Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009
Reverse VIs
Guardian: The people paid to talk down house prices
For years estate agents, banks and Kirstie and Phil have talked up property prices. Every time there's a smidgen of evidence that the property market might be cranking up again, there's a flood of press releases from the usual booster merchants, all desperate to spot and promote "green shoots." My personal favourite is Assetz, a big promoter of buy-to-let in Britain. Its MD Stuart Law stated in July 2007 that prices would rise 8% for the next five years, and salivated at the potential rental rises from FTBs being priced out. The arch property pusher's latest release is headlined "All signs point to imminent house price recovery" with "savvy cash buyers" leading the way.
Now there is a new breed of public relations specialists talking the market down - property "rescue" schemes
6 Comments
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1. little professor said...
"Yesterday also saw a release from Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR), which offers a "lifeline" to distressed buy-to-let landlords desperate to quit the market. Its take on the "green shoots" of the CML data was: "We still have a long way to go before we can claim any signs of market recovery. The data from CML is not seasonally adjusted and shows that the number of home purchases with mortgages in February is almost 70% below the average for this month over the last five years. These numbers are dire, as mortgages continue to be almost impossible to obtain without a huge deposit or near perfect credit rating."
PPR's business model needs the property market to keep falling. Whatever one thinks of it (and some will find aspects of its business distasteful), at least financial journalists have a new source of quotable figures to offset the prevailing boosterism elsewhere.
What's fascinating is the PR spin merchant behind PPR. It is Wriglesworth Consultancy – the same company that has earned a rather nice living acting for none other than Assetz."
2. will said...
Stuart Law and a few thousand Buy to Let investors does not make a market. There are many more First Time Buyers sitting on the sidelines who will only buy when prices are affordible to THEM, and only then will the market turn.
3. cyril said...
I thought the problem was that BTL investors did dominate the market so the market lost touch with fundamentals. They could dominate the market again on the way down if they become distressed sellers. Lets hope so for the sake of all those FTBs out there.
4. denzil said...
"I think we can safely file Mr Law's press releases somewhere between frothy and fanciful."
Some people may prefer to think of Law as being incredibly blonde.
It's funny how Law was ready to crow a couple of years back about striking it lucky with a prediction on annual growth. It's a shame he was not so vocal about what happened to his prediction for 08.
I'm sure Law is a nice chap but sadly anybody who works for, let alone names a company Assetz is way too Chavez for my tastes.
5. mander said...
Stuart Law representing the Buy To Let who can not keep up with their mortgage payments as it is been reported in the media that 30% of them are defaulting but Mr. Law is not talking about serious problems...
Do you think that Stuart Law or a HBOS manager could become a goverment adviser?
6. new user 2007 said...
Anyone else not think that Mr ASSetz is talking up property prices for BTL for his main business BUT also then feeding off the very people he is conning through this linked company, PPR, that then takes advantage of the distressed sales the "clever" money has lost?
But of a coincidence?