Foxtons Share Price And The Housing Market - Merged

[warrior88]

1 hour ago, rantnrave said:

Sunk as low as 46p so far today...

Sounds good to me!

[rantnrave]

Foxtons share price hits new low - other traditional agents suffer too
https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/7/foxtons-share-price-hits-new-low--other-traditional-agents-suffer-too

Foxtons share price hit a new low yesterday, dropping to only 46p early in the afternoon: it eventually closed narrowly up at 47p.

The agency’s share price has suffered long-term collapse, reflecting the growing challenges of the London housing market - and in particular the prime London market.

Figures released by the government yesterday suggested that sales volumes were down around 30 per cent across London year-on-year. 

The stock market also suggests there has been concern over recent personnel announcements at Foxtons.

The former chief executive of Foxtons, Michael Brown, last month announced that he was quitting as a director of the firm. He succeeded founder Jon Hunt as head of Foxtons some 11 years ago when the company was sold to private equity firm BC Partners for £360m shortly before the global banking crisis occurred.

The Foxtons share price was also troubled by the company being named at the start of this month by insolvency firm Moore Stephens as evidence that the UK estate agency industry is in fragile condition. 

This is all a far cry from Foxtons’ first day on the London Stock Exchange back in September 2013 when its shares soared to almost 300p, and from its bull run six months later when it peaked at 386p in March 2014.

Yesterday saw small price drops for other traditional agencies - Countrywide, LSL Property Services, Hunters, Winkworth and The Property Franchise Group.

The stock market woe for traditional Agents came after gloomy Land Registry data showing transactions completing in March across the UK fell 20.3 per cent compared to a year earlier, at just 73,977.

Foxtons makes it next report to shareholders on July 30; its most recent trading update, in May, was gloomy in the extreme when reviewing the first quarter of 2018.

Its sales revenue for the opening of 2018 was well down at £8.2m, compared with £11.1m for the same period of 2017. Lettings revenues were at £14.3m (2017: £15.5m), and Alexander Hall mortgage revenue £2.0m (2017: £2.1m). 

Selected quotes from that trading update include: “Conditions in the London property market remain very challenging with sales volumes lower than prior year. …Foxtons entered 2018 with a lower sales pipeline compared to the same point last year and this resulted in lower levels of activity in the quarter…Performance in lettings was impacted by a slow start to January and the timing of Easter, which had a negative effect on revenue.”

[neon tetra]

21 minutes ago, rantnrave said:

Performance in lettings was impacted by a slow start to January and the timing of Easter, which had a negative effect on revenue.”

Anyone else notice how slowly January started? Man, those days were taking a full 24 hours to pass. And as for Easter, it, like, came out of nowhere.

[warrior88]

6 hours ago, neon tetra said:

 Anyone else notice how slowly January started? Man, those days were taking a full 24 hours to pass. And as for Easter, it, like, came out of nowhere.

Easter point is valid, we all thought it will skip the year but it didn't 

[rantnrave]

Now below 46p...

[Slimline]

Wonder if i can buy one of their funky chillers on the cheap when they go up the wall for my beer.

[Lambie]

A periodic reminder of the share profile since floating, which will surely soon be the poster child lamenting the ridiculous folly of investing in a company that has no talent and produces nothing of value.

[house-down]

No one has mentioned that this low share price is in spite of FTSE 100 being at all time high and equity valuations being very high.

The london market has almost stopped - I dont see much selling anymore in the area I monitor 

[house-down]

Also worth adding that I am not even sure what the Foxtons business model is - They used to be selling expensive multi million pound houses for discerning time poor clients 

 

Nowadays they are peddling council estate garbage just like winkworth and Bairstow eves - Indeed the expensive properties are now dealt with by Knight Frank or Savills and people tend to avoid Foxtons completely 

[hotblack42]

1 minute ago, Jack Kada said:

No one has mentioned that this low share price is in spite of FTSE 100 being at all time high and equity valuations being very high.

The london market has almost stopped - I dont see much selling anymore in the area I monitor 

Not London, but we live in one of the nicer parts of Gloucestershire which has 'benefited' (?!) from a steady stream of London money for at least 30 years. Chatted to tame EA yesterday at length. Market seized start of June. Very few  SSTCs converting to actual exchange. Commission was down 75% on June 2017. 

[dougless]

16 minutes ago, hotblack42 said:

Not London, but we live in one of the nicer parts of Gloucestershire which has 'benefited' (?!) from a steady stream of London money for at least 30 years. Chatted to tame EA yesterday at length. Market seized start of June. Very few  SSTCs converting to actual exchange. Commission was down 75% on June 2017. 

That's good to hear.  I was expecting the slowdown in London to start to affect other areas but its nice to have some confirmation.  Despite all the guff about Cross Rail, Berkshire and Oxfordshire seem to be slowing.  Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future but once the falls in the 90's got underway the 'contagion' was pretty quick and I knew a few people with serious chunks of negative equity.  This time the numbers, both of individuals involved and the amounts of money, could make the 90's look like a picnic.

[rantnrave]

Now sub 45p

[hotblack42]

16 minutes ago, dougless said:

That's good to hear.  I was expecting the slowdown in London to start to affect other areas but its nice to have some confirmation.  Despite all the guff about Cross Rail, Berkshire and Oxfordshire seem to be slowing.  Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future but once the falls in the 90's got underway the 'contagion' was pretty quick and I knew a few people with serious chunks of negative equity.  This time the numbers, both of individuals involved and the amounts of money, could make the 90's look like a picnic.

Its not spreading out like ink on blotting paper - its more like electricity finding the line of least resistance.  The London money tap is now a dribble and places like Bath, Truro, Abergavenny (where?) https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/llanover-court/llanover/abergavenny/np7-9eg/16654036
Cheltenham, Chester, York are going to tank much more than unfashionable locations in the South East.

I reckon a very fast, big drop has already happened. But without forced sales the great unwashed can parade around initially pretending their gaff is worth 25-40% more than it is, quietly and reluctantly admitting "5-10% annual falls" after a decent interval.  If I'm right though we are going to see chaos in the re-mortgaging market.  Many will find themselves stuck on higher rates because the equity that qualified them for a discount rate has disappeared in a puff of nothing.
Finally - vindication for paying down the mortgage, not moving to a bigger, flashier place like many friends were urging (as they had).

Edited July 19, 2018 by hotblack42
To add:

[Unmoderated]

2 hours ago, Slimline said:

Wonder if i can buy one of their funky chillers on the cheap when they go up the wall for my beer.

Great idea. 

Might head in there this weekend. There's never been a better time to buy a cool fridge from a distressed seller. 

Less keen on the other furniture. 

Several years ago (when I was at uni) we decided to see if we could flick the channel on their sky box that was being shown on those massive TVs reserved for open office lobbies and council estates. Managed to flick from News24 to BabeStation. 

[warrior88]

My favourite three - Foxtons now at 44.75, Boo yaa!

 

 

[spyguy]

On 19/07/2018 at 15:37, Lambie said:

A periodic reminder of the share profile since floating, which will surely soon be the poster child lamenting the ridiculous folly of investing in a company that has no talent and produces nothing of value.

Theres a wider point to be made too.

Can you name any share floated in th last 10 odd years thats not fallen like a brick?

Foxtons, AIgo, Debs, the list of junk being flipped onto the markets risk undermining the equity markets.

 

[spyguy]

On 19/07/2018 at 16:03, hotblack42 said:

Not London, but we live in one of the nicer parts of Gloucestershire which has 'benefited' (?!) from a steady stream of London money for at least 30 years. Chatted to tame EA yesterday at length. Market seized start of June. Very few  SSTCs converting to actual exchange. Commission was down 75% on June 2017. 

London money no longer seems to be a thing - bar OAPs selling up and leaving.

From the 80s, there was the standard process - young people move to London, get hitched, pop kids out, cash up and commute in or step down the job.

These days, most 30+ yo living in London are renting.

And they are not earning that much.

 

 

[UnconventionalWisdom]

1 minute ago, spyguy said:

These days, most 30+ yo living in London are renting.

And they are not earning that much.

And living in a HMO

[mathschoc]

I remember when Foxtons pretty much told me they were too posh for me when I was looking for a flat to rent.

I walked in, clothes unironed but clean, hair unkept as the baby had kept me up during the night. A woman walked straight up to me and told me directly they have nothing in my price range, she wanted me out ASAP. 

Great, they are going down the pan, going to write them a letter to rub it in.

[Funn3r]

32 minutes ago, mathschoc said:

I remember when Foxtons pretty much told me they were too posh for me when I was looking for a flat to rent.

I walked in, clothes unironed but clean, hair unkept as the baby had kept me up during the night. A woman walked straight up to me and told me directly they have nothing in my price range, she wanted me out ASAP. 

Great, they are going down the pan, going to write them a letter to rub it in.

Have had same from a different EA it's not specific to Foxton. Early 1980s just as yuppy thing was getting going I lost my room in shared house. Had no clue never found myself anywhere to live before so seemed logical to ask an EA. Smarmy suited oily bloke treated me like less than human. Really shook me up as I was just a kid and knew nothing.

Ironic today they would be 99% dependent on rental fees. That particular EA no longer exists but I am never going to miss any opportunity to p all over them, except if they're on fire obviously. 

[spyguy]

1 hour ago, fru-gal said:

Er...Facebook?

Sorry. Uk listings.

[simvastatin]

On 19/07/2018 at 16:03, hotblack42 said:

Not London, but we live in one of the nicer parts of Gloucestershire which has 'benefited' (?!) from a steady stream of London money for at least 30 years. Chatted to tame EA yesterday at length. Market seized start of June. Very few  SSTCs converting to actual exchange. Commission was down 75% on June 2017. 

Good to hear, that means a crash is coming.

[simvastatin]

9 hours ago, spyguy said:

Theres a wider point to be made too.

Can you name any share floated in th last 10 odd years thats not fallen like a brick?

Foxtons, AIgo, Debs, the list of junk being flipped onto the markets risk undermining the equity markets.

 

I have been wondering why so many restaurants are shutting down, i think they intended to float on the stock market something that is not now going to happen.

 

[simvastatin]

9 hours ago, spyguy said:

Theres a wider point to be made too.

Can you name any share floated in th last 10 odd years thats not fallen like a brick?

Foxtons, AIgo, Debs, the list of junk being flipped onto the markets risk undermining the equity markets.

 

Ocado

[spyguy]

3 hours ago, vincent said:

I have been wondering why so many restaurants are shutting down, i think they intended to float on the stock market something that is not now going to happen.

 

All doing same scam.

PE gets a local one two operation - say Bills.

Buy it, roll it out nationwide, then try and exit before all the cheap lease periods end.

They are failing.