Very Good Things...

The Bradleys blog this week is just like a bus, nothing for ages then along comes two!

Very good things are going on in the market and in Bradleys. We are having a rebrand and you will have seen that over the last few days the Ladies and Gentlemen of Bradleys have been seen around the streets and lanes of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset swapping our very familiar boards for new ones in our completely revised fresh image. The initial feedback has been brilliant and if you have seen a new board please let me know what you think. Boards are just the start of it and with window cards, details and adverts to follow over the next week, we really hope to have everything done and in place for our 21st birthday party which is taking place a day early on Friday 31st May.

 

No doubt there will be plenty of material there to share!

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group

Buy Now!

It's been a while since I wrote anything and in fact what I really should say is it's been a while since I had time to write anything, except that would make me look like I am unable to prioritise or I think the blog isn't a priority! Now I am digging a hole! Never mind here is a blog and I will write more regularly again now.

My friend at the bank of England is worried about the help to buy scheme, he says the economy is already on the mend and that with this help for the housing market there could be a boom.

I think he is stating the very obvious and my advice to everyone is exactly the same as I have given my daughter over the weekend. Buy now if you are able, waiting until January to receive the interest free 15% from the Government will put you into the mix with everyone else and there is a reasonably sure bet that there will rapidly become a shortage of houses for sale and prices will rise. If you have 20% deposit now, buy now and a reap the rewards when prices rise. You can always trade up next year and make use of the 15% then. If you do that the government's plan will still be working as that will still be fuelling the economy.

What a great weekend we have just had with lovely weather. It was my birthday on Saturday and we had a BBQ with some friends and family which was really enjoyable and a very welcome break from the building project.

 

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group

Time to buy?

Just a bit after the event but thought now was the right time for me to comment on the budget!

I think it will be a very positive step for the property market which has been in the doldrums for 6 years now. The deposit guarantees that the government have said they will guarantee are just what is needed to get the market moving and that is in effect for all buyers of new homes now and for buyers of second hand homes from 1st Jan 2014. What will that do to the market? I think it is a certainty that there will be a clamour for property as the end of the year draws near and there will be an inevitable rise in prices. The question is to buy now or sit and wait for the interest free deposit from the Government. My advice is, if you have the deposit then buy now before prices rise, because they will. If you don't have the deposit now then you will have to take your chances in January but the sooner you can secure a property perhaps with a  delayed exchange and completion then the better deal you are likely to achieve.

In Bradleys we have had the Easter Challenge at Head Office and Callington office walked off with a 3.3KG egg as the event winners. I am on holiday for the next 3 days so a bit more building for me! One day the building will all be over and I will be able to go sailing again.

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group

Marathon Man

It's still all going on in the exciting world of property! The new Consumer Protection Regulations which are to replace the Property Misdescription Act soon to be repealed, is all open to interpretation and the Office of Fair trading are looking to get as many Estate Agents as possible into court to get some test cases on which to base future application. Such joy when an Estate Agent must disclose by law anything he considers may be a material fact that would affect a buyers decision making process. Personally I believe it is a very good thing and have insisted at Bradleys if we know of anything that would affect someone's judgement then we disclose it any way. That is the correct and honest way to build relationships and repeat business. Where the problem comes is there is no line and everything is open to interpretation of judgement. Sure as eggs are eggs will be that somebody's opinion of what is relevant will be different to mine. We will have to wait and see.

As another month closes and we move in to March we are still seeing plenty of new instructions coming to the market but the buyers are still in short supply so keen pricing is the key to selling right now. Our customer Services Department is now open until 10.00  in the evening and are doing a great job servicing our customers long after all of our competitors have gone home.

And what about me. I had a really nice day off in Bath yesterday watching Ella run in the Bath Half Marathon, which she completed and raised a good amount of sponsorship for CLIC Sargent. I am in Head Office this morning and going in to see Our Surveyors in Southernhay, Exeter this afternoon.

 

Wednesday is our Monthly Board meeting and I have a feeling there will a lot to discuss this month to try to work out what we are going to do to get the market going in March which is traditionally the best month of the year for sales.

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group

Bonkers!

It's official, Estate agents have gone bonkers! Well that is how I see it anyway. Rightmove report rapidly rising asking prices. Where do asking prices come from? Estate agents who need new instructions of course.

If Rightmove report next month that house sales have picked up and the new instructions are all selling and the new inflated prices then I will have to eat my words but until then I will assume that the increase in asking prices are down to ambitious pricing to attract those valuable new sellers.

It is fair to say that at Bradleys we have been reasonably pleased with our sales made to start 2013 and we have high hopes that the small improvement we are seeing in terms of market activity will continue into the year, but, the sales we are agreeing are all of realistically priced property and the vendors who want to push the valuation up to see if there is interest are finding the answer is a firm no!

The way to sell in the current market is to present the property to the best of its ability, give comprehensive marketing to expose it to the greatest number of buyers as is possible and then above all get the price right. In the days of property portals a house which is too expensive stands out like a sore thumb and will remain unsold.

Rant over, what am I up to this week? I am meeting with our Mortgage advisors tomorrow and they have had a very good start to the year so I am looking forward to that. On Wednesday I am meeting with Brian to update him. On Thursday I am in West Cornwall visiting offices and on Friday I am visiting Liskeard and Callington.

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group

Did you miss me?

It's been a very busy time for me in the last week having visited 12 of our offices as well as meetings in Head Office. We are looking at an exciting new Marketing solution and have also had a meeting with an industry analysis company so plenty going on. This coming week is a bit more steady with lots of points to action following all the visits and reviews. That said I am visiting Shaldon and Teignmouth offices this afternoon and am really looking forward to that, as both offices have started the year very strongly with plenty of sales.

The market generally seems ok to me, we are on track for a really excellent new instructions month which I think is down to a combination of a slight improvement in the market combined with some improvements in the way we are operating.

It appears the snow has gone and if we can avoid any flooding over the next week hopefully any weather related obstacles will be removed from our route to getting busier as the year gets going.

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group

Underwater internet...?

Where has Francis been and why hasn't he been blogging to tell us what is going on in his life and at Bradleys? 

Well the truth is I haven't had 2 seconds to sit down, moving in to the new house in the torrential rain before Christmas and then continuing to try to finish the house over the Christmas break whilst try to go to some of the festive social gatherings just so our friends don't think we have become building hermits. Eventually it stopped raining, although another 100 tonnes or so of our cliff is now on the beach below again, but that seemed to be happening everywhere so nobody made much of that! We are in and everything is lovely. If I get a photo of the staircase I will post one as so many people are asking me about it!

Once in I would have told you, but then our phone lines and Broadband disappeared with the floodwater and stayed off for the whole holiday. We don't get a mobile signal in our house so we were cut off. I quite liked it for a day but you don't realise how much you rely on the internet until it taken away for a lengthy period. 

So what about Bradleys? You might think that over the festive period nothing was going on, but nothing was further from the truth, all offices were open with viewings taking place and sales being agreed. The brilliant news was 26 people responded to our 5 day on-line offer of discounted marketing packages and many new instructions were secured whilst our competitors were stuffing their turkeys and themselves. It's a wonderful thing this internet, when it isn't underwater!

Francis Marshall FNAEA
Managing Director
Bradleys Group