Agencies & People
News covering the businesses, activities, people and personalities in estate agency and letting agency and wider residential property industry.
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Land and New Homes Network Grows
A fast growing network which brings estate agents and house builders together has moved into new offices with a long term plan to turn them into a hub for high calibre businesses related to the property industry.
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Fenn Wright Acquires Thorntons
Independently owned East Anglian estate agency Fenn Wright has acquired the respected, Sudbury based, Thorntons for an undisclosed fee.
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Purplebricks Australia ‘growing’
Michael Bruce, CEO, Purplebricks, says that its launch into Australia has had a fantastic start.
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Why did Northwood withdraw circular that used commonly-used Rightmove data?
Franchise network agent Northwood GB, which was acquired by rival Belvoir in June last year, has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making an unsubstantiated claim in a circular it distributed to clients, even though the information is widely available elsewhere. Northwood had stated within it: “Did you know that between Christmas Day and 1st working day in January last year Rightmove had a 195% increase in their visits to their website”. The complainant challenged whether this claim could be substantiated and, after the ASA contacted Northwood, was told the circular had been withdrawn and the matter was resolved informally. Links to the circular on the company’s Facebook page have also been taken down. “We told them to ensure in future, they held robust substantiation information for any claims made in their advertising,” the ASA said. Northwood’s reluctance to substantiate the claim is odd, given that the ‘195% increase’ statistic has been repeated in several local newspapers including the Hampshire Chronicle, and is therefore likely to have been based on a Rightmove press release. Also, Northwood is not the only agent in the UK to have repeated the ‘195% increase in visits’ claim. Hamptons International (see left)…
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Which? says over-pricing costs vendors £4.3bn a year
Consumer champion organisation Which? has launched a scathing report on sales agents that will make painful and probably infuriating reading for many. Its research found that of the 370,000 property sales it looked at between October 2105 and September 2016, one in five had been heavily reduced in price between asking and final agreed price, and that the optimistically-valued properties sold more slowly and for less. More controversially, Which? says online-only and hybrid agents sold more homes that hadn’t been reduced in price compared to traditional agents. Also, Which? says its data suggests overvalued properties take 64 days longer to sell than the rest, and that properties that start out over-priced don’t generally later achieve a higher one than an ‘uninflated’ one. The best-performing agents across the UK for selling above the asking price are also revealed, as are those Which? says are the ‘worst’. In London these include Fine & Country, James Pendleton, EasyProperty, Camerons Stiff & Co, Watson Bull & Porter, Faron Sutaria, Chestertons and Marsh & Parsons. Outside London it includes Redferns in the SW, Nick Tart in the West Midlands, Boxall Brown & Jones in the East Midlands, Aldreds in the East of England, Whitegates in…
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As Connells’ new homes and mortgages businesses boom, what’s its magic formula?
Connells appears to have blown the Brexit cobwebs off its business following two key announcements. The company says that last year its network of offices, which includes Connells and Sequence branded branches, recorded a six per cent rise in new homes instructions and a five per cent increase in exchanges compared to 2015. It also says its 40-strong land team has increased returns from its land department by a third in 2016 and that it is optimistic about this year. “The fundamentals of the market remain strong – there is continued appetite for land to meet the demand for new homes, a pro housebuilding and pro homeownership Government in place, buyer incentives and good, competitive finance available,” says Connells Group Land Director Roger Barrett (pictured, left). “This, alongside the steady growth in new homes supply from national, regional and local house builders, will see a buoyant market where we will experience further growth in the total number of new homes sales in 2017.” It’s mortgage business has also been doing well and in 2016 recorded a 10% increase in the number of mortgages its arranged for customers compared to 2015, generating a loan book of £10.3 billion. One surprising figures from…
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Hunters’ expansion plans continue with Cotswolds opening
Hunters have opened in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, adding to their fast expanding network.
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London agent starts Airbnb letting service for landlords
Eighteen-branch London agent Portico has launched an Airbnb letting management service specifically for landlords as the number of hosts in the city approaches the 50,000 mark. Managing director Robert Nichols (pictured) says that despite the 90-day limit introduced by the San Francisco-based company, even “seasoned landlords are coming round to the fact that a combination of Airbnb and traditional tenancy will maximise their return on investment,” he says. Portico, which was launched in 2015 and replaced existing brands Edmund Cude and Bushells, says there are now 48,017 active Airbnb hosts in London and that the average two-bedroom flat there generates £2,226 a month based on a 70% occupancy rates. Portico claims its service will be able to achieve even higher occupancy rates for clients of up to 80%, and that landlords can expect to receive a booking within a week of listing on the site. Average day rates for Airbnb properties in London range from £65 a day in Bexley to £224 a day in Westminster. Portico is stepping into controversial waters – many agents and city housing professionals see Airbnb as a threat to supply within the existing private rental market, and several councils including Westminster have made their…
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Brum, brum! Fine & Country revs up branch expansion with new Birmingham branch
Fine & Country has opened a new office in Birmingham’s prestigious shopping location, The Mailbox.
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Haughton Warburton Launches Resi Division
One of Manchester’s longest standing commercial and industrial property agencies - Haughton Warburton has responded to market demands and launched Haughton Warburton Residential.
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