Guest Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I've been emailed by Findaproperty asking me to complete a survey.... ( Questions (as you would expect) all aimed at driving up prices... Q1 Do you ever look at homes on property websites that are significantly above your budget and if so, why? No option to put "yes, because I believe they will fall", instead you have: Yes - to pass the time Yes - to find my dream home/view aspirational properties Yes - for design and decoration ideas Yes - because it inspires me to work harder/save money Yes - out of nosiness/curiosity/envy No Q2 and Q3 are asking if named houses and houses without mobile reception are off-putting Q4 asks what road names sound more affluent Q6 asks about living near celebrities.... WTF!?!?!?! (i.e. how much more would you pay!?!?!) Is findaproperty linked to housebuilders by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pent Up Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Sounds like a waste of time to me. Mod edit - I have PMd you privately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finperty Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 FindaProperty here. We send out these emails from time to time with the sole aim of understanding what's going on in the market. The first question reflects recent internal data that recently suggested some people look at homes they can't afford or would never buy (location, size, etc) as a form of entertainment - soc-called' property porn' behaviour. So we are trying to get a measure of how widespread it is. One thing we're not trying to do here is push up prices - and anyhow I doubt if we could even if we tried. The mobile phone question was to try and find out exactly what it says on the can - see if mobile phone coverage is a consideration in home choice. School catchment areas directly drive house price variations in some areas of the UK so why not phone signal - and ditto road names. The penultimate question is trying to find out if a celebrity neighbour might lead you to pay more for a property. Agents often say it helps drive property markets, but we wanted to find out if that's true. And lastly, we aren't linked to house builers - but rather they pay to advertise their homes on our site, as do estate agents. Hope that helps Nigel Lewis, Findaproperty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 It's nice that Findaproperty commented here. I suspect you won't but it would be cool if you stuck around and added your tuppence on other threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonb Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I've been emailed by Findaproperty asking me to complete a survey.... ( Questions (as you would expect) all aimed at driving up prices... Q1 Do you ever look at homes on property websites that are significantly above your budget and if so, why? No option to put "yes, because I believe they will fall", instead you have: Yes - to pass the time Yes - to find my dream home/view aspirational properties Yes - for design and decoration ideas Yes - because it inspires me to work harder/save money Yes - out of nosiness/curiosity/envy No Q2 and Q3 are asking if named houses and houses without mobile reception are off-putting Q4 asks what road names sound more affluent Q6 asks about living near celebrities.... WTF!?!?!?! (i.e. how much more would you pay!?!?!) Is findaproperty linked to housebuilders by any chance? No, they are owned by the same company that owns the Daily Wail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finperty Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Hey, yes, we hadn't realised the HC discussion forum was so lively/busy. Shall be getting invovled! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pent Up Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 FindaProperty here. We send out these emails from time to time with the sole aim of understanding what's going on in the market. The first question reflects recent internal data that recently suggested some people look at homes they can't afford or would never buy (location, size, etc) as a form of entertainment - soc-called' property porn' behaviour. So we are trying to get a measure of how widespread it is. One thing we're not trying to do here is push up prices - and anyhow I doubt if we could even if we tried. The mobile phone question was to try and find out exactly what it says on the can - see if mobile phone coverage is a consideration in home choice. School catchment areas directly drive house price variations in some areas of the UK so why not phone signal - and ditto road names. The penultimate question is trying to find out if a celebrity neighbour might lead you to pay more for a property. Agents often say it helps drive property markets, but we wanted to find out if that's true. And lastly, we aren't linked to house builers - but rather they pay to advertise their homes on our site, as do estate agents. Hope that helps Nigel Lewis, Findaproperty That's interesting thanks for the reply. I don't know how widespread it is away from this site but the only reason I look at properties above my price range is either 1) in anticipation that they will drop the price or 2) with the idea that I would offer well below asking. I think that many surveys carried out by property website very often have too limited options for reply. I receive surveys from another well known company and always find this the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milton Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) I only ever look at property on websites, that is £200k because my budget is £90k. [As property is at least 50% overpriced] I've always done that. With the expectation of a Crash, I want to know what I will be able to afford...... I suspect most FTB'ers do that. Edited March 4, 2011 by Dan1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pent Up Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I only ever look at property on websites, that is £200k because my budget is £90k. [As property is at least 50% overpriced] I've always done that. With the expectation of a Crash, I want to know what I will be able to afford...... I suspect most FTB'ers do that. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 FindaProperty here. We send out these emails from time to time with the sole aim of understanding what's going on in the market. The first question reflects recent internal data that recently suggested some people look at homes they can't afford or would never buy (location, size, etc) as a form of entertainment - soc-called' property porn' behaviour. So we are trying to get a measure of how widespread it is. One thing we're not trying to do here is push up prices - and anyhow I doubt if we could even if we tried. The mobile phone question was to try and find out exactly what it says on the can - see if mobile phone coverage is a consideration in home choice. School catchment areas directly drive house price variations in some areas of the UK so why not phone signal - and ditto road names. The penultimate question is trying to find out if a celebrity neighbour might lead you to pay more for a property. Agents often say it helps drive property markets, but we wanted to find out if that's true. And lastly, we aren't linked to house builers - but rather they pay to advertise their homes on our site, as do estate agents. Hope that helps Nigel Lewis, Findaproperty Hi, thanks for commenting on my original post. I think my main gripe is when possible answers range from "I wouldn't pay more" to "I would pay lots more". What about "I would pay less" to "I would pay much less". The question about viewing houses outside one's price range was especially biassed.... no mention whatsoever of waiting for prices to crash. As for the question about paying more to live near celebrities.... I would expect to be compensated for having them near me. The more disproportionate their "fame" versus their achievements, the greater the compensation. Anyone linked to X factor, pop idol, or celebrities cooking on ice.... I'd want £millions!!! Finally, a question for you.... what are the revenue streams for Findaproperty? Advertising of course, but do estate agents pay to list their properties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired of Waiting Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 (...) And lastly, we aren't linked to house builers - but rather they pay to advertise their homes on our site, as do estate agents. Hope that helps Nigel Lewis, Findaproperty Hi Nigel, Welcome to the forum. Just a question: suppose house prices fall by 10%, and transaction volumes grow by more than 10%. Would your business have more or less profit? I think Estate Agents would probably gain as well, if volumes grow more than prices fall, no? I just don't get why Estate Agents keep trying to talk prices up, as this surely drives volumes down, and profits down too, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milton Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Hi Nigel, I just don't get why Estate Agents keep trying to talk prices up, as this surely drives volumes down, and profits down too, of course. They are in competition with each other, and to get the vendor on board as one of their clients, they have to convince that vendor that they can get a better price than their competitors. They have pushed themselves into a corner, and can do nothing, except slowly starve to death....A fitting end, as they all lied through their teeth for over a decade. House Prices will never Fall! [Thinking to themselves it was only a small lie....LOL] Some EA do not want the HPC perception to become the accepted truth, nationally. [Which is, and has been, and will continue to happen anyway, regardless of whether they like it or not.] They are completely powerless to increase volume. They cannot bring house prices back down. All they can do, is support the bubble. More insane lending. They are merely fighting their grubby little corner. There is nothing else they can do. Sure, many owners of EA, realise a crash would be the best thing for them. But there is nothing they can do to instigate it. EA are immaterial. Best Ignored...... Edited March 5, 2011 by Dan1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.steve Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Just a question: suppose house prices fall by 10%, and transaction volumes grow by more than 10%. Would your business have more or less profit? I think you're confusing profit with gross revenue. You see, if transaction volumes grew - that would likely mean that more work would need to be done, and that would increase costs... particularly staffing costs. To give an extreme illustration: if I were an estate agent and in a year I could chose to sell a single property for £10m with a 1% fee - or sell 150 £100K properties with the same 1% fee, I'd chose the former not the latter. To sell 150 properties I'd need two or three staff (at, say £20K each) - while - given a single buyer with more money than sense - and a single vendor who has something the buyer wants... I could broker this deal myself without putting in much effort - without any staff. For me, while the gross revenue is greater for the many cheap properties (£150K vs £100K) I'd have greater costs and I'd have to put in considerable effort. Conversely - with the one big deal - I get £100k and can do this on a near-zero cost-base. Ask yourself: which would you prefer? If we add into the mix that the property owners are being supported by extraordinary intervention into the credit markets, we're in a position where - from the laxy EA's perspective, all they can hope for is buyers pulling out all the stops to meet unrealistic pricing. This, of course, is the EA's dilemma - if they price honestly, they won't have any vendors; if they price dishonestly they'll have vendors but very, very few buyers. This is why everyone needs mass foreclosure to correct the market. Edited March 5, 2011 by A.steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired of Waiting Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 I think you're confusing profit with gross revenue. I did consider that. That's why I said "volumes... more than 10%". And remember that most Estate Agents' costs are fixed costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pent Up Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) I think you're confusing profit with gross revenue. You see, if transaction volumes grew - that would likely mean that more work would need to be done, and that would increase costs... particularly staffing costs. To give an extreme illustration: if I were an estate agent and in a year I could chose to sell a single property for £10m with a 1% fee - or sell 150 £100K properties with the same 1% fee, I'd chose the former not the latter. To sell 150 properties I'd need two or three staff (at, say £20K each) - while - given a single buyer with more money than sense - and a single vendor who has something the buyer wants... I could broker this deal myself without putting in much effort - without any staff. For me, while the gross revenue is greater for the many cheap properties (£150K vs £100K) I'd have greater costs and I'd have to put in considerable effort. Conversely - with the one big deal - I get £100k and can do this on a near-zero cost-base. Ask yourself: which would you prefer? If we add into the mix that the property owners are being supported by extraordinary intervention into the credit markets, we're in a position where - from the laxy EA's perspective, all they can hope for is buyers pulling out all the stops to meet unrealistic pricing. This, of course, is the EA's dilemma - if they price honestly, they won't have any vendors; if they price dishonestly they'll have vendors but very, very few buyers. This is why everyone needs mass foreclosure to correct the market. Your example is totally unrealistic. As an agent would you rather sell 1 house a week at £200k or 5 a week a £150k? Say 2% fee, your looking at £4k a week turnover or £15k a week turnover. Take your costs of each one and which has more profit? The problem is securing the realistically priced listing in the first place. Edited March 5, 2011 by Pent Up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up2late Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Also, a house with a lower asking price will need fewer viewings before a sale is agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired of Waiting Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Also, a house with a lower asking price will need fewer viewings before a sale is agreed. + 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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