S2R

Here's a link to the article: Bucks Herald

It's just a one-shot auction. The seller sets a guide price for the property and invites 'confidential' bids (i.e. in a sealed envelope) by a certain date. The highest bidder wins. In a rising market, if there are mutliple, keen bidders it can ensure the seller get's the absolute best price for the property. Each buyer only has one bid, so fear of missing out can drive up the price. I haven't seen the technique used recently

Jerry Built Meaning Built in a makeshift and insubstantial manner to make a quick profit on a sale. Origin The phrase has been around since at least 1869. More recently jerry builders are more likely to be called cowboy builders or just cowboys. The derivation is unclear although there are many candidate explanations. 1. It is derived from the city of Jericho (which fell down). 2. From the Romany word for excrement - gerry. 3. From jerrymumble - meaning to knock about. 4. From 'Jerry Sneak' - a henpecked husband.

Is it just me, or has someone crashed a car into the house next door ?

http://www.hbosplc.com/economy/NationalPressRelease.asp Key Points :  House prices rose by 1.1% (seasonally adjusted) in December and, on a quarterly basis, by 0.1% in Quarter 4. This was the smallest quarterly gain since 2000 Quarter 2, providing further evidence that house price inflation is slowing.  House prices increased by 15.1% in 2004, but by only 2.8% in the second half, with the annual rise last year the smallest since 2001 when prices rose by 11.7%. (2002: 26.4% and 2003: 15.4%.)  The three northern English regions recorded the biggest price rises in Britain in Quarter 4: North West (3.0%), Yorkshire and the Humber (1.2%) and the North (0.7%). All other regions in Britain saw a fall in prices during the quarter with the biggest declines in Wales (-6.2%) and the South East (-1.6%). Prices in London fell by 0.5%: the second successive quarterly drop in the capital.  There was a clear north/south divide in 2004. The biggest annual house price rises were in the North West (27%), the North (26%), Northern Ireland (24%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (22%). The smallest annual price gains were in Greater London (4%) and the South East (7%).  The differential between the average house price in the south1 and its equivalent in the north1 has fallen by £15,000 from a record £99,000 in early 2003 to £84,000 at the end of 2004.  Scotland is now the only region of the UK where the average price remains below £100,000 (£99,056). London remains the most expensive region with an average price of £241,670.  Housing market fundamentals remain sound – a strong labour market, historically low interest rates and a shortage of housing supply – which should curb the extent of the downturn in the housing market and result in only a 2% fall in house prices this year.  The continuing signs of a genuine slowdown in the housing market are likely to reduce the pressures on the Bank of England to raise interest rates again. We believe that base rates have peaked at their current rate of 4.75% and that rates will end the year at 4.25%.

> "To avoid disappointment an early viewing is highly recommended" Should read : "To avoid disappointment, viewing should be avoided at all costs"

You can also donate online on the Disasters Emergency Committee website : http://www.dec.org.uk/

Our house sale completed in early April 2004 but it's missing from the Nethouseprices website. However, it does appear on the Land Registry site with a 'last updated date' of 25th May 2004. Perhaps this is just a subset of data for the purposes of testing the website. Or perhaps these 'missing transactions' have been held back by Nethouseprices.com to protect their data/investment ?

The Motley Fool article

I've been watching the local market for the last few months. There's plenty of property available but it's very slow moving. I see the same old properties in the local papers week after week / month after month. "New price" flashes have appeared in several adverts recently, accompanied by average price reductions of between 5 and 10% One local agent regularly sends out flyer which lists the properties on their books. A few weeks ago (early-mid November) they had attached a cover sheet to the flyer which read, in big bold letters : "Make an offer up to 10% below the asking price and we will do our very best to see that it's accepted" I'm an 'accidental' Sell to Renter. We decided to rent to speed up our sale earlier this year and also to enable us to explore the area we were moving to before deciding where to buy. Recently, I'm feeling increasingly glad/relieved that we did.

I don't know if this helps you at all, but we sold a 3 bed, mid-terraced, town house in St Albans (aprrox 1/2 mile from station and town centre but very close to the railway line) in Feb 2004 for £288K. The house was newly decorated with newish Bath/Kit etc. Back in Feb the market in St Albans seemed to be pretty lively and the house sold on first viewing for 99% of asking price. Good luck with your search