Prices are going up! Apparantly

The press are at it again. They helped to talk us into a recession and now they're talking things up. According to most 'reporters', house prices are galloping upwards again! Of course this raises vendor's expectations and before you know it you have a situation where some vendors suddenly think their property is worth more than it is. Stalemate! Why the media in this country can't simply leave everything property related alone I really don't know. Let's face it there was a time when almost every programme on TV was about buying, selling, relocating, building or investing. They made it sound really easy - a sure fire way of making money. Of course this fuelled the boom particularly in the 'buy to let' market which not only fuelled house price inflation but encouraged many to jump in when they should not have. We desperately need to get back to a situation where we all view our homes as a place to live and not some kind of cash cow. This would certainly help to iron out the peaks!

ACT SOON

It has probably escaped the attention of most people but something happening in January could have a negative impact on all of us but particularly those of us in the housing sector. Any ideas what it could be? No? Well it is the end of the temporary VAT and STAMP DUTY initiatives. VAT will revert to 17.5% thus increasing the cost of all the goods we purchase and the STAMP DUTY threshold will reduce from £175k to £125k. The latter in particular could have a significant impact upon house sales and therefore I would suggest that if you are considering moving it may be wise to do so this side of the New Year. We would be delighted to give a FREE market appraisal of your property so please give the agent with their finger on the pulse a call on 425242!

Boom Times - Well Almost

The last five weeks has seen us put fifteen sales together which is a big turn round from the levels seen for the past year or so. The next challenge however is the general lack of new instructions coming to the market although the upside of this is that prices are holding up better as supply and demand become more aligned. Of course as instructions become scarce some agents revert to type and can't help bad mouthing their competitors. Like the agent based very close to our branch who recently told a prospective vendor that all the "solds" on our website were old ones. Of course that agent wasn't to know we had just put FIFTEEN sales together espcially since they haven't figured in any of our chains! And at least we have a website of course. So the good news is that property is moving at last so if you want to move and you are able to move just give us a call and deal with nice people.

'BOUNCING CAT'

The "bouncing cat' refers to the small rise when something hits the bottom before it then continues its drop. There is plenty of speculation regarding the recent improvement in house sales as to whether this is a genuine increase or simply the 'bouncing cat' scenario. Of course the press, as usual, are quick to jump on a few figures and are starting to talk of massive increases in the number of houses sold and even an increase in house prices! They helped to talk us into the recession so I suppose it is only right that they help to talk us out. The truth is there has been an improvement in the numbers of houses sold but the vital component is still missing, FIRST TIME BUYERS! At a time when property is the best value it has been for a decade it is criminal that the lenders then insist on at least a 15% deposit in order to obtain a decent interest rate. So for the poor first time buyer it a case of swings and roundabouts. Of course the lenders defend their stance by stating they are concerned that prices still have a way to fall but of course the reason they are falling is the lack of finance available. So they are in fact the cause of the depression in house prices not the victims. One minute they would lend to virtually anyone with a pulse and now they are turning away perfectly good clients. Why can't they simply adopt the middle ground thus ensuring that this is a sustainable increase and nothing to do with cats?

'SWINEGATE'

Well I’m old enough to think I’ve seen it all and that I live in a time and a world where you think nothing could surprise you anymore when along comes ‘swinegate’.
At a time when most of the population are struggling to simply survive we discover the shady truth about our politicians. Although by no means all, many have been gorging themselves at the taxpayers’ expense. Whilst much of it is legal it is certainly immoral and don’t forget who made these rules in the first place! Others of course have been criminal but I doubt whether the establishment have the stomach to prosecute anyone over it.
So what exactly have they been doing to help ‘ordinary’ people over the last year? They pumped billions of pounds of our money into the corrupt and immoral banks that promptly used it to support their own reserves rather than pass it onto the public in the form of much needed loans. As a consequence businesses close down and people lose their jobs and eventually their homes.
The budget was a complete and utter non event. I’d call it a joke only it isn’t funny. It did nothing to stimulate growth and even less for the building/housing market which is the engine room for Great Britain Limited.
As for the ‘benefit culture’ they have encouraged and presided over for the past 14 years, I won’t even go there!
Of course we now know why they have been completely inert. They have been too busy making sure they have claimed for every last ridiculous thing they can think of instead of running the economy. What a legacy!
The real question is, ‘who can we trust? The Royal Family fell out of favour with the public a little over 10 years ago, the bankers and politicians have now fallen from grace and can’t be trusted, and there are no ‘institutions’ left you can believe in. What a mess.

Landlord/Investor Special

Continuing evidence of our commitment to providing value for money, we are offering to find tenants for free to anyone buying a property to let out through us. We have many properties eminently suitable for renting so take a look via the search function on our new website. So to recap then, if you purchase through Linda Saunders Estate Agents we will find you a tenant for free. Of course they will be vetted in the usual way. Remember, "not all agents are the same!"