Author: @kerry

Dominic Parravani of Durrants looks at the property market this spring, and suggests if you want to move there is no time like the present.

Imagine the property market as a clock face. Twelve o’clock is a rampant buyers’ market with lots of property available and buyers playing hardball with offers. Six o’clock is a sellers’ market, with prices rising quickly and purchasers panic buying, often going straight in at asking prices to secure properties. These are times in the market when things are most uncomfortable and precarious. These markets generate gazumping or gazundering, practices that often do more harm than good and are strenuously discouraged by experienced estate agents.

Between these market extremes, at three and nine on our clock, is balance. Buyers have more time to make their choices and try reasonable offers. With more property on the market, sellers have more competition and have to price reasonably to attract buyers. More than that, their homes should be in the best possible structural and tastefully decorative condition. Clutter will have to go.

The market this year feels more in balance than it has been for a long time, a rare period when buying and selling property is relatively calmer, easier and less of a lottery. For those thinking of moving this spring, embrace the opportunity that falling interest rates bring more buyers. Sadly, this time of equilibrium will pass. It is the way of the property market. Our advice is if you want to move, now is a wonderfully opportune time to do so.

A very successful charity quiz night. 

A super evening was had by two Durrants quiz teams who attended a charity quiz, raising funds for First Responders and a Restoration Fund for St Andrews Church.

Over £1000 raised in total for two very worthy charities!

Dominic Parravani of Durrants looks forward to a resurgent property market in the New Year.

When a building goes up in flames, the media reports a fire: what it doesn’t do is report the smoke beforehand. Similarly, no one at the moment is headlining the marked increase in property activity witnessed by estate agents in the lead-up to Christmas.

In fact, far from a seasonal slowdown, there were more viewings in each month of November and December than in September.

There is no smoke without fire, and with this pickup in activity, declining inflation and the likelihood of some falling mortgage interest rates through 2024, we can look forward to an improving property market in the coming months.

No doubt also, both Conservative and Labour parties will try to lure the electorate with new housing policies designed to stimulate the property market further.

Nor is this optimism based solely on the above. 2023 saw increased interest from first-time buyers.

This trend should continue as we emerge into a more buoyant market that also stimulates second movers, thus making more first-time buyer properties available. This would be the long-wished-for virtuous circle.

Most baby boomers and millennials consider property as part-home and part-investment vehicle. For them property has been the gift that has kept on giving.

But let’s look at the property market from the eyes of twenty-year-olds. For them the last decade has been challenging. This group, often priced out of home ownership and suffering increasingly high rents, says they aren’t looking for investment opportunities they’re simply looking for somewhere to lay their heads.

Out of the mouths of babes, Generation Z reminds us that first and foremost a home is to live in.

Nor should we forget the role the older generation is playing in this residential resurgence.

Baby Boomers might not be moving much themselves at the moment but in 2023 the Bank of Mum and Dad and the Bank of Grandma and Grandpa invested over £8 billion in property: that’s not personal investment but an investment in the futures of their children and grandchildren.

2024 should be a year of looking forward and growing opportunity. Above all it should be a time when property is purchased, but mostly to live in than to trade in. Now that should give the media a blazingly good headline.

Dominic Parravani of Durrants introduces a seasonal property quiz. From this estate agents’ description, see if you can tell the location and current owner of this magical property?

Located in a superb position within a landscape of snow-capped mountains, this traditionally designed home offers a warm and welcoming interior.

The spacious living and dining room features a magnificent fireplace, ideal for a warming and crackling log blaze. The kitchen is a hub for family activity, where, in winter, aromas of gingerbread, mince pies, and mulled wine can mingle in the air.

On the upper floor, each thoughtfully decorated and cosy bedroom has grandstand views of the spectacular northern lights.

Outside are paddocks, ten stables, harness room, a fully-equipped workshop and generous outhouse offering comfortable accommodation for seasonal help and space for a large sleigh.

Please note: although there is an excellent postal delivery, the property is secluded and affords a high degree of privacy as befits such a legendary location.

For a marvellous selection of equally dreamy property in the UK please see www.durrants.com. 

To all our friends, contacts and clients past, present and future we wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Durrants were delighted to sponsor and attend the recent Christmas Drinks held by the NFU at Goodies Food Hall and Farm Shop at Pulham.

It was a super event and great to see so many in attendance.

Thank you from Durrants to Joanna Johnson and her team for all their hard work organising the event and throughout the year.

Dominic Parravani of Durrants explains why we all need Santa’s help this Christmas with the property market.

Some Estate agents are great problem solvers but Dominic Parravani of Durrants thinks that we all should have a little extra special help with the property market this Christmas and knows just who to ask. 

Dear Santa, 

You might think it unusual to find a letter from an estate agent in your postbag, but things have been very tricky in the property world lately. We have been very well behaved all year but could do with several presents to help us in the months ahead. 

1. Please give us three million new houses in 2024. Not only that, but millions more to help catch up with where we should be after years of under-development. 

2. Please improve the current development and planning laws and procedures that should be far simpler and more fit for purpose. It is crucial we implement a rational, sustainable and achievable house building programme throughout the UK as soon as possible. 

3. Please make the property conveyancing procedure suitable for the twenty-first century. Other countries can complete property sales and purchases in half the time we do.

4. Please may we have a Minister of Housing in the job long enough to learn what a trowel and spirit level are for? Over the past twenty years, we’ve had twenty-two housing ministers – twenty-three if you count the current minister who did the job before for just forty-eight days – hardly enough time for him to find his wellies, hard hat and high vis jacket.

5. Please help lower interest rates to make mortgages more affordable, especially for first time buyers.

6. In 1919 the British Government set out to build “homes fit for heroes”. After the banking crisis, Brexit and the pandemic with its difficult aftermath, please give us a UK government of whatever party with similar vision, ambition and resolve.

7. If you can’t do any of the above, please bring a bottle of whisky.

 We know you must be very busy, Santa, so we’re sorry to ask for your help with these issues. But they are important for everyone and, we have been very good estate agents this year.

Happy Christmas.

George Berry, Residential Area Manager of Durrants, explains why traditional estate agents beat an online agent every time in a tough housing market. This article was first published in the Diss Express.

With the recent implosion of certain online agents, what lessons can we learn when choosing an estate agent to market our property?

Agents often see a property instruction as merely a number that helps their target. They forget that not only is a home someone’s biggest asset but that people buy people. Looking at the house is important but giving the client time and listening to their needs is far more important. This way marketing can be tailored to ensure that clients get what they need from the service they will be paying for.

When times are tough and every penny counts, we all look where we can save money. However, ultimately, we also know that we get what we pay for and if something looks cheap it invariably is. Clothing that is made cheaply does not last and online agents offering fees that do not cover services eventually fold because it is not sustainable.

Therefore, when you are selling in a tough market you want longevity and track record. You want honest and sensible advice. However, most importantly you want a person to be there to support you through the process and not a computer that says ‘no’.

Helpful and honest advice

There is a direct correlation between price and presentation and part of the process is ensuring your chosen agent gives you honest advice – even if it may not be what you want to hear. If there are things you can do to improve first impressions, an agent can advise. This can include de-cluttering, moving furniture and even work to a garden. As a vendor you want to get the best price you can and equally the agent wants to achieve this for you. It is therefore essential you can work together. Linked to this is having an agent that will give you accurate and honest feedback from viewings as there maybe factors you can change.

An agent with an office at the heart of a community where you can walk in and chat about your home is more important now than ever. Post-Covid we have all become used to life on Zoom but when it comes to our biggest asset we need the tangibility of someone being there. We all strive to be part of a community and often the biggest one is where we live. Choosing an agent that is already central to that community can immediately make you feel more settled.

Working creatively

In a very short space of time, relatively speaking, we have seen a big change to the property market. The rise in interest rates has caused buyers to pause but like any point in time there are people that still need to buy and sell for a variety of reasons and the three D’s of death, divorce and debt is always present in any market.

The issue we are finding is from seeing many buyers in proceedable positions, we are now seeing buyers needing to sell. As a result, the market has become all about chain building. You need an agent that can think creatively and put links together. That is never going to happen with an online agent. You need someone that will listen to a buyer’s requirements and find them the house they did not realise they wanted.

Our Building Consultancy division has ‘From Concept to Completion’ as their motto. However, I would argue this can be applied to every aspect of a client’s property needs and your chosen agent should always be thinking about this through every step of the process.

When you are considering who to use when selling your home, think about the bigger picture and everything involved, not just the price and fee.

Catch up with the latest property news in George’s Diss Express column next month.

Dominic Parravani of Durrants explains why the autumn property market will throw up plenty of opportunities for positive buyers and sellers.

Some people think that an aircraft touching down on a runway is a landing while others regard it as a controlled crash. There are different ways at looking at most things.
 
Take the word strike for instance. The word is in the news at the moment as thousands of key public service workers down tools and walk out. Estate agents on the other hand urge buyers and sellers to strike while the iron is hot.
 
The press is telling everyone that the property market is flat at the moment while many property professionals like us think it is brim full of opportunities. There may be fewer properties for sale than there were, but new ones are entering the market all the time.  This is because some people’s circumstances mean that house moves need to be made immediately; they are unable to wait for a change in the market.
 
A seller’s need to sell and a buyer’s need to buy are often regarded as two separate things. But looked at another way each requirement satisfies the other by offering both seller and buyer a positive solution to their individual needs. Good estate agents look for these perfect opportunities and then offer seller and buyer the chance to strike when the time is right.
 
Some of our competitors also tell us this market is dead and they have little to do. Conversely we are as busy as always as we see life in every market. 

Dominic Parravani of Durrants highlights a potential spanner in the works within any property negotiation. 

Sticking to principle in a property deal is all very well, but there comes a time when principle can become more about scoring points than reaching a fair compromise.

Ask any estate agent who’s been in the job for some years, and they will unhappily recount stories of property negotiations jeopardised by one party or the other risking the deal over misguided principle.

Surprisingly, often the most frustrating risks are not negotiating the price of bricks and mortar but carpets, curtains and other belongings. Estate agents frequently spend far longer negotiating the prices of items such as these than the price of the property that may be worth millions.

Perhaps this is because most people, unlike estate agents, aren’t used to dealing with amounts in their hundreds of thousands or more, and the cost of curtains is easier to haggle over. Sadly, the haggling sometimes ends up becoming a point of principle between buyers and sellers and therefore disproportionately pivotal in the negotiation.

We always advise buyers and sellers to avoid getting hung up over items in a property sale. These items can sometimes sweeten a deal for sellers, and they can be helpful for buyers, but both parties should keep their eyes on the main prize.

A property sale or purchase is fundamental to the whole project, which is to move.  It would be most unfortunate if an otherwise acceptable deal were to fail over the cost of a second-hand refrigerator.

Dominic Parravani of Durrants compares a new BBC TV series on estate agency with real life.

The BBC will broadcast a new reality show called Crazy Rich Agents on BBC2 at 9pm, Sunday 6^th August. The series is designed to focus on high-end estate agency in the UK.

The producers aim to showcase a more American way of selling and buying properties – a high pressure, high energy and high risk way. But the first thing viewers of the series should bear in mind is that sales commission in the USA is about 6%. So, in addition to high pressure, energy and risk one should add high cost.

Another fundamental point that the producers of Crazy Rich Agents might have overlooked is that you cannot ‘pressure sell’ property in the UK.

You can’t persuade a buyer to say yes and then get them to sign on the dotted line. For one thing, it is currently taking between 16 and 20 weeks to exchange contracts – giving buyers all the time in the world to change their minds and pull out with no penalty and no loss of deposit.

Perhaps when the property market is on fire there is an urgency to get things done quickly. But in a market which has recently been doused by a large bucket of cold water through interest rate and cost of living rises, most savvy buyers know they have the upper hand and the pressure is off.  

UK estate agency doesn’t work on the will of the agent, but the often opposing desires of buyers and sellers: the agents’ job is to negotiate compromise to achieve a mutually agreeable end. Another worry is that the producers and agents of the new series may overlook the most important attribute of any estate agent – discretion.

Ask NatWest’s ex-chief executive, Alison Rose, how a momentary lack of discretion worked out for her.

Crazy Rich Agents won’t lift the lid on how things are done in the UK. For that we invite you to visit us in any of our five branches, where you won’t meet apparently inexperienced negotiators with a habit of using inappropriate language while looking for the main chance and grabbing 15 minutes of fame.

Instead you’ll find sensible, agreeable, friendly people with your best interests at heart. As likely as not they will also be born and bred in the area, so they have a huge amount to give in experience and local knowledge. Nor do our team treat properties as commodities but as people’s much loved and valuable homes.

That is the difference between a reality show and real life.