On average, the typical estate agent has 74 properties on their books - more than at any time since 1999 - and that's a total of just over one million residential properties for sale in the UK at the moment. This is according to top property website Rightmove, whose latest June House Price Index is candid to say the least: asking prices have been rising for six months now, but transactional volumes are still just about half of what they were in 2007. Cautious and resourceful buyers, together with a large choice of homes on the market and tightfisted mortgage lenders lead Rightmove to call the current price rise a "romp away from reality". But why the romp?
Of course it's the fault of estate agents - it's up to them to value houses correctly, but there are, unfortunately, so many who get it wrong. Because the property industry has no requirement for qualifications or any kind of trading license, it's not surprising that there can be a lack of training and a total dearth of local market knowledge. Of course some estate agents will become hopelessly overoptimistic when it comes to assessing people's homes: we're forever hearing stories about the larger agencies overvaluing on purpose by perhaps as much as 10% of the real value, just to gain the instruction from the potential vendor purely on the basis of hope alone. And of course it's no surprise that three to four weeks later those optimistic vendors will start receiving calls on a regular basis, asking them to reduce their price. But there's another - much bigger reason for properties remaining unsold: you.
Yes, you. Because many property owners are far too precious about their homes and their worth that reality allows. They relay their uber enthusiasm to the visiting agent who, not wishing to be thrown out of the door, pretends to concur with your price, agreeing that the conservatory ceiling fan and cavity wall insulation undoubtedly makes it worth considerably more than the house next door (that sat on the market for months and did not sell). Today's property market is full of tales of the one that got away. The sale that is. The sale that didn't happen because a) the market is rubbish, b) the estate agent was rubbish and c) no one can get a mortgage. But the truth is that if property sellers allowed estate agents to tell them the truth, no matter how unpalatable it might be, then asking prices would begin to match buyer expectation, sellers would then sell to buyers that want to buy and the market would be unlock itself from its 'preciousness'.
Until then, though, vendors will hear what they want to hear and estate agents will tell vendors what they want to hear because the truth is something they're too scared to tell.
And so, as Rightmove says, we're all stuck in limbo - a limbo that shows no sign of unromping.
Of course it's the fault of estate agents - it's up to them to value houses correctly, but there are, unfortunately, so many who get it wrong. Because the property industry has no requirement for qualifications or any kind of trading license, it's not surprising that there can be a lack of training and a total dearth of local market knowledge. Of course some estate agents will become hopelessly overoptimistic when it comes to assessing people's homes: we're forever hearing stories about the larger agencies overvaluing on purpose by perhaps as much as 10% of the real value, just to gain the instruction from the potential vendor purely on the basis of hope alone. And of course it's no surprise that three to four weeks later those optimistic vendors will start receiving calls on a regular basis, asking them to reduce their price. But there's another - much bigger reason for properties remaining unsold: you.
Yes, you. Because many property owners are far too precious about their homes and their worth that reality allows. They relay their uber enthusiasm to the visiting agent who, not wishing to be thrown out of the door, pretends to concur with your price, agreeing that the conservatory ceiling fan and cavity wall insulation undoubtedly makes it worth considerably more than the house next door (that sat on the market for months and did not sell). Today's property market is full of tales of the one that got away. The sale that is. The sale that didn't happen because a) the market is rubbish, b) the estate agent was rubbish and c) no one can get a mortgage. But the truth is that if property sellers allowed estate agents to tell them the truth, no matter how unpalatable it might be, then asking prices would begin to match buyer expectation, sellers would then sell to buyers that want to buy and the market would be unlock itself from its 'preciousness'.
Until then, though, vendors will hear what they want to hear and estate agents will tell vendors what they want to hear because the truth is something they're too scared to tell.
And so, as Rightmove says, we're all stuck in limbo - a limbo that shows no sign of unromping.
About the Author:
Using High Street estate agents means paying high fees. Using eMoov, the UK's leading online estate agents instead will get your estate sold by showing it to 170 million internet users every month. No extortionate commissions, no percentage fees, no sole agency tie ins. Just a range of fixed, low cost state agents fees which might even make you begin to like estate agents again. Well, some of them.
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