine & Country blames pundits for talking market into double dip
Latest Features
-
Property Natter - Here comes Summer.... or maybe Autumn?
We all know that first-time buyers have had a tough time...
-
Renters Reform? What about the tax bill?
There was a long-awaited return to the House of Commons this...
-
Clarity needed on Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill report
Last weekend a story by The Sunday Times’ Deputy Political Editor...
Sponsored Content
-
.jpg)
Faster payments make happier landlords ...
Let's be honest – landlords are the lifeblood of any letting...
-
Stamp duty cut - much needed boost or short...
The Government’s mini budget on September 23 was anything but ‘mini’...
-
.png)
Agents – here are the top 10 tips to...
A team from The ValPal Network joined industry Facebook ads expert...
-
Property Natter - An Englishman's home is his castle.....more or less!
Interesting report this week in Estate Agent Today on an analysis...
-
AML warning as hundreds of agents hit with HMRC fines
An anti-money laundering (AML) expert has queried why there is a...
-
Property Natter - Buyers 'tak' the high road to stronger market
When we talk in general terms about the UK housing market,...
-
Law Society faces backlash over material information forms
The Law Society is facing backlash from conveyancers after issuing new...
-
AML warning as hundreds of agents hit with HMRC fines
An anti-money laundering (AML) expert has queried why there is a...
-
Average estate agent fees hit £4,500 to £10,300 - claim
A new analysis of the cost-of-moving suggests that the typical seller...
60 second interview
Jake Gann, Sales Director at Bamboo Auction
Who are you and what does it say on...
Ashley Day - Director of Bristol Property Centre
Who are you, and what does it say on...
Graham Paterson ‘Co-founder and CEO of Jitty’
Who are you and what does it say on your...
Comments
"Hiding behind a pseudonym and 'lobbing rocks' from the safty of your bunker will be ignored by most..."
Hmmm. Kettle...frying pan... Fill in the blanks, readers! You have to appreciate the irony - unless, of course, most of you ignored the post as predicted by the author.
Someone like this puts an entirely new slant on the phrase 'Head Boy'.
Two pieces of very good advice - freely given, 'Head' Boy: Never sneeze with your mouth full; and never post a comment with your mind empty...
Emma: Sorry? The fact that I frequent this site makes me a mindless puppet whose strings are tugged by the media?
Get real. I - and ONLY I, control myself. My wife lets me.
So there, Miss/Mrs/Ms (delete where appropriate...) Clever-Clogs! ;0P
Really? You seem to be addicted to this site - is that not the media. Give it up - you know you can.
I’m not sure that the media alone could cause house prices to drop, however I do feel they influence market conditions.
Richard: Au contraire! I am certainly not alone in laughing WITH Jonnie - at the expense of others such as yourself. The worrying thing, is that you are one of a group of seemingly like-minded individuals. There again, to be like-minded, a mind is a prerequisite - so maybe not...
They don't control me...
Robbo. 137 at the time of posting this, and I am not an Agent. I assume that I am not the only one. I further assume that you are not either, otherwise the comment would have been more - well - informed.
You really should read the comment above from Byron. And learn from it.
Jules: I'm NOT an Agent. The media ARE talking down the market. They have been doing it for MONTHS.
Your "community" has FAR more contact with the media than with Agents - so it WILL be more influenced by the former.
Thereby endeth the lesson for today. Glad to be of service.
Always a pleasure; never a chore...
You've left out an important segment here. What about the people who have worked hard all their lives to become mortgage-free but who are not rich? Many older buyers fall into this category.
The media controls everything.
What a load of rubbish from Mr Bidwell, I interviewed one of his BM's last week for a role within our firm, he said his office hasn't sold a single property in the last 2 months! Roaring trade? I don't think so Mr Bidwell...
Who exposed him? where? when ? how ?
You seem to have seen something I missed or, are just voicing your own opinion.
Like Peebee said to Byron, don't give out advice you would not take yourself.
Go look up the word hypocritical.
I think you are a nut, but in a good way.
You put a good point across in a humorous way, unfortunately it went over the heads of some.
Don't worry about not understanding 'et al' Jonnie, if you ask your mum maybe you can do it as an after school club?
Crikey, I seem to have caused a mixed reaction here, ranging from Richard’s odd response, Ian who im not sure if he’s with me or against me, Head Boy who definitely thinks im an idiot and started talking about girls toilets (?!) and Wardy & Peebee who appear to agree with me…………oh, I forgot about Bryon who definitely thinks im a moron, was definitely cross and is credited for starting the Mummy thing.
And it all started by me making my point about these ridiculous house prices surveys / commentators, an issue none of the ‘against’ lot have even referred too.
Jonnie
Pooor old Jonnie trying to look clever and now exposed as a silly boy- are you really an Estate Agent? Who do you work for who would employ you? Anyway you got a laugh but at you not with you. Thanks.
Jonnie - Can I be your friend?
Head Boy,
As you have not solely addressed me on your post I do not speak for ‘et al’ except to say that I have no idea what you are going on about.
Jonnie
Jonnie et al,
If you want to play with the big boys then you and the others skulking in the girls toilets need to come out and stand up for yourselves!
Hiding behind a pseudonym and 'lobbing rocks' from the safty of your bunker will be ignored by most but will be spotted by some visitors to this site - including the public and members of the press, many of whom, like us, find it informative and entertaining.
If you take issue with a statement made by another post or by something in an article then by all means challenge it but try and avoid petty name calling and most importantly try not to mistake insults for debating points - they are not.
If you would like to contribute to informed and amusing debate then be brave, declare yourself and have the courage to stand behind your views. If you have a reputation then don't be scared to use it to your advantage. Until you do, your comments are unwelcome, unhelpful and go along way towards confirming the wider public view that estate agents are to be despised.
Now, why not dry your tears, tell mummy you're sorry, get a good nights sleep, come back tomorrow and try again.
Remember, this site is for grown-ups and shouldn't be confused the wall of the Gents loo - for lewd remarks and rude doodles. Show us your humour (if you have one) but make your point fairly in a way that will be respected by the vast majority who like to hear considered opinion and well reasoned argument. Above all, try and contribute something that reflects well on a site that takes a lot of hard work and effort to keep going.
If you can't behave then I'm afraid we will just have to send you home again!
Bryon,
I see you managed to force yourself to read all the way through my post before your sulk came over you – now come on Mr Interesting, let’s have a comment or some input from you.
Jonnie
There are three types of people in this country.
The rich, the poor and the main stream Joe Public in the middle.
The rich can afford anytime.
Joe Public is generally reliant on a mortgage.
The poor can't get a mortageg so rent.
The market trends and values are controlled by Joe Public and at this time they are struggling or can't afford and to make it worse lenders won't lend to them.
Yes the rich divide is growing into the super rich!
Byron: Never give advice that you would not follow yourself.
Apart from being highly amusing (and therefore memorable - and that quality is one of the keys to being a good Agent...), there is perfect sense hidden not too deeply in Jonnie's post. One person can have an effect on what people believe is happening - just depends who that person is. I, for one, would MUCH RATHER have Jonnie hailed as a 'property guru' than ALL the others that come to mind...
lol, what a ledgend
100% BS article - I recognise a few "faces" on here and I can tell you that whilst the Londinium market might stay in its stupid bublle propped up buy chinese/russian/italian playboys (ie whoever is playing the FX game to its level) sterling has played its part in obtaining the stoopid "new" money propping up london prices when they are so poised for a crash - meanwhil in the rest of the affluent home counties many a company director (with a nice big pad) is beating off the bank with a big stick as his businesss jogs alaong eroding the balance sheet with no overdraft being renewed and more and more debentures and personal guarantees being asked for - these country homes WILL spill onto the market if you are not selling them then they are being rented I can assure you - we are at least 18 months behind the states and they are awash with loads of repo's - it really is a matter of time before they start spilling onto the market over here across the price spectrum. :D
I have to go now as the window cards advertising BMV property in chicago need changing ;)
Jonnie, I think you need to grow up, mummy said " If you have nothing to say, shut up" Good advice.
Ah – Robbo, I think I was once told that there was 100,000 readers for EA today – now in the spirit of the article lets assume that’s true because I said it and I am a property pundit (I started today and its easy to be one)
700 on line, assuming that’s people reading it and not just having it up on their browser then that’s 0.7% of agents use the internet in the day………..now that really is a solid indicator of the market, in fact there are 9 of us in the office today and one of then is on the pot and another is making tea, that’s 22% of agents not busy selling houses,
These stats support the latest figures out today – if anyone is interested im now a fully fledged property pundit, im available for talking cobblers on any web forum that will have me, ill go twos up on Kirstie Allsop with my colleague Phil Spencer on Channel 4 and im definitely up for Strictly (read my last post if that bit baffles you)
But wait………STOP PRESS – the number of agents online right now has crashed to just 548 – the market is booming again, my neg is off the bog and our lister has now finished making the tea and had his fag so 100% of agents are busy selling houses, figures not seen since the 08.57 this morning, to top it all Brucie is on the phone….gotta go………..Tweet me, well do lunch!
All the time I've been an agent (20 years) the last line of defense is agents blaming the media for 'talking the market down'.
It's a fundamentally negative view.
Better to spend the energy ensuring the community you serve trusts you. There's only one way to do that...
The best market indicator is the number of "guests online" on this site. LOOK! over 700! agents are at their desks...bad sign...market IS therefore crashing..look ouuuuut
Averages mean nothing!
The market should be divided by Region & Type. That could possibly mean something.
Bungalows retain their value pretty well because they are not being built now). Land Registry records are the only real truth - even if they are a little 'out-of-date'
I think that the one thing that everyone forgets is that there is a huge difference between National and Local. When you take an average of property transactions across the country then you will find property prices falling because most of the sales will be at the average price where the effects of falling income multiples and rising deposit requirements have the most impact. The average buyer of the average £750,000 house has WAY more cash behind them and is barely notices the problems raising mortgage finance that others have. This is a purely local matter as F&C only deal with the top quartile.
yawn! what a predictable type of press release by a so caleld high end estate agent. The public would respect agents if they told it how it is - but that's not going to happen as why would you instruct an estate agent to sell your home if they put out a press release staeing "Property market's buggered for the rest of the year. We do have buyers, but to be honest, not many are that serious or indeed are in a postion to buy. Give us a try anyway. "
I've been away a couple of weeks but nice to see nothing changes. Pundits are a complete nightmare and should remember an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory but having said that one thing all agents ought to remember is they (and deluded misguided and greedy vendors)are the biggest influence on the market because they dictate asking prices. The more it is sold for the higher the commission. Agents and surveyors (or valuers) who in my opinion should never be told the asking price of a property though these days with portals they can of course find out, are the two biggest reasons why every market overheating and then tumble has occurred ever since I've been involved in housing with various hats on - and that goes back nearly 40 years. I'm just waiting for a few posts on the train crash lending figures and then may post explaining just who can afford what at any level in the market as despite all that has happened in the past two years painfully few people seem to realise that x3 income is it.
STOP PRESS.
Agents talking up the market.
Buyers talking it down.
Sounds like news to me....
Integra: NO, of course 'pundits' don't CREATE a market - but they certainly influence it, just as Estate Agents don't control prices! If you don't know that by now then where have you been?
People buy (...or don't buy...) cars on the say-so of Messrs. Clarkson, May and Hamster. Mr Nice Guy Michael Parkinson tells wrinklies to buy AXA insurance - and they do. It happens every day, everywhere around you - yet you fail to acknowledge it?
Henry Pryor says what he wants to say. He has a purpose - an agenda. Prices fall; he gains. Puts more money into his pocket - or more likely to plough into cheap property to finance his retirement...
Jonnie - you crease me up! Soooo close to the reality of the situation, though...!
Like Tim M, I don't feel that it is pundits who create the market - there are far too many economic factors etc at play and Jonnie, Henry Pryor has been around for ages - he is a lot older than he looks!
The reason Henry gets quoted a lot is that he is prepared to say what he thinks (and has researched his information unlike the anecdotal puff from F & C who have a vested interest in saying that things are OK at the upper end of market). he is also articulate and godo with a soundbite (like the parachuting in the dark comment). And no, I'm not his agent!
Well this is good, another opinion, probably not a bad source but terribly researched by F&C – 750 offices and not a graph in sight, anyway, never mind, its as good as asking 12 RICS guys what they think isn’t it?
The bit that we need to look at is this Henry bloke who has appeared as an analyst – now I didn’t know you can make a living from being a housing analyst, but a quick Google and stone me our new mate Henry is one of these buyers agents and chums with the man that puts the ‘Fag’ into Kirstie Allsops ‘Fag Hag’………..Phil Spencer.
So to add to the confusion we now have a bloke who knows a thing or two about big houses not using the resource he has at his finger tips and a new media monkey (well done on getting the Talk, Talk job Henry but the Strictly Come Dancing gig is still beyond the scope of your agent) who actually feeds his family from getting prices down for people to lazy / rich / stupid / vain to do a deal themselves arguing not over sale prices but price reductions – which further underlines the fact that if sellers are dropping asking prices then they clearly are reacting to the ‘market’.
……………brilliant
Nothing to do with the recession and tight lending then ? just about pundits.
Still, nice to see them following their own advice and talking the market back up. All should be back to normal soon then.