One of our newest clients called today to let me know they had been chased by one of the other agents she’d had out to value. When told she did not intend to use them and had in fact appointed us, she was rather surprised at their response. Apparently the best they could come up… Read More
Online agents haven’t been much of a factor in the Bath property market in the past and, despite massive advertising campaigns, the biggest players in this sector still have less than 2.5% market share in the city (less than half of what they would claim in other areas of the country). Like many agents, in… Read More
Has Rightmove become the new Tinder? Are we treating property apps like dating apps? Swipe. Match. Chat. Swipe. Match. Buy? I recently met an applicant who had phoned into the office and booked to see two properties that had caught his eye. Whilst on the viewings, it transpired that these houses wouldn’t suit him at… Read More
When is a property sold? City investment firm Jefferies hit the headlines last week when publishing a report focussing on criticising claims made by online agent Purplebricks; Jefferies’ analysis of Purplebricks data found that it had sold 51.6pc of the homes listed in November 2016 within 10 months, versus the company’s claims that 78pc of… Read More
You’ve chosen your estate agent. The measuring and photos are done so I’d hope the next step is for your agent to send you the brochures to approve. Given the information below, they certainly should; Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents Section 7 clause J – “Prior to commencement of marketing, the written details… Read More
As we teeter on the edge of 2018, how about a bit of crystal ball gazing to see if we can predict what the Bath property market could do in 2018? Whilst we’ve been working over the Christmas period, we’ve been having quite a few conversations with present and future owners with this question at… Read More
Another year draws to a close in the Bath property market and, after collecting data on a regular basis each month, we thought it might be interesting to add all our reports together in handy graphs and look for trends which may aid 2018 sellers in planning their marketing approach. Below, you’ll find a series… Read More
Making your viewers feel welcome to your home is a team effort between you and your agent but the results are crucial to a successful sale or let. First impressions start with the photos your agent takes but there’s also the inevitable drive by inspections before viewings and then the viewings themselves. Whether you’re looking… Read More
Last week we think we’ve come across such an amazing example of marketing doublespeak, we thought it was worth sharing – the sheer chutzpah of this is almost worth admiring (although not quite at the same top level of doublespeak as certain online listing agencies advertising themselves as “proper estate agents”). The first text below… Read More
What is a proper estate agent? Right in the middle of Purplebricks’ website homepage it says they are “proper estate agents” and I wish yesterdays BBC Watchdog & Radio 4 broadcasts had picked up on this point alongside the myriad other issues highlighted. Most online agents advertising seems to suggest they are “just the same… Read More
Taking a break from property for a moment – one of our delightful owners found this whilst clearing her attic and, knowing I’d be interested in such a slice of Bath history, has allowed me to make and share a copy. Thanks to the technical genius of Ferne and the inimitable Dave Dixon at Minuteman… Read More
Estate Agent Don’ts – I was watching an “online” estate agents T.V advert again last night – that one where the cheesy smart casual presenter chap says “we do everything other estate agents do” or some such nonsense – and, apart from getting annoyed yet again about how this blatant omission of facts can… Read More
