Wednesday, Apr 01, 2009
Estate Agents Comedy Act arrives in Chelmsford
Essex Chronicle: At long last, house sales are starting to pick up
"I keep telling my friends with children wanting to get onto the property ladder that you'll never get a better opportunity than now – mortgage companies are lending and it's much more expensive to rent these days than pay a mortgage."
"Chelmsford attracts a wide variety of people including families and commuters.
"It is all about confidence. At the moment Chelmsford has been able to retain its unique bubble from the rest of the housing market and people are now feeling more positive about the situation."
Posted by sold out @ 05:16 PM (2334 views) Add Comment
20 Comments
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1. will said...
From an estate agents point of view, numbers of sales is important, but they don't translate into higher prices. So if the chap is feeling good, let's not put him down. We need as many discounted sales to happen as this will drive down the rest of the market.
2. alan said...
Billericay is very close to Chelmsford and the anecdotal stories coming from my High Street are that the market has started to move again. This means viewings and offers. Mortgages seem to be available.
I pity the poor folk who buy in the next 4 months, IMHO standard mortgage rates will be up to 6.5% by Christmas!
3. _woody said...
Basildon is near both Billericay and Chelmsford and things are yet to pick up here, though i guess there is little surprise in that.
4. quiet guy said...
"I keep telling my friends with children wanting to get onto the property ladder that you'll never get a better opportunity than now"
I wonder how long they'll stay friends?
I alos note the caustic tone of the comments to the article.
5. icarus said...
There's that EA tautology again - "houses will sell if they're realistically priced". If they aren't selling... that's because they're not realistically priced.
Low interest rates make buying cheaper than renting? Ooh, I'd like a 100% mortgage please, fixed for 25 years at todays IR.
6. robh said...
People have no stamina for a crisis these days. There seems to be a common opinion that some kind of quick fix will do it. 'Fraid not
7. shining wit said...
I have two estate agents 'friends' in essex. One owns a small company and is telling me that although some properties are selling he estimates that almost 75% of mortgage applications are turned down. One applicant had a 200k deposit put was turned down for a 350k mortgage. This agent thinks the market has at least 20% more to fall. He informs me that mortgage financers he deals with won't take any risks with properties with less than a 25-40% deposit, based on the applicants type of employment.
The other estate agent works for a big chain and is desperately trying to sell his home 'while he can' - He thinks his office will be closed in the next four months.
The bear trap continues.........
8. uncle tom said...
I have warned that there are likely to be false dawns before, and this might be the start of the first.
Each false dawn will draw out the naive and the impatient, and then the decline in prices will re-commence.
Prices are not remotely sustainable yet, so DO NOT make your move now.
The government cannot print money AND keep interest rates low for long; so rising interest rates (possibly as soon as this autumn) will snuff this little burst of enthusiasm, if it doesn't fizzle out by itself first..
9. crunchy said...
People have been brain washed into thinking that they can only make money in a rising market. Poppycock!
I hear of people getting slaughtered in the Forex market because they dont understand that in a downtrend you make money shorting.
Newbies cant wait to go long not knowing that you are making money without being in the market whilst price is topping for a sell off.
Thats why people have lost there shirts across all markets. Its the same with houses I guess I can understand people not wanting to wait.
The speculators that helped cause this can go to hell and they will. You dont mess with the 200 ema. lol
10. voiceofreason said...
Unemployment has yet to make its mark.
In 8 month's time inflation will soar partly due to it being 12 months since IRs were sent to the floor.
Upshot is dropping IRs lets IRs stay low due to the generated low inflation, but causes bigger problems 12 months down the line because of the masking of the underlying inflation...
Roll on really CHEAP properties in 2010. Even offshore buyers will be too poor to step in.
11. britishblue said...
Uncle Tom. I agree 100%.
I think we will see a big burst of spin as the Nationwide House price Index hits the average price line, which is likely to happen at some stage in the next few months. The earlier a false dawn happens, the earlier we will have a problem with inflation and then the bubble will burst again.
12. voiceofreason said...
Crunchy, I have been short of property since 2004 (when I decided to stay on my particular rung).
It is a long game !!
i wish we lived in a meritocracy instead of an ignorocracy.
13. Jayk said...
I look at five towns in the Hants/Surrey/Berkshire borders area, regularly checking various indices and websites and other resources. May to November last year all dropped about 10%. Since then? One has stayed still, the other four have risen about 2%. The number of sales has also risen since November. Guess I'll be holding on to my deposit for a lot longer than I hoped.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: not everywhere is Belfast, Leeds, Manchester or Thamesmead. Don't gauge a market solely by its lowest point.
14. crunchy said...
11. voiceofreason
Now that would be novel. Instead we get Tell Sid, back to basics (with curry spices), shoulder to shoulder, It's not my fncking fault!
Where did the good guys go or were they ever here, or are these the good guys, but not for us?
Failllliery the new success! new deal, new currencies, new globe, new world order, new style, new, new, new.
The same old doo doo, but far more odious! "People getting angry."
15. mander said...
Useful information from estate agents again like it is not enough for most of the banks to have gone bankrupt. House prices must reflect 3.5 income to salary in Chelmsford other wise call it bubble or road to perdition ...
16. deeplyblue said...
The bit I especially liked was in the first paragraph:
"CHELMSFORD is bucking the national housing market trend with the number of people out buying properties soaring despite the recession, estate agents have revealed."
It's the word "REVEALED" - this is exciting news that EAs wanted to keep to themselves, but couldn't help letting the world know. It sounds like a scientific project just about to come to fruition, or a rare piece of archaeology. People have been pestering the estate agents of Chelmsford to tell the truth, and now it can be known - there are buyers about! They're such modest chaps, that only their rare, unacademic, enthusiasm has led them to this announcement.
You'll notice also that Chelmsford is really good for families - well, lets hope they don't decide to go down the road to next door Billericay, since the local headline next to the article reveals, " BILLERICAY: Primary school condemned as worst in the country," and even in idyllic Chelmsford, "CHELMSFORD: Arsonists destroy trailer"
17. mark wadsworth said...
My littlte bit of Essex heroically dropped by 25% in the past couple of months.
18. doomwatch said...
Isn't Chelmsford just a hub in the heart of the giant secretary farm that is Essex ?
19. waitingfor hpc said...
load of rubbish - i am looking to buy in Chelmsford and houses ARE NOT SELLING and sellers are not reducing their prices. The house I am looking at is having a THIRD open day over easter to try and sell it.
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