Friday 25 February 2011

Buyers and Sellers - get ahead when buying or selling - hints and tips!


Here's how to give yourself the edge in a competitive market according to the Telegraph today;

Buyers
1. Sort out your finances, so you’re ready to move at once.
2. Schmooze the estate agents. It is in your interests.
3. If you find a place you like, visit it twice (at different times of the day).
4. Strike while the iron’s hot. If you like a property, make an offer.
5. Keep on the case. Badger estate agents and solicitors, make them get a move on.

Sellers
1. Clear up your house. Clutter just puts people off.
2. Buy new kitchen appliances. It inspires confidence and improves the look.
3. Finish any unfinished DIY tasks. Buyers can’t see beyond ungrouted walls.
4. Be vague as to why you’re moving. Don’t give buyers a bargaining weapon.
5. After a viewing, ask your agent to be honest about what the buyers thought.

The above is a great start - for more a personalised view - talk to your agent - they are the experts or call any local branch of Besley Hill.

Thanks to The Telegraph 25.01.11

Tuesday 22 February 2011

1 in 6 Estate Agents will live to be 100!

Well all right, it's not just estate agents! Recent research from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) shows that more than 10 million people currently alive in the UK are expected to pass their 100th birthday that's 1 in 6!
So get to know your local Estate Agent - you could be friends for many years to come!
Thanks to EA Today 22.02.11

30% of people in UK planning a move in 2011 - up from 9% in 2008


Research from Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks reveal that 30% of people in the UK are planning to move home in 2011.

The research reveals the biggest single increase since October 2008 when just 9% of people planned to move home.

Steve Reid, retail director for Clydesdale Bank, says: “It is greatly encouraging for the property market that more people are clearly keen to move but, of course, there is still natural caution in the market.

“It’s understandable that many people will have put off moving in the last couple of years so the potential demand is there - but the conditions will have to be right for the individual housebuyer to see that demand translate into a move.”

The research suggests that potential housebuyers are most optimistic in the South East where 40% say they are planning to move. In contrast only 22% of those surveyed in Scotland said they plan to move over the next 12 months.

The research also reveals that people’s plans to move have led to a decline in home improvements. Only 17% of those surveyed plan to improve or extend their home compared to 54%in October 2008.

For help and advice if you are thinking of moving call any local Besley Hill branch - click on the link here for your local branch:

http://www.besleyhill.co.uk/find-a-branch.php

Source: MAB/Mortgage Strategy 22.02.11

Thursday 17 February 2011

HIGHER LTV MORTGAGE DEALS MAKING A COME-BACK


Higher loan-to-value mortgages are making a steady return to the mortgage market.

Adam Offer, managing director of Besley Hill, Bristol and Gloucestershire’s biggest independent estate agents, says this will be welcome news to borrowers with small deposits, particularly first time buyers who have struggled to find products which meet their needs.

Lenders became risk averse during the height of the credit crunch by withdrawing their higher loan-to-value mortgage products.

But over recent months some lenders have increased their rates and expanded their number of higher loan-to-value deals, giving indications that the market could be returning to a competitive, rather than risk-based state.

Adam cites figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk showing that there are almost 50% more 90% LTV mortgage deals available today, compared to one year ago.

There were only 144 90% LTV deals in February 2010, and 185 last August, compared with 214 today, whilst there has also been an increase in the availability of 85% LTV deals, with 560 deals on the market today, compared to 310 in February 2010.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

MARKET COMMENT by ADAM OFFER, managing director, Besley Hill Estate Agents


What a difference a week makes in the property market! One minute it’s all doom and gloom, the next everything is coming up roses.

Last week, for instance, estate agents were reeling from the double whammy of house prices falling for the seventh month in a row (according to housing intelligence firm Hometrack) and figures from the British Bankers’ Association showing new mortgage lending dropping to an 11-and-a-half-year low.

Then, to cheer us all up, this week got off to a totally different start with the revelation in the latest Halifax House Price Index that property prices in the South West have almost doubled in the last ten years.

It is the latter trend that keeps things in perspective because it serves to remind us that, when it comes to long-term investment, you can’t do much better than to put your money into bricks and mortar.

True, we can’t bury our heads in the sand by ignoring the bad news, of course, but we should not talk the market down and wallow in self pity.

So, instead of worrying about falling house prices and low mortgage lending, let’s take heart from the fact that, not only have property prices in the region increased by 89 per cent since 2000, but that Bristol has the highest

proportion of home sales in the country (source The Land Registry).

Yes, let’s follow Eric Idle’s advice and, in the words of his popular song, “always look on the bright side of life” whenever the market gives us the opportunity.

Tuesday 1 February 2011

AVERAGE HOME PRICE DOUBLES


Despite the fall in house prices in recent times, property remains one of the best forms of investment in the long term, new figures reveal.
The latest Halifax House Price Index report shows property prices in the South West have nearly doubled in the last ten years.
However, at 89 per cent, the region lags slightly behind the UK average of a 91 per cent increase since the end of 2000.
The average house price in the South West rose from £99,305 in December 2000 to £187,918 ten years later.
Halifax economist Suren Thiru said: "The turn of this century marked the start of a period of strong house price growth across the UK. The traditional home of price gains, the South, was left behind by strong growth in the North where house prices more than doubled over the period. But recently there has been a slight reversal of this trend with the housing market in the south of England outperforming the rest of the country over the past few years."