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London Agent

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About Me

Estate Agents in SW London

my expertise in the industry

30 plus years

London's Recent Activity

The flat market is difficult. FTB's are thin on the ground and correctly priced property difficult to obtain. I find it interesting to view agents websites who say things are going well only then to see the number of properties they have hanging around along with a lot of reduced stock. I am the an optimist at heart but I am fed up with the utter rubbish some agents talk. Vendors and buyers would hold agents in a better light if they gave the facts and priced correctly.

From: London Agent 23 March 2023 11:32 AM

I for one am not bullish about house prices in my area, great care needs to be taken by FTB's IMO if they are thinking of buying now. Timing is one of the most important elements when buying. We are still seeing some agents over valuing to gain instructions, one would hope lessons would be learnt from the fall out at D&G but seemingly this is unlikely. You only have to see the number of price reductions in SW11 to see the extent of the problem and which firms I am talking about.

From: London Agent 23 March 2023 08:26 AM

In the current market many agents are looking at saving costs. Is there any need to keep advertising on three portals? Unlikely IMHO. We have pulled the plug on OTM and happy to stay with the two market leaders. The number of leads from Rightmove and Zoopla in the past twelve months dwarfs what we have from OTM. In the past 12 moths their share price is down 28% and down 48% (since floating). Like PrimeLocation before, agents bought into a business plan. With the lock in period ending on the 9th February, many will be watching the share price with intrest.

From: London Agent 01 February 2023 15:38 PM

Reassuring that some agents are finding the market somewhat different from the vast majority of us. I'm sure the 23 properties which have now been reduced in their SW11 office will now shortly find buyers. For the rest of us, the market remains painfully slow and prices are being looked at closely by buyers.

From: London Agent 31 January 2023 10:24 AM

I recently turned an instruction down. The owner had been marketing the house through an agent at £1.5 for six months with no success. When I was invited in to give my opinion of the value, (almost forty years experience in the area running my own firm), I advised her the value was closer to £1.4m, needless to say she decided to go with two other well known multi branch firms who have advised her to put the property on the market at £1.595m. While many vendors are greedy, the actions of some agents who are set weekly listing targets, (at any price) is simply making the problem worse. This is going to be a tough year and I would rather have a handful of correctly priced properties rather than a full register of overpriced stock. Already here in SW11 two agents have closed, and it wasn't because they were doing too much business!

From: London Agent 20 January 2023 09:50 AM

As a professional landlord, who has bought property over the past thirty plus years, a lot of my properties are now debt free, rent are up 12% in sw London. Why would one sell?

From: London Agent 30 November 2022 14:35 PM

Without wishing to appear rude, I'm not entirely sure what parallel universe this senior industry figure Adam Day lives in, but here in SW11, this is not the case. There appear to be in fact according to Rightmove Plus. Here in SW11, in the last month, from a total stock of 980 properties for sale, 164 have had their price reduced (17%). During the same period, 231 new properties have come to the market, while only 86 sales (8%) have been agreed. Of the total number of properties on the market, 645 have been on the market for more than 12 weeks; the actual average length of time is 221 days! The reason for this situation is quite simple, many of the agents in this area (and I am sure there are many others) are staffed with relatively inexperienced managers and staff. They are bailed out in a rising market when they overprice a property to gain more stock through ever-increasing prices and greater demand. When the market is falling, as it is now, due to, among other things, rising interest rates, this business model sadly does not work. Overpriced stock is not selling, and sales staff will see their pipelines dry up. Our addiction to cheap money is at an end, many buyers have mortgaged themselves, and when their fixed-rate mortgages come to an end, we will begin to see the cracks really open up. Correct pricing has never been more critical with rising interest rates, living costs, and taxes. Unfortunately, for many in the industry, this is the first time they will have seen a downturn in the market; for other, more seasoned agents who have seen it before, this is all too familiar.

From: London Agent 03 November 2022 10:07 AM

The first email I opened this morning was a daily Rightmove Property Alert showing two properties, in our area, both reduced. While there may be a small reduction in SDLT, the cost of borrowing is going to go through the roof, anyone buying now needs to think very hard. In our area a fall in prices is a 99.9% certainty. However there are still some agents stating they are as busy as ever, however a quick look at their website shows in some instances as much as 50% of their stock has been reduced at least once. The majority of the larger agents continue their aggressive touting of our properties despite privately admitting they get 0% response and are only doing it because the others are. A shake up of agents is long overdue, the lack of professionalism is rife. One well known agent was recently advertising a two bedroom first floor flat as a terraced house last week.

From: London Agent 28 September 2022 09:35 AM

Giving an opinion of the likely direction of the 'market' is extremely difficult, but I can comment on what is happening here in SW London - now. We're seeing some minor evidence of a return to a more seasonally driven housing market after a quiet summer. We remain hopeful that there will be a pick-up in activity in the autumn, but this may be wishful thinking on our part. We have been turning down some sales when we believe other agents have overvalued to obtain the instruction. For example, a client asked us recently to sell a property for them; another agent suggested an asking price of £750,000, and three months later, the best offer they have is £662,500. This indication of a more normalised market; is a far cry from the frenzy which began in the early stages of the Covid pandemic, where it was frantically busy all year round as buyers competed for limited stock. This has pushed some vendors to believe they can still obtain these high prices. As we've noted for a while, stock levels here in SW11 have continued to increase. Since February, there has been a consistent increase in stock levels, with the highest available stock level now for many months. However, there are also fewer active buyers as people are more inclined to take a holiday now that things have returned to normal. With buyers potentially spending less time on their housing market searches, this will have the effect of stock levels continuing to grow. While buyers say they remained committed to buying (at least in certain parts of the market), we remain less confident that these commitments will turn into actual sales. The market's hot spots are the larger family houses with outside space. Flats without outdoor space are struggling to sell unless keenly priced. The article in today's Daily Telegraph will make a grim read for anyone thinking of dipping their toe into the housing market, suggesting there could be a 12% fall in values. With more stock available on the market for buyers to choose from, sellers are becoming less confident of their homes selling as quickly as they might've done previously. Rightmove data confirms that since the 1st of August, out of the seven hundred and eighty-nine properties listed for sale in SW11, there have been eighty-nine price reductions (11.2%). During the same period, one hundred and twelve new properties came to the market, while only eighty-four have gone under offer. In SW11, 384 properties have been on the market for more than 26 weeks and a somewhat alarming 103 properties for 52 weeks. Activity will likely slow down in the coming months due to the re-emergence of these more seasonal norms and as more bad news filters through. However, from experience, what happens in London ripples into the rest of the country. Buyers are understandably being more cautious after the recent significant interest rate rises as the Bank of England attempts to bring inflation under control. However, these increases in Base Rates and the forecast for more to follow in the coming months bring some dark clouds to the landscape. We advise sellers to ensure their property is correctly priced if they are serious about selling.

From: London Agent 25 August 2022 09:56 AM

Poorly researched article which suggests he 100% owed Marsh and Parsons.

From: London Agent 02 September 2021 09:42 AM

The article refers to the figures for July, not August which will be even lower. Nothing to do with being a doom monger, it's about reading the market. The SDLT holiday was a huge mistake IMO and pushed prices up in SW London which will now slip back to where they were. The long term outlook remains reasonable for people who can afford to buy.

From: London Agent 25 August 2021 09:27 AM

Quite simply - this will never work.

From: London Agent 27 July 2021 09:49 AM

I’m was not aware of Foxtons, (and Douglas and Gordon - whom them have recently bought) closing their offices for months. At times less staff perhaps. Why am I not surprised by this?

From: London Agent 15 April 2021 09:50 AM

We are definitely seeing more properties - however, it is normally properties that have been on the market with other agents who gained the instructions by over-valuing in the first place. There are some local agents who have reduced almost 50% of their stock at least once. It seems the larger chains are among the worst culprits, I suppose offering managers commission to get stock at any price is the main cause of the problem along with the fact they don't know the area.

From: London Agent 09 April 2021 09:37 AM

Given today's news, what are your thoughts today?

From: London Agent 30 March 2021 11:09 AM

Sunak is absolutely for Brexit, but I have never heard him promote a no-deal Brexit as his favoured option. Almost everyone would like a deal, but it has to be agreed between all parties, it has to be fair - and certainly not at any price. I don't pretend to understand all the arguments but the 'level playing field' is a significant hindrance. Europe does not want the UK to undercut their European rivals. However in November 2016, when the Irish government formally appealed the EU ruling against granting illegal tax benefits to Apple. Ireland claimed there was no violation of Irish tax law, and that the EU action was "an intrusion into Irish sovereignty", as national tax policy is excluded from EU treaties. It is perhaps strange therefore to many people that 50% of Ireland's top 50 companies are US companies while there are no non-US/and no non/UK foreign multinationals in Ireland's top 50 firms. Some people might perceive it as one rule of them and one rule for us. If I'm missing something, always happy to listen and learn.

From: London Agent 24 September 2020 13:37 PM

What unutterable rubbish! There are numerous companies offering staff recruitment. Frankly, any company which suggests estate agency is a 'soft touch' to their recruits is not a company I would want to use for recruitment, best action - remove them from your phone book. Also, the suggestion that nurses only work 65.2% is frankly insulting with everything going on the world right now.

From: London Agent 23 September 2020 11:26 AM

Why not split it 50/50 between buyer and seller. Fairer all round.

From: London Agent 21 August 2019 11:16 AM

In the past month we have had 161 enquiries through the three main portals, 65% from portal A, 26% from portal B, and 9% from portal C. I'll allow you to work out which is which and which one in due course we will drop.

From: London Agent 27 March 2018 11:45 AM

The property market and the stock market are all much slower because of the Referendum because of uncertainty! Many deals have been put on ice, in both one's private life and in business everyone wants certainty. It's annoying but understandable. In the City M&A deals in which foreign buyers take over British companies are down by a third compared with 2015. For domestic deals the drop has been even greater. Spending by British companies has halved as UK companies put off their big decisions. BHS and Austin Reed in the past couple of days are a case in point. Prices are falling in Central London and anyone who recently bought before the new SDLT will not have saved money because prices will fall by more than any saving they have made by beating the deadline! Best in class still sells however 90% of properties still remain overpriced and still on the market this situation will only get worse. I have been through all the up's and down's of the last 40 years and you ignore history at your peril.

From: London Agent 27 April 2016 11:10 AM

I thought that people who used management speak did just that. I think it proves my point perfectly - management consultants trawling the web for the latest buzz words and churning they out to try and impress people - when a little research shows what rubbish they are. Sorry you fell for it but that was my point! Management speak and buzzwords used by the likes of the 'dragons' are simply rubbish. Genuinely unique things don't need a USP. What possible thing do you offer which is UNIQUE. Don't tell me, but I bet your firm goes that extra mile! You might do things differently but that does not make them unique. People who talk about their company's USP are normally only very average businesses trying to define themselves because they are just NOT unique. I want OTM to be a success however it needs strong leadership and someone with foresight, not someone looking to produce another PrimeLocation - that ship has sailed and we need to look for something new. I look forward to seeing your USP, then we can all copy it, you will then have to look for another - while you do that I'll get on, sell some more properties and let you reinvent the wheel!

From: London Agent 23 April 2016 10:40 AM

This hang up with USP! I expect you next to tell me about "the strategic aim is of OTM is to standardise the infrastructures to drive down operating costs through supply based consolidation and leveraging group spend as well as exploiting best-in-class technologies and practices to provide robust, scalable and agile services with excellent customer experience" - most agents do broadly the same thing we sell and let properties. OTM's USP, (you like management speak and gobbledygook so forgive me) is it's agent-owned and if enough people get behind it you never know it could work if agents then think it time to come off Z and RM no doubt they will make their own decisions. The current arrangement will stop this happening.

From: London Agent 22 April 2016 11:33 AM

We have always wanted to join OnTheMarket but we are not prepared to 'come off' the other two portals which produce a huge number of leads for us on a daily basis. The broad concept of OTM is good but the execution is poor. We have spoken to many members of OTM, so that we could always 'change horses' if it was in our clients interest - nothing we have seen or heard has convinced us that this is something we should do at the present time. We also believe that while in no way wishing to make any accusations or point any fingers, we were advised that because many of the same firms, a number of the same directors and management personnel who were behind PrimeLocation are now behind Agents Mutual and OnTheMarket we should exercise caution. I hope this latest news means that we along with a number of other firms will be invited to join OTM and they will get rid of their one other portal rule, given that many of the corporates behind Z and AM will not join OTM, it will only help firms like mine to strengthen our hand in the face of the ever creeping corporate invasion of the High Street of SW London.

From: London Agent 22 April 2016 10:20 AM

The rush by some investors to beat the new SDLT deadline may be misplaced. Sales in SW London are dire and in certain prices ranges 'dead'. Asking prices have fallen by more than any saving they would have made by beating the Budget.

From: London Agent 22 April 2016 09:51 AM

The cracks are getting bigger day by day - it is never going to work, its a shame but the management is past their sell by date.

From: London Agent 08 April 2016 09:16 AM

Springett said that by January 2016 OTM would be the number 2 portal - this is not going to happen. In a showdown between Springett and Chesterman, there is only ever going to be one winner! Chesterman has enough skin in the game to remain committed, to Zoopla and agents, it seems are beginning to drift back. The public don't care about what agents want, they just want to find a property! I actually wish OTM well, I would join but for 'one other portal' rule. OTM is just Primelocation in a different suit. It's nothing new, OTM should be breaking new ground not raking over old ashes.

From: London Agent 03 November 2015 16:47 PM

Surprising article, I looked at the OTM site to check the facts and whether these comments could be taken seriously. I did a search on the OTM site for Clifton (Bristol) 43 properties came up. Interestingly it appears that Roderick Thomas has nothing for sale. Would like to know what is meant by the ‘switch has paid off’!! Zoopla has 38 properties. I can only assume that if you have nothing for sale it frankly doesn't matter where you advertise!!

From: London Agent 30 October 2015 10:46 AM

John, I don't think it will or could be sold, firstly, I understand due to its ownership structure and secondly does it have any value to anyone? Almost all the agents already advertise with either RM or Z, therefore unlikely they would be buyers. OnTheMarket is not a bad idea - it's just 15 years too late!

From: London Agent 09 July 2015 10:52 AM

Like Robert, I would also advertise with OnTheMarket, but I am not going to take a risk with an untried and untested service. Broadly speaking it is almost the same plan as PrimeLocation, with many of the same people running it. I have asked the question why was PrimeLocation sold in the first place and have yet to receive an answer. I suspect a big payout for the management was at the heart of it, therefore, once bitten twice shy in my case. In London Zoopla and Rightmove produce a pretty similar number of enquiries, to drop either would be foolish my opinion. We show Landlords and Vendors the Hitwise figures, Rightmove 1.1 billion visits, Zoopla 258 million hits, OnTheMarket 2 million and pretty quickly landlords and sellers are convinced - the fact the agents save money and 'own' the data doesn't seem to worry them. We have won business from firms that have moved. Therefore I suppose OnTheMarket works for us but perhaps not in the way it was intended!

From: London Agent 09 July 2015 09:39 AM

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