North Points and Summer Selling - Island Life June 2009
As I write this I can see the Spinnaker Tower gleaming in the afternoon sunshine from our Cowes office window. So, the sun is shining and the property market seems to be lurching forward, indeed the levels of activity in the market are at levels not seen for many months. Furthermore M.Ps seem to now be the most unpopular profession ; beating traffic wardens, solicitors and estate agents into joint second place. Its a funny thing, market confidence, after all , not a lot has changed in the real world. Banks are still in trouble and reluctant to lend, interest rates remain at an all time low and the demand for houses as places to live remains linked to supply and demand. I wonder how much of it all is down to the fact that the media have stopped writing and talking about the economic downturn and are engrossed in an orgy of outrage at MPs dodgy second home allowances and expense s claims. I remain convinced that much of the fear of last year was created and heightened by that awful down-pointing arrow which appeared on the BBC news night after night after night to the sound of Robert Peston's funereal tones - I for one am glad that he appears to have gone on holiday.
I thought in this article I would suggest a few 'helpful hints' to property sellers and - dare I say - other agents to enable them to make the most of the increased activity in the property market.
We sell a lot of houses to mainland buyers and frequently they have trouble with ferries . This has three negative effects - firstly they can be put off buying on the Island altogether by missing an unbooked ferry and spending a summer Saturday on the quayside in Portsmouth - thirdly, of course, it can muck up an agent's day completely if the buyer misses a ferry and is an hour late for one of a series of tightly-scheduled appointments across the Island. Make sure that the buyer has booked a ferry and understands how long it will take to arrive . Basic stuff really. Be aware of the Isle of Wight Festival, the Bestival, Cowes Week and anything else which could cause travel chaos and perhaps suggest buyers use the passenger ferries instead and that the agent collects them.
Let your agent do their job - particularly at viewings. It helps immeasurably if your home is well-presented but don't hang around - make yourself scarce but be available for questions at the end. If you don't trust the agent to do the viewing you have chosen the wrong agent - change them. You only ever get one chance to make a first impression and that impression will not be enhanced by your chipping in about your double glazing whilst the agent is trying to show your home and to get a feel for the buyer.
A lot of agents are feeling pretty battered after last year, giving them a hard time over the lack of interest in your property is unlikely to help you to achieve results. Sit down with them, talk to them about your objectives why you are moving, how motivated you are. Are you more time-sensitive or price-sensitive. If you really do not like what you hear then talk to other agents - or consider adjusting your price.
If you do change agents then look for one who's reach is as wide as possible. Are they on Wightagents - the Isle of Wight property portal, Rightmove - the industry standard, Primelocation - a great source for top end mainland buyers? Do they have a presence in London - such as the Mayfair Office - to give greater coverage in the Capital and the National market. In these still challenging times you really do need to 'spread the net' as widely as possible to ensure that those buyers who are looking get to see your property. Popping bad photos on Rightmove and a couple of adverts in the local paper worked in 2007 - it may not work in 2009!
Remember the 'two F's' - that photographs and floorplans sell houses, in the weeks around the 21st of June even north-facing houses can be photographed with the sun on them. Nothing looks better on a house than a wisteria in full bloom in May and June (or 'Listeria' as my second son once called it). For goodness sake make sure that you have proper floorplans - its not rocket science - and make sure that these show a North point ( to orientate for morning and afternoon sun) and the gross internal floor area so buyers can compare like with like. Prompt your agent to change the photos on the particulars and on the internet and on the sales particulars. This keeps the property looking fresh and stops it giving a stale impression.
Talking about North Points, I was reminded the other day of a viewing I once did at a big house on the sea shore in Seaview. The viewer had specified emphatically that she wanted Seaview and that she wanted sea views from all windows. This house fitted the bill and her budget perfectly. She walked though the door and immediately exclaimed that she could not possibly buy this house as it faced North! (somewhat inevitable, I suppose, with houses with sea views in Seaview). Of course I politely said that I understood perfectly, though perhaps secretly thinking of Basil Fawlty ranting at that poor deaf woman "And what did you expect to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically over the plains ...?" And yes, there was a North point on our floorplan!
