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Mini-bounce in sales agreed, says our man with the boards

01 November 2010
Written by rosalind renshaw

Sales agreed went up 4% in October, according to the latest ‘chappie with the boards’ monitor that the EAT community has come to know and love.

According to Agency Express, it changed For Sale boards to Sold 4% more times than in September, although the number of sales agreed was still down 4% on last October.

The number of new For Sale boards fell by nearly 12% compared with September, although there were still 16.7% more homes put on the market compared with last October.

Stephen Watson, managing director of Agency Express, said: “There have been concerns voiced about the prospects for both those wishing to buy and those looking to sell properties.

“The increase in sales last month indicates that the market is stabilising. The supply of properties coming on to the market has contracted as house owners decide to stay put rather than try a speculative sale.

“This has probably been driven by two factors – the reported softening of house prices and people taking a more cautious approach with their household budget decisions following the Spending Review.”

The report paints a very patchy picture, however.

Seven regions in the UK reported an increase in house sales with the ‘hot spots’ being the North-West with a 23.1% increase, Greater London with a rise of 17.5% and the East Midlands which had an uplift of 17.1%.

Scotland fared worst with a drop in sales of 11.4%, with central England seeing a fall of 7.6% and the West Midlands going down by 7.5%.

Comments

  • icon

    No thanks but I do like the idea of a room full of fellas having a mass debate abot their erections.

    • 03 November 2010 18:00 PM
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    So guys what do you think of my press release?

    Me and the guys in the office were looking at ways we could get some publicity and came up with this really funny idea (it did get a bit crazy) of doing a house market survey based on our erections (fnar, fnar)

    We thought it would strike a chord with you lot and you would laugh with us and then use us.

    I really hope you all see that im really being funny and not taking myself to seriously by thinking you lot would go for all this twaddle and you’d consider us as a credible source of info


    ………………..cool eh, hope you like it, great to see you’re not just taking the pi55 out of me and think im a berk

    p.s – can I do your boards?

    • 03 November 2010 17:07 PM
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    GG: Peter's bog is still there - with all the comments (and thanks for your support of my "argument" btw ;0) ) but you have to go into it via the "Industry Blogs" section on the left hand side menu.

    Happy to help. Always a pleasure; never a chore...

    • 03 November 2010 16:54 PM
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    ...yeah but I want to know the split between boards put up with nails, Phillips screws, slot screws, Pozi drive screws, carriage bolts etc. We need to know.

    • 03 November 2010 15:16 PM
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    Well it seems old PBK has taken the huff and taken his blog with him.

    • 03 November 2010 13:38 PM
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    GourmandGossip: "FU too"?? Oh, dear - it appears my humour overshot you once again. Please read the part-completed sentence and imagine what the rest of the content would have been. Maybe I should have added the third of the four letters for the avoidance of doubt...

    What's more annoying is that I have re-written this response THREE times; posted it only for it to be apparently lost in the ether at EAT. No doubt it will resurface in the near future - three versions of slight variations on a theme, to bore you three times more silly than this will...

    ANYWAYS... I did not take your post as an attack. Hell, if it was, then it was one of the weakest I've been subjected to on here, so feel free to continue! ;0) You may find this hard to believe from your posted comment, but I actually agree with your reasoning. 90% of the time I attempt to convey my opinion in a friendly and jovial manner. At worst, businesslike - as despite not being directly part of the Estate Agency fold now, I have conveyed to others many times that what they say on here is a reflection of their industry and they should bear that in mind when committing pen to paper, so as to speak. However, 10% of the time you just have to call a spade a spade, as spades only understand the word 'dig'.

    You wil also have noted, as you seem to be reasonably au fait with my history on this site, that MOST of my digs have been totally justified. I defend with honour the profession/industry/whatever you wish to call it; I defend those who come under (unreasonable) attack from the uninformed or plain disrespectful; I speak out against those who believe they have the power to bring down (individually or collectively) the whole housing market for their own benefit; oh - and I dare to challenge those who treat their jobs (or the interests of their clients) as a game (it isn't). I would dearly love to believe that some of what I speak hits the spot, although I also acknowledge that if someone is up for an argument then they will always take you up - regardless of the intention or intonation of your original comment.

    I never back down from debate. To do so is to admit defeat - and if I felt strongly enough to post in the first place then I should follow through.

    Makes for 'interesting' reading (sometimes...) though, don't you think? ;0)

    • 03 November 2010 13:26 PM
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    FU too

    • 03 November 2010 08:28 AM
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    Its getting hard to tell these day Peebee, I haven't seen my man sausage in years and now have triple h cup man boobs. If you have got money I am happy to be whatever you want me to be.
    My point was not to attack you. Often the less educationally gifted poster will disregard the very valid points you make simply because you reveal the depth of their stupidity or ignorance. Without the wit or words to defend themselves intelligently, the discussion often disolves into a Stag rut.
    The house of commons is fantastic example of stupidity and ignorance, however the decorum imposed by the speaker saves the like of YC, GB and TB from the mocking they deserve. Please take time to educate the dimwits hereabouts and let their posts declare the fragility of their knowledge with the eloquence of a scholar.

    • 03 November 2010 08:27 AM
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    GG - due to my 'puter crashing I posted my comment prematurely. I DID mean to sign off with ;0) to show I wasn't looking for an argument - honest!

    Hopefully tomorrow I can complete what I was going to say by way of full response - but I don't trust this fu...

    • 02 November 2010 23:11 PM
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    GourmandGossip: Perhaps, then, Sir/Madam/Prefer-not-to-disclose, it is somewhat fortuitous for you that you have said nothing of any substance for me to attack, doesn't one think?

    After all, one wouldn't be wise to enter a ring with the sure knowledge of losing the contest - would one?

    • 02 November 2010 20:36 PM
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    I say Peebee, I've notice that you often make intelligent observation but have a habit of attacking other posters. The immediate dilution of your argument tends to see most debates head down the same familiar path.
    Shame is what I say

    • 02 November 2010 20:13 PM
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    Eric - welcome back into the ring! Your realism and professionalism are a welcome change.

    I'm afraid that for every one of you, me, or the sensible ones who post on here, there are a hundred 'Pauls' who seem to have a countdown clock running to their perceived detonation of the housing market. WE know that these folks have cried this time and time again - but like lemmings they just keep coming at the cliff edge.

    • 02 November 2010 16:10 PM
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    Paul - I think the point is simple. National statistics are averages which are not indicative of each and every area and certainly not the extremes they represent.

    You cant tell me that what happens in the North is of any relevance to what happens in London. I cant even see a correlation between our office in Hammersmith or the one in Fulham!

    Every area is different and we know what is happening at any given time in our respective areas - I don't need stats that are out of date. Prices are fixed when an offer is accepted, not on completion which is when the lenders and land registry record data.

    Last month was good, this month has started well. That's what counts - not what Robert Peston tells me has happened.

    • 02 November 2010 13:02 PM
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    I like hearing from 'the board chappie'. Much better than Rightmove's all knowing commentory.

    • 02 November 2010 09:36 AM
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    interesting observation and no reason to doubt it... BUT ...

    how many of these agreed deals will crack up requiring putting them on the market again because:

    1) Finance withdrawn - favourite game with banks at the minute still it gives staff something to do
    2) Botched gazundering attempt, vendor takes umbrage and tells buyer to naff off
    3) Buyers' cold feet as the downward slide resumes with a vengeance after the false optimism of a year ago.

    There's a lot of it about.

    • 01 November 2010 19:23 PM
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    Paul, on Christmas Eve, you will be visited by 3 ghosts.

    • 01 November 2010 17:04 PM
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    I agree with your comment regarding Land Registry - they are fact but to a certain extent historic.
    However boards are also real fact and are not historic. The others you mention all vary, so who is right?
    Now, Paul I have read your many posts and have come to the conclusion that you are a very disillusioned mortal.
    I ran my own agency for nearly 40 years and have witnessed the many ups & downs, albeit this one is quite serious. Most properly run and adaptable agencies will survive!
    What on earth has happened in your life - I hope you come through it.

    • 01 November 2010 13:26 PM
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    Seen this sort of news 100 times, reported on a few just like it! the facts are in the detail. If these fellows have total market share the figures are and indication of the whole market, if not it is simply an indication of their company performance.
    Knew a Marketing Sally once, lovely girl, mad as a fish in a bucket of beer!

    • 01 November 2010 13:18 PM
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    So, you ignore the Halifax figures, the Nationwide figures, the Land Registry figures, the Rightmove figures, the Hometrack figures, the surveys done by numerous British newspapers about falling confidence in the housing market, the CML figures, the Bank of Englands own figures, the figures of the banks all pointing to sales being virtually non-existent, that less money is being lent on even less mortgages and that house prices are on the verge of a crash?

    Fascinating mindset to have!

    Have you ever seen that cartoon where the coyote runs off a cliff and keeps on running convinced that it will not plunge? That's the housing market.

    • 01 November 2010 12:45 PM
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