Blackers

Hopefully they'll all wake up and realise the only way they are going to sell more houses in 2011 is to bring us all some new year chear and stick to some New Year Resolutions. Here are my 5 for them: Reduced asking prices by 15% - to get closer to true selling prices but still leave some room for negotiation Avoid hyperbole - just give us the facts Stop de/relisting - we're not daft when all know when a property is being given the re-shuffle Stop US style trend for 'open-house' - it turns people off shuffling around a house with others Sort out your terminology - STC, Under Offer, Sold etc etc these terms have become entirely interchangeable and valueless

Neil P Actually I agree with you. I think EAs are entirely the problem. Whilst JS argues 'A Percentage of a house sale with 25% off is better than no house sale at all' which you'd think is true, the problem in my area (mid-sussex) is that EAs are competing to put houses on their books so they are exaggerating houses prices and distorting vendors view on how much their house is really worth. Result a massive drop in house Sales that can't just be explained by so called lack of credit, especillaywhen there are far more credit products available then there were say in the last housing boom under Thatcher. A to test the theory as to whether EAs will take an offer - even with just 15% off - again not in my area - I've sold and they couldn't be less interested. My second theory is they are all just too thick to do the maths and too arogant to realise that at this rate some more of them will go bust.

Any more updates from folks in West Sussex? I live in Mid Sussex and have run several databases I have built around sold prices and asking prices and several things seem quite clear: Asking prices are much higher than 2007 Selling prices are mostly higher than 2007 Number of proporties being sold and put on market last 3 months has slowed considerably Property descriptions are becoming futher and further removed from reality..and that's saying something For example I saw one property in HH described as 'well presented' yet had upstairs doors knocked in, railings hanging off and moldy bathrooms http://www.rightmove...y-31639163.html Perhaps we can 'out 'some of the more adventurous descriptions on here?

Interesting I have had a big run in with M McT whose practices I considered referring to to various commissions

Hello Tired of Waitng I wondered if you have a UTD view of West Suusex/Mid Sussex market. I live in Mid-Sussex and have been researching prices, data bases etc for months now and see no price decline at all. In fact I recently saw one in HH for 750k suppossedly in 'well presented accomodation' - when in fact the upstairs doors where knocked off their hinges and the bathrooms filthy. I told the EA who just shrugged its still on 2 months later.............http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31639163.html

I live in Mid-Suusex and the EAs around here are by and large a truly sanctimonious bunch. Asking pricess are well above 2007 and they couldn't care less whether you have sold your property or not...and I have. As for putting in an offer at 2007 levels which locally means 15-20% below asking prices the reaction is one of complete contempt.

looks like an office conversion to me. seems this is a new trend to get rid of commercial space. complete rubbish

Shut 1 day a week. More like they are shut 7 days a week. Compared to the US, agents in the UK are exceedingly lazy, provide no real information or service and do nothing in terms of useful data analysis. I usually know more about their property than they do. Its not unusual to phone and ask things like - 'what are the garden measurements - to be told 'no idea' or something crass like' I think its about 1/3 of an acre' - a remark that always collapses under further scrutiny. Its incredible that so many hard working businesses are having a hard time yet the most valueless industry just seems to swan along. The biggest barrier to the market are the agents - the government should ban the lot of them.

I have been renting last 18 months and hoping for market to come back down to realistic levels. The fact prices went up around here (mid-sussex) last year and I believe are at levels above 2007 makes no sense. I really believe a major problem is the Estate Agents who are chasing very few proporties and are bidding up the price they say they can get vendors - just to get the thing on their books. What however gets me is their attitude. They aren't interested in potential purchasers at all. For example (Ihave many others) I recently told a EA I was a cash buyer had viewed one of their proporties twice and was quite interest - he showed absolutlely no enthusiasm or interest for my enquiry and has never phoned back. Property still on market. ...I suspect nothing will really happen in Mid-Sussex until either interest rates go up or one or two EA s go bust.

Great idea. I agree there is a correlation often this goes hand in hand with descriptions like ' A great opportunity to stamp your personality' or ' has planning permission to build a substantial home' yet the prporty is priced up as if its already been refurbished or extended. Also, I have asked before but got shot down in flames on HPC (not sure why?) to see if there was a place on HPC to identify properties that are substantially over priced (there are tons of examples) - I was referred to old part of the site where there were only a couple of very old examples. Or, perhaps identify those properties (about 1 in 3 in my area Mid Sussex) where a property has been on for ages - suddenly gets 'sold' then comes back on the market again about a month later as a new property. I think this is a similar scam EAs use in the US to distort those property websites that track time on market

I am totally with you - same thing here in Haywards Heath West Sussex - many properties here have surpassed 2007 asking prices let alone LR prices by at least 15% - which as you say makes no sense. On another blog on HPC I put forward my theory that there are many good reasons why EAs are themselves a major fault in the pricing system and it remains my belief that House Prices will remain high until more EAs go bust - and I am also rather surprised so many EAs have survived given transactions are down 50%.

I didn't say it was a story. I said it was an example of property going back on the market a year later at an inflated price. The details are exactly the same as last year - except for a 100k price increase on a property that was on for 650k last year and didn't sell. It has nothing to do with planning permission - which is what it had last year - so get your facts right. If you don't think that's surprising or not worth others finding other examples of deliberately inflated prices over last year why are you on HPC?

I don't know whether this would break forum rules but is it possible for HPC members to start gathering (with evidence) examples of over priced houses and set up a specific HPC blog forum for these? It might just start to shame these people for thinking we must all be idiots. Here is my first example http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30190823.html .This house was on last year for £650k - didn't sell. Guess what cahnges agent and its now on for £750k. Just who do these people think they are?

Good point - made me think that also there are a lot of properties that swap estate agents or multi listings or same agent takes off and puts on again later - might simply compound the situation