Back to work at the estate agents at the weekend.
Property Sparrow expected to spend most of her time thinking about whether to hand in her notice. Instead she found herself answering enquiries, doing viewings and talking to real people who called in at the office.
She remembers reading somewhere last year that most estate agents only sold one property in November 2008 and this was certainly true of her branch: only one in November and none in December. In her town there are now exactly half as many properties advertised for sale as there were in January 2008.
By the end of this weekend three houses had firm offers accepted on them. These are all houses that need renovation: one has sold to a developer at 16% less than the asking price unchanged since July 2008, a repossessed house at 26% less than the valuation done in August 2008 and the third at – you could knock her down with a feather - the actual original asking price from October 2008.
All of the other houses and flats are in good condition and most of the vendors have reduced their prices significantly. Their For Sale boards are looking ragged and forlorn.
Property Sparrow expected to spend most of her time thinking about whether to hand in her notice. Instead she found herself answering enquiries, doing viewings and talking to real people who called in at the office.
She remembers reading somewhere last year that most estate agents only sold one property in November 2008 and this was certainly true of her branch: only one in November and none in December. In her town there are now exactly half as many properties advertised for sale as there were in January 2008.
By the end of this weekend three houses had firm offers accepted on them. These are all houses that need renovation: one has sold to a developer at 16% less than the asking price unchanged since July 2008, a repossessed house at 26% less than the valuation done in August 2008 and the third at – you could knock her down with a feather - the actual original asking price from October 2008.
All of the other houses and flats are in good condition and most of the vendors have reduced their prices significantly. Their For Sale boards are looking ragged and forlorn.
"Things can only get better"
ReplyDeleteThanks Property Sparrow just shows despite of the morimund blanket coverage by the media can be misleading. People are still buying and selling property but it has to be at the right price. With a rapidly falling market what the right price is will be the difficult thing for property investors to judge. Who was it that said never try to catch a falling knife?! They probably had a good point.
ReplyDelete