Had my regular email today from rightmove that lists new or amended properties.

There are 339 "new" properties listed today. They all seem to be listed by Peter Alan.
Property bee shows them all as today's date and Initial Entry Found.

I'm sure that these properties were there before. So it looks like Peter Alan have delisted all of their properties and re-listed them today?

Either that or Peter Alan's properties weren't on Rightmove to start with - but I'm sure they were?


Aargh!

I could send you a copy of my PB files if you like - I will have to find them first though and make a copy so that they too do not get screwed up.

Peter Alan never used to be on rightmove...see the Peter Alan now on Rightmove thread below...it may be a clue!!!

MT - thanks for the offer. Turns out that Peter Alan didn't used to advertise on rightmove so there isn't a problem with my property bee files. Thanks again.

WSG - thanks, yes I've seen the "Peter Alan Now On Rightmove" thread. As you can see from my message (which was posted before the other thread), I hadn't realised that Peter Alan didn't used to use Rightmove.

Just did a search on Rightmove for Swansea and so few houses on there now - looks like several EAs have stopped posting their houses. Oh well, I can't be a rsed to go visit any of their sites nor look in the property rag. Will just have to content myself with waiting another 12 - 18 months before we see the 50% plus falls that are coming in Swansea.

I wonder why so many have quit - perhaps property bee has them worried or perhaps the cost is no longer worth it in a seemingly stagnent market?

Seems as if it's only John Francis and Peter Alan on there now.

Dawsons have buggered off, as have Ashley-Jones ?

As you say Tulip, either completely skint and cutting every single penny or property-bee has 'em spooked.

By the way, have you seen the preposterous amounts someone is asking for the St Annes Hotel developed flats - some are £450k plus !!!!!!!!!

Yep, I find those asking prices ridiculous IMPO. For that money I would want a lovely house in a location nicer than the Mumbles. I think I would be tempted to go overseas and get something about 600K USD in Miami or California and still have money in the bank. Of course, those flats may be the most fab flats ever built!?

I wonder just how many ordinary buyers know about Property Bee? If it were widely publicised then EA's would be completely buggered. I have a feeling it's one of those tools that's only known about by a few. I've been in property for many years and never heard of it or anything like it until I came on this forum and someone ( I think it was M T) provided a link. The Mumblies seem to live in a parallel world when it comes to house prices, mind you, having said that they seem to live in a parallel world regarding everthing. For 600K you could get a chateau in France or an estate in Bulgaria and as MT says a mansion in the States. What is the appeal of the Mumbles?

Gossip: the Irish developers seem to have found another concrete supplier for their 29 story development in the marina so they are back on site.

Apartments prices in the marina are dropping like stones. In many cases up to 30% Castle lofts in the high street are now available at £89K, they started off plan about 2 years ago at £99.500, rose to £125.000 last September!! Flats in the Pearl building are now at £87.500! That will teach them for buying off plan city centre flats

"Castle Lofts" sounds lovely but who wants to live over one of the busiest, noisiest roads in Swansea right opposite a night-club? It is very grotty around there IMPO. Same for the Pearl Assurance building - who wants to live in that above one of Swansea's main road junctions?

I cannot see any sense in buying a flat in Swansea when you have countryside all around. The only exception to that used to be the marina but I think that has seriously gone downhill IMPO.

The flats will tumble in price first followed by the houses. It is just a matter of time now. Probably the flats will bring down many a person in Swansea in the coming year or two - many will have got too greedy speculating on them.

IMHO any EA that was on Rightmove and ceases has just entered a death spiral.....can't afford to be on there...but can't afford not to be on there either....doomed.

Just though I would give you some inside information.

I advertised my agency on Rightmove for 4 months last year when the market was still in full swing and ever since I came off the website and many of the other large property portals that charge agents an absolute fortune my business has improved and continues to improve.

You may well be right with regards to the large agents, but because of the market agents need to cut back. Peter Alan recently shut their doors in Mumbles along with Darlows whom have stop selling property now and just concentrate on lettings. The other big agents are seriously struggling due to overheads and most importantly advertising costs.

Last year I spent £15k on advertising in the Evening Post, but I bet 99% of you have not heard of CharEstate Swansea

From all that advertising I received 5 phone calls. From my 4 months on Rightmove I received 0 calls, no e-mails, no nothing except extortionate monthly bills. As for the Wave radio, well I will not even go there.

Basically the advertising I did last year nearly killed my agency before it had really started. I have now turned back to my original plan and remain for now an on-line agent that works just like a regular estate and letting agency. You may find a lot of agents go the same way in a couple of years.

The biggest problem most agents have is that they use the internet for advertising, but do not do anything with the leads they generate. I bet most people have e-mailed agencies and not had a reply or a call back which is crazy. Everytime I respond to a lead, I am met with practically the same words, 'Your the only agent to reply'.

Hope that gives you more of an insight into the problems we agents are facing regarding advertising.

For many people on this board rightmove is essential, we are not actually looking for a house, we are simply keeping an eye on the market.

Once you get to the stage where you are actually 'looking' for a house to buy, you tend to drive round the area, look for the for sale boards and visit the physical offices of the EA's. So rightmove et al become less important.

It's easy to overestimate rightmove's importance from the closed world which is HPC.

I fully understand that and Rightmove is a very important tool for me. It helps me keep track of everything.

One problem for buyers can be a lack of trust in EA's. Unfortunately the poor agents give the whole industry a bad name, but I suppose you have that in every trade/industry these days.

Ideally a buyer should be able to be kept up to date on everything from one or numerous agents, but agents in general tend to not want to put much effort in unless there is a good chance of a sale happening soon. I would also imagine that many buyers add their details to agents mailing lists and get swamped with properties that are obviously nothing like matching the preferred criteria.

For a personal reference, you mention that when you are looking to buy, you generally drive around your chosen area and look for sale boards and then visit the EA's office. Would you go to the EA's office before their website?

Hi Andy,
Funnily enough I have heard of you.

In Sainsburys cafe the other week having a chat with the lads, sorry have a winge with the lads and someone I know and I'm certain you know him (Peter) was singing your praises. Hard worker, on the button, etc. Good luck to you! For those who don't know a lot of small developers meet in Sainsburys for coffee and trade gossip.

I'm in control of a few property websites, not localised like you but more specialised and I rely on the net. Forget Rightmove, Primlocation etc. A complete waste of time. The only portal worth entertaining is oodle.co.uk. I'm more than happy to tell you why but not in the public domain. I'll send you an email.

Sorry can't send you an email this forum doesn't allow it for some reason!!

Not sure who Peter is or which Peter it is

Feel free to e-mail me. I would be happy to pick up any info.

All my contact details are on my website linked in my signature just in case the following attempt to show you my e-mail does not work

andy at charestate dot co dot uk

Whisper it to me and I can pass it on...

Marty! have you had chance to e-mail me yet?

Just wondering in case you have had problems getting an e-mail to me what with junk filters etc.

Darn, I whispered too quietly... I will whisper it again now...

Do you mean me or Marty?

My e-mail is:

andy at charestate dot co dot uk

Mods

the poster above is blatantly touting for trade against forum rules...can you remove the offending posts please.

WSG

I am hardly touting for trade. Marty tried to contact me first or have you not read the whole thread?

He wants to pass information to me regarding a resource that I think he may have something to do with running, so it is him that will probably be gaining trade from me. Although he may not have anything to do with it, but just wants to give me some useful information and does not want to advertise it on the forum.

I have no intentions of finding any work from here. It is far from what I am about. Why not try reading any of my other posts before pointing your finger and throwing accusations around.

The reason I use this website and forum is for information purposes and to offer advice to those that requests it.

Feel free to remove my e-mail or anything that you deem offensive. If Marty or anybody else really does want to get in touch with me they can simply do it by using all the contact information on my website.

Att WSG,

That's the problem with this forum, Some of the posters are completely up their own backsides.

I wanted to contact Charlesestates privatly because then I could not be accused of promoting a particular commercial site or offering commercial information which I consider of value to another poster which is what normal forums are all about!! As it was I decided not to due to the comments from other posters!

Does it occure to anyone that people visiting this site may have commercial interests in the property business and are not just frustrated renters or lodgers or those who can't afford to buy etc. All I read on this part of the forum are snippets regarding particular properties in West Swansea. Get a life chaps, there is another world out there apart from the price of houses in West Cross!!

I have been in the property game a long time and do have a lot of experience of Swansea properties but I have to say I've learned not very much from this section of the forum.

The whole idea of these forums is to learn and gain knowledge, why do you think they exist? What do you think is their purpose? Not simply to gossip about one or two houses in the West of Swansea and to gloat over the downfall of particular EA's. The reason why WSG objects to Charlesestates is of course because he is an EA.

I now go to Singing Pig where the level of debate is in my opinion far more professional. They could't give a toss about property prices in West Swansea there. They are more interested in the general pattern of property prices which does of course effect Swansea. Property prices are driven by market forces and the availability of funds not by the foibles of particular venders in West Swansea.

If you want a true insite into property prices then try one of the political blogs like "iandalesdiary". I tipped Barretts Development shares when they were at 68p, they are now 105p, ten days later. I didn't learn that here!! Property prices are governed by politics.