rantnrave Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) HPC's very own Timebandit gets a mention too. Rightmove has been slammed for producing "damaging, lazy statistics" that are seriously hurting the property market. Ed Mead, director of Douglas & Gordon, took to Twitter to vent his ire, criticising the latest Rightmove house price survey as "absurd". He took particular issue with the claim that asking prices in London have gone up 10% – and accused Rightmove of allowing the media to report that "house prices have gone up 10% in a month". Mead accused journalists of "poor reporting". In fact, the national press release that Rightmove sent out to journalists was headed: "London prices rise unsustainably, beating previous high by nearly £30k." The release did refer to "asking price", but under the headline. In furious exchanges on Twitter, Mead said Rightmove had a responsibility to ensure that it talked about "asking prices" every time it mentioned them. He said: "Rightmove have a lot to answer for. Their statistics are ASKING PRICES, NOT real ones." Mead even challenged Rightmove: "Your stats are meaningless. Talk to those who pay you – us – and we'll tell you how badly you're damaging our businesses." One poster who agreed, Alan Page, said: "Rightmove stat saying London house prices up 10% a month is absurd, dangerous and completely at odds with reality." Another, Timebandit, said that Rightmove's monthly house price bulletin was nothing more than "a greed index" that fails buyers, sellers and agents. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, did not join in the Twitter debate but changed the heading on the Rightmove online blog to: "New seller asking prices soar." This did not completely satisfy Mead, who said the horse had bolted and the damage was done. Shipside told EAT: While the world increasingly uses the internet and Twitter to communicate, I picked up the phone and have spoken to Ed personally and we had a very constructive conversation. Ed subsequently updated his Twitter to say that he appreciated the call. "We always stress that the Rightmove Index reports prices of properties coming to market – a good lead indicator in the property market – though occasionally some journalists are less rigorous with their reporting. A few look for the most sensational angle and ignore much of the commentary. "I agreed to tweak a blog headline on Rightmove as a result of my call to Ed, again emphasising the 'new seller asking price'." In today's blog on Estate Agent Today, however, Mead says he remains angry. He tells how one client "with an already stretched asking price" on their house in Chelsea queried why, since Rightmove were reporting a 10.2% house price rise in London in October, were the agents finding the market so difficult. Mead says: "This is just the sort of thing that reporting like this causes, and to simply ignore it is a travesty. If Rightmove won't start to try and help the agents they serve, then bring on Agents' Mutual." You can read Mead's blog online today. Agent's war of words over Rightmove's house price survey Edited October 25, 2013 by rantnrave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeFall Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Pretty simple Ed - if you don't like what rightmove is doing, stop using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Does rightmove get paid whether the house sells or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Squeal piggy, squeal. I get the feeling all is not well in the housing market world.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Bear Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) HPC's very own Timebandit gets a mention too. Agent's war of words over Rightmove's house price survey It would be interesting if Ed Mead had mentioned how much asking price inflation is down to vendors' insistence/expectations, and how much is down to EAs telling them that X price is achievable. I know of a recent case where the vendor had been overseas for a long time. Obviously she knew prices had gone up, but was 'very surprised' at the price they suggested. But of course she thought they knew their business and put the property on at (to me who knows area/type of property very well) a coffee-spluttering price. That was some 6 weeks ago, and since then the price has been reduced by a few per cent. Still far more than it would have been priced at a couple of years ago, though. Needless to say this is in London. Edited October 25, 2013 by Mrs Bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Well done TimeBandit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Well done TimeBandit! +1 It seems all the overpriced and therefore unsellable properties get parked on Rightmove. Anything reasonably priced, or a quality property sells before it can be listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Of Highbridge Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 +1 It seems all the overpriced and therefore unsellable properties get parked on Rightmove. Anything reasonably priced, or a quality property sells before it can be listed. Perhaps Rightmove want overinflated stock sitting on their website, the more listings the more money they make? If they get paid per listing and some olde biddies house is sitting on their site at an unrealistic price since 08' then Rightmove are quids in and will keep up the propaganda since it makes them money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long time lurking Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 I am surprised. I would have thought an EA of all people would want asking prices to go up, more profit for him and his greedy ilk. They do but they need to sell them to cash in the chips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renting til I die Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 I am surprised. I would have thought an EA of all people would want asking prices to go up, more profit for him and his greedy ilk. EA's like high prices but require larger turnover to make the big bucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venger Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) Well done TimeBandit! Yeahhh. Good to read this EA disagreement with Rightmove. Well described TimeBandit, and I've always enjoyed your occasional links to developments on the EA news and discussion site. Mead even challenged Rightmove: "Your stats are meaningless. Talk to those who pay you – us – and we'll tell you how badly you're damaging our businesses."One poster who agreed, Alan Page, said: "Rightmove stat saying London house prices up 10% a month is absurd, dangerous and completely at odds with reality." Another, Timebandit, said that Rightmove's monthly house price bulletin was nothing more than "a greed index" that fails buyers, sellers and agents. September's entry. Some of it's factual and useful, but I differ with a lot of their interpretation, and tone in places. That average stock per EA could rise rapidly I suspect, if any of the fragile stimulus measures to keep prices high give way. To put into shock all those owners who've only been flirting with selling over the years, and panic back to market as prices cascade. Rightmove predicts autumn price surge, raising 2013 forecast to +6% http://www.rightmove...3-forecast-to-6 MoneyweekBy: Merryn Somerset Webb 15/07/2011 There are fewer homes for sale in Britain than you think But the really interesting number in this survey is the top reason for sales falling through: the seller withdraws his property from the market. This is up by four percentage points since 2009 and comes down to the fact that (thanks in part to the demise of expensive 'home information packs') would-be sellers are now able to test the market for free. They market their properties to see what kind of an inflated price they can get, and drop out at the last minute if they don't get it. This isn't particularly generous behaviour (to buyers or to estate agents) but what it tells us is that many of the sellers out there are only sellers at bubble prices. As long as they can afford not to sell and as long as they think waiting will make them richer they won't actually enter the market. They'll only tease it. Edited October 25, 2013 by Venger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quicken Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Rightmove stat saying London house prices up 10% a month is absurd, dangerous and completely at odds with reality Yes, the danger being they might just raise interest rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vested Disinterest Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Well done TimeBandit! +1 Yay from me too! I must have missed that particular Twitter storm ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 EA's like high prices but require larger turnover to make the big bucks! Yes, they don't make anything until it is sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workingpoor Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 The increasingly desperate tone of the local EA leaflet drops I've been getting lately also tells me all is not well in the business. I was thinking of visiting their offices and telling them they might want to re-word their leaflets to not come across as so desperate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 The increasingly desperate tone of the local EA leaflet drops I've been getting lately also tells me all is not well in the business. I was thinking of visiting their offices and telling them they might want to re-word their leaflets to not come across as so desperate! Yes, I got a EA leaflet through the door saying we can sell your house. The silly s0ds only sold it to me 18 months ago, and I'm not moving yet ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradbury Robinson Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 First time I've read about this: http://www.agentsmutual.co.uk (On mobile so site search not working too well!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Yes, I got a EA leaflet through the door saying we can sell your house. The silly s0ds only sold it to me 18 months ago, and I'm not moving yet ! 18 months? You should have moved 3 times since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 First time I've read about this: http://www.agentsmutual.co.uk (On mobile so site search not working too well!) Ed Mead, director of Douglas & Gordon is one of the founders of the new 'Agents Mutual' portal. Hopefully I'm wrong,but not convinced the idea will ever get off the ground. Ed Mead who is critic of not just Rightmove but also housing statistics & ramping estate agents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venger Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Another article. "Some agents report there is a buying frenzy in parts of prime inner London, with available stock so low that their shelves are now bare."But Mead was unsure of the usefulness of such comments. He said: "The sensationalist element in any statistic is the one that ends up being used, of course. "But when someone in a position of responsibility turns round and says that asking prices have gone up by over 10% in one month, and then allows such a stat to be used as 'house prices have gone up 10% in a month' they should surely be looking askance at it. "To then follow it up with a senior director's comment, quoting some brash agent, claiming 'the cupboard is bare' simply exacerbates the problem." http://www.mortgagei...dex_slammed.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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