Cornwall, Essex and Hampshire

ST. MAWES, CORNWALL

Mark Wilson, Director
H Tiddy

We found 2019 challenging but rewarding. At the year-end we were delighted with our results. We sold £20 million worth of properties in our beautiful area of Cornwall. I am sure most businesses in the UK agree that the roller coaster of Brexit uncertainty and poor economic growth, producing a lack of consumer confidence, was one of the leading issues culminating in businesses not being able to forecast from one week to the next. More property transactions failed, especially those in chains, with a direct impact on the time the transaction took from offer to exchange of contracts.

One of the main reasons for our success is our increased market share – the dominant agent with a 42.68 per cent market share on The Roseland (69 per cent in St Mawes) and a 23.03 per cent share of the market when The Cornish Riviera is included.

“Professional advice and tenacity is paramount in our success and why we are proud to be the number one agent in the area. Nearly half of the buyers last year made the lifestyle change and moved to our enchanting area, an AOB. This was an increase compared to the 40 per cent in 2018 and the 44 per cent in 2017.

POPULAR PENINSULA

In 2019, our sales on the Roseland Peninsula had an average house price of £346,810, fed by the exclusive coastal village of St Mawes, with an average house price of £851,667. Properties sold on the Cornish Riviera had an average price of £351,556. The total of all the properties sold in 2019 equated to an average of £504,073.

St Mawes was recently described in an article in the Daily Telegraph as effortlessly classic and increasingly chic. For a number of reasons and for many years the village has had an exclusive and niche property market. A strong number of estate agents who would delight at even one slice of our cake. This is one of the reasons why we never get complacent and remind ourselves very often that we are only as good as our last sale!

H Tiddy is proud to remain as the most dominant agent with a 69 per cent market share. We believe there were only four other estate agents who sold any properties in the village.

Pictured property: Gillan, St Mawes. Guide price – £1,550,000

DAGENHAM, ESSEX

Emma Wallington, Branch Manager
Brookings, Dagenham

Sitting in the heart of Dagenham, here at Brookings we specialise in sales, lettings and property management in what is considered to be the cheapest Borough of London Barking and Dagenham, with one of Europe’s largest affordable housing estates. We are positioned in Zone 5 and have access into the capital via the district line across three stations; Dagenham East, Dagenham Heathway and Becontree. We also have a C2C mainline station located in Dagenham Dock.

Our client base is mainly derived from entry-level sales, with first-time buyers being our core demographic; you will often find us at the bottom of many sale chains! The average sale price for a two-bedroom house in Dagenham is £300,000.

Whilst we mainly deal with first-time buyers and buy-to-let investors, our location also has many first-time sellers who have obtained their step onto the property ladder via a council right-to-buy offering. Therefore, to be an effective agent you need to ensure that you are well versed and able to supply extra nurture and step by step guidance throughout a property sale.

A PROMISING START

We are grateful to have a very well-established (since 2008) property management portfolio. The average rental price for a two-bedroom house is £1200.00 PCM.

Since the latest election in December 2019, our market has felt the desperately needed injection of stability. During the past two years, whilst the market continued to move forward, the impact of uncertainty from Brexit saw the days of open house viewings with thirty prospective purchasers loitering to express their interest, bidding against one another to ensure they were considered to be your best buyer.

Stamp duty changes impacted the activity of the ‘buy-to-let capital of East London’ and it became more the ‘survival of the fittest’ with estate agents having to wade through waves of that uncertainty. I am pleased that Brookings proved to be amongst those survivors.

This year has started with a promise of a very strong and proactive marketplace across both the sales and lettings department and we hope this continues throughout 2020.

Pictured property: Rodwell Place, Dagenham – rental £1,500 PCM 

PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE

Chay Ebert, Company Director
Ashbourne Estate Agents

January 2020 brought the grand opening of our Ashbourne Estate Agents Southsea office. We can now be found on a prominent corner plot on the main seafront route. An area that’s best known for its maritime history and dockyards. In the first month we had 11 instructions and sold four properties. We’re pleased with how fast properties are moving considering that there are 37 per cent more homes for sale in Portsmouth than two years ago, showing that supply is still in alignment with the local demand.

We’ve also agreed 17 tenancies in the first month. During the first week of January we carried out 39 property viewings. Comparable only to the big corporate estate agents in the area. We manage a large portfolio of professional flats and houses that range from £650 to £1100+ per month. Properties don’t stick around for long and Lets are normally agreed within 3 to 10 days of instruction from the owner or landlord. Portsmouth has not been hit by the issues in other markets, for example, London, where prices have seen a 17 per cent drop due to Brexit uncertainty. In general, we see relatively stable property market conditions in Portsmouth throughout the year. There’s a continued demand for high quality rental properties in the area, with its reliable medium to long-term investment opportunity.

STANDARDS AND ACTIVITY

As Guild Members, all of our members of staff at Ashbourne Estate Agents, undergo annual exams to cement our trading standards certification, which ensures that as a company we are conducting business to the highest standards. Our team has 10 members of staff, across two branches, in Portsmouth and Southsea.

The buy-to-let landlord activity is seeing continued momentum, as we experience low-interest rates and low employment in Portsmouth. Homeowners or landlords who are unrealistic with their pricing are advised appropriately, ensuring that properties never stay on our books for long. We expect to take on a lot more properties, both sales and lettings. It is early days, but the new branch is showing all the hallmarks of a successful venture.

Pictured property: Southsea. Guide Price – £249,995