Kate Faulkner gives candid views on the biggest issues facing agents
The latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast sees industry expert and The Neg columnist Kate Faulkner OBE deliver her verdict on the current state of the property market.
The latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast sees industry expert Kate Faulkner OBE deliver her verdict on the current state of the property market; the ills of the home moving process; ROPA, Up-front information and the work being done by the Home Buying and Selling Group to improve the experience for all.
Since starting her career in food Kate has since become a respected commentator and consumer champion in the property industry.
COMMUNICATIONS
She has launched a property portal, worked in relocation, part exchange and new build and now runs a communications agency, helping consumers with their property projects as well as being a regular commentator for The Negotiator.
Asked for her thoughts on the current state of the market Kate is typically honest.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she tells Today’s Conveyancer. “We’re entering an economic recession with the most robust property market I have ever seen. But we have some extraordinarily tricky economic issues from inflation to mortgage rate rises and the cost of living.”
We’re looking at maybe 5-10% price falls and on the transaction front perhaps around 850,000-900,000 transactions.”
“We’re looking at maybe 5-10% price falls and on the transaction front perhaps around 850,000-900,000 transactions.”
Kate points to the continued shortage of homes as a risk for lettings which she says is going to be harder hit this year than buying and selling and the impact will be felt more on flats than houses.
VAST
“There’s this vast difference between the flat and the house market. I think the house market will carry on.
“In the past we needed first time buyers to keep the market moving but because we’ve got so many people trading down as well as trading up I’m not expecting to see the fall in first time buyers anticipated this year, to impact so much on the rest of the market.”
Since 2000 the average number of transactions annually has been 1.2m, falling as low as 600,000-650,000 during the 2008/09 recession and as high as 1.6m. It makes life difficult for all involved says Kate.
“When you want to make change and its busy it difficult because everyone’s too busy. When you want to make change and its quiet its difficult because we don’t have the people because our business has just halved.”
