Slow Off The Blocks & A Sprint Finish

August was a great month for sales at Coast & Country. But for every experienced estate agent, there is something a bit special about September. Every year when the children return to school and the holiday season ends, we get excited. We look forward to a flood of new instructions, high levels of sales and a rush, as Christmas approaches, to ensure completions take place. Autumn is often the best season to buy or sell.




Just like every year on the 1st September, we expect 20 instructions and 10 sales. This of course never happens. The holidays aren’t actually even over. We begin to worry and wonder. Will all the additional advertising and promotions we have planned for our clients’ homes, be a waste of time? Each year, we try to recall what exactly occurred in the twenty previous years, when we found ourselves in the self-same situation.



This year we are doing more than ever, with a view to capitalising on our position as one of the top performing offices in the area. We are doing more advertising than any other estate agency office we are aware of, as we aim to promote our clients properties beyond those of other agents. We are using extensive Internet marketing and our largest ever team is working harder and longer for our clients. This means getting results is all the more important.



During the first half of September the phone slowly began to ring more often. We received positive feedback about our increased advertising and the valuations started to roll in. Once we had the opportunity of demonstrating to potential vendors what we do that the others don’t, these valuations turned into a selection of great new instructions. Good instructions, as all property professionals know, lead to sales. So in the second half of the month as autumn officially started so did the run of sales. We think it’s likely to be a record month for us, and that’s only the beginning of the best selling part of the year. Just like most previous years September was slow off the mark and is finishing with a flourish.



Looking ahead to next year, we must remember that September has a slow start. Of course by then we will probably have forgotten again. We will be caught up in the excitement and expectation every successful sales person feels, when they know they will be cutting deals, making sales and outperforming their peers.

National Statistics V Local Experience

Recent news reports and building society statistics have suggested house prices have fallen 1.9%, between the end of June and beginning September. At Coast and Country we question the value of such information and believe negative spin relating to the mortgage market is also misleading.




These figures are based on nationally collated figures and do not take into account factors which experienced estate agents are aware of and consider in their marketing. The property market locally has remained buoyant throughout the summer and although the number of viewings has dropped slightly in July and August the quality of buyers has been high and levels of business good. This has resulted in above average sales. Why have viewings been down? School Holidays and summer vacations, just like every other year.



By taking this experience into account and applying a basic market principal of supply and demand, one can easily explain what is a minor fluctuation in the market nationally. This has little relevance in the southwest, a desirable area where people aspire to live. On a national scale slightly fewer buyers have been available for a short period, as stock of property for sale has increased. This process is has tipped the balance slightly in favour of buyers, who have on average saved around £3000. Sounds a lot, but when factor in sales where prices are in the millions and price fluctuations my have been very large, the effect on everyday properties in minimised. You are probably talking a few hundred pounds on an average home in most cases this is insignificant.



Other reports have suggested that the mortgage is “tight” and overall the amount lent out buy lenders is only increasing slowly. Here again if you dig a little deeper there is positive news. Many people in a position to do so are reducing their mortgages. This is because investment returns are considerably lower than mortgage rates and it makes sense to do so. However the total amount on loan is still rising, this means a far amount of lending must be going on. Less positive is the time it’s is taking to obtain loans currently and the strict criteria. Difficulties can often be minimised by taking good advice from independent professionals.



Looking further forward into September, where will the market be? We expect levels of viewings to peak through September and October and levels of sales to be high, with numerous pre Christmas completions. We are gearing up for the surge with more advertising and are actively seeking further instructions. Year to date we have been the top selling agent in TQ12 according to Vizzihomes and have sold stc, over 22% more properties than any other office. We expect this margin to increase during the latter part of the year as we simply do more advertising and promotion our clients homes compared with our competitors.

Summer At Coast & Country

Summer is a time sizzling hot property and focussing on the best buyer.

As summer gets under way, schools break up and families depart on annual holidays, many agents assume that the market will be quieter. Although this may traditionally have been the case, having the right attitude really gets results.

Those looking for property during the hotter months tend to be more serious. At Coast and Country these buyers are identified and maximum effort is directed to matching them with the right new homes. Those looking to sell can attract buyers by tapping into these quality buyers. The partners at Coast and Country believe that many agents rest on their laurel during July and August leading to poor results. In order to maintain their position and the top selling office in TQ12 for all of 2010, according to independent market researchers Vizzihomes, Coast and Country do the opposite, and this is delivering excellent results. Coast and Country are maintaining high levels of instructions on and a large register of quality properties, this combined with their extensive newspaper advertising and Internet marketing ensures that the maximum number of real buyers are in touch with them.

The partners in the firm believe that if things are potentially a little quieter a flight to quality occurs. Vendors instruct agents that do more and these instructions attract the highest quality buyers. The result is an increased differential between market leaders and those follow.

A New Type of Agent Arrives In Teignmouth, Dawlish & Shaldon

Coast & Country are pleased to announce the appointment of Jonathan Bryant as their Teignmouth, Dawlish and Shaldon area specialist. He will be offering a completely new style of service, which until now has been unavailable locally.

Working out of the prominent top selling office of Coast & Country Newton Abbot, but spending all his time generating instructions and sales in his designated area, Jonathon is expecting impressive results. The Coast & Country brand is already established in the area where Jonathon lives and was brought up. He has over 20 years’ experience in the property market and extensive contacts in the towns he will be servicing.

Working with the partners at Coast & Country, Jonathan has devised a progressive and innovative marketing strategy. This includes capitalising on the greater foot flow of applicants through an office with national connections in a larger town, to generate more enquiries. Focussing budgets on newspaper advertising, beyond that normally available from other agents and enhanced internet marketing to ensure maximum exposure.

The marketing package on offer from area specialist Jonathan is designed to get results and offer great value. Comprising: truly free HIPS; premium listings on Rightmove; numerous other website listings, including our own site www.cacia.co.uk; full colour advertising in the Teignmouth and Dawlish papers and the Mid Devon Advertiser and a tailored service from a dedicated professional. All this will be backed by a leading local brand for 1.75% plus vat. An additional launch discount, a reduced fee of 1.25% plus VAT including a free HIP is available to the next 3 instructions received in area of Teignmouth, Dawlish and Shaldon. This offer will apply for a limited period.


Jonathan is available for free pre-marketing appraisals and advice. Please call for further details on the dedicated line 01626 883360.

Stamp Duty & First Time Buyers

On 24th March in his budget, the Chancellor introduced relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for first time purchasers of property (who are buying their main and only home) up to the value of £250,000.

First time buyers have been defined as those who have never owned a freehold or leasehold interest in a property here or abroad. Currently SDLT is 1% for residential purchases between £125,000 and £250,000 so this could be a considerable benefit for individuals. It is our opinion that because first time buyers make up only a small part of the market, that this is more a headline catching gimmick than a serious measure.

Effectively the starting threshold for payment of SDLT for first time buyers has been raised to £250,000. This will apply to transactions with an effective date of 25th March 2010 and will last for two years.

The relief is normally claimed on a buyer’s behalf by their legal adviser as part of the standard legal work. All parties to the purchase must qualify as first time buyers for the relief to apply, but these buyers can be of any age. No retrospective relief is available.

Coast & Country Are Best Sellers!

Coast & Country remain the best selling office in TQ12, according to independent internet data analysis company Vizzihomes. We are extremely pleased to have been recognised as top sellers in the area. This is also great news for our customers as it means their properties are selling fast.

In order to meet demand, we are taking on new properties almost daily. We believe that because of our successful track record we are attracting some of the very best instructions from highly motivated vendors. This in turn attracts numerous high quality buyers.

Wherever you are selling, look for an agent who can demonstrate this cycle of success, combined with the highest quality marketing. An agent with a limited register is not likely to attract as many buyers as one with an interesting and extensive list of property for sale.

When it comes to the cost, the cheapest agent may not be able to give your home the profile it needs to get the best market price. Look for value rather than concentrating on cost and that way you will be a winner, just like our customers.

CONFIDENCE, FREE HIPS & THE BEST BUYERS

Choosing the right estate agent is always difficult. Different agents will have varying views as to the price achievable for a property. They will also offer different marketing packages, which have different costs attached to them. There can also be incidents where an agent, to gain an instruction, might inflate a valuation. This can be extremely damaging to the marketing of a property, leading to long delays in selling and potentially considerable expense. The shrewd vendor should always consider not only the valuations obtained, but also how these figures are derived. Beyond this, they need to decide whether the marketing on offer will achieve a sale at the best price available, to a qualified buyer who can actually complete their purchase.


As a professional agent with a long track record of selling success, Coast & Country draw on a wide range of sources to obtain different information relevant to the value of a property. These include the Land Registry, property portals, their own records and statistical information from major financial institutions. This information is considered in detail and made available to potential vendors in order to assist them in making the right decisions.

We advise all vendors to ensure they have seen evidence of similar properties actually selling at or near a suggested marketing price, prior to following an agent’s recommendations. If this is not forthcoming, we advise extreme caution. Common sense can also be extremely useful when assessing the accuracy of valuations. If, for instance, there are a number of detached properties for sale within an area that remain unsold, it is unlikely that a semi-detached property with similar attributes could be marketed successful unless the asking price was lower. No matter how tempting it is to think of banking that extra cash!

Coast & Country believe that we currently have one of the most attractive registers of property available locally. In part, we put this down to the fact that we offer completely free Home Information Packs. Our understanding of the current market tells us that this has benefits beyond the obvious. Vendors of course have nothing to pay upfront and know that their agent is confident that they can sell their property.

Agents who require clients to pay for Home information Packs or offer refunds upon sale are not demonstrating the same deal of commitment to getting the job done.

When an agent has demonstrated their commitment, by making a considerable investment, they would be foolish not to back this investment with the best possible marketing to ensure they get a return.

There is at least one other considerable advantage that is not immediately apparent. We believe that buyer confidence is increasing greatly. Buyers are aware that our vendors have been provided with free HIPs. They therefore assume correctly that homes offered for sale by us must be priced competitively. This attracts a large number of extremely good buyers.

Buyers who can buy with confidence make the best purchasers: this combined with accurate pricing leads to fewer complications with, for instance, mortgage valuations, and the high quality of buyers make for a greater percentage of faster sales. Vendors share this high degree of confidence and this leads to numerous completions on terms advantageous to both buyer and seller alike.

Coast & Country hunt for the CASH

With homebuyers back in the market and keen to buy, we at Coast and Country have taken the opportunity to carry out a review of the money market: the idea being to get a clear view of where the cash to fund purchases is coming from. We hope that the following information proves useful to those who are currently looking to buy or sell.

In 2007 mortgage lenders lent in excess of £350bn. By 2009 this huge figure had dropped by over 55%. It is obvious that this change in loan funds available has affected the property market. Prices dropped and the number of transactions plummeted: only established and efficient estate agencies were able to maintain sales levels and a number of agencies and lenders withdrew from the market.

Based on research in December 2009, Coast and Country established in more detail why less money was available and the sectors most affected. Buy to let lending has dropped, from £44bn in 2007 to £8bn in 2009, because lenders are only prepared to lend to experienced landlords with larger deposits. Self-certification lending was at a level of £36bn. 2 years ago, whilst non-conforming lending was around £22bn. There are currently no schemes available. The reason for this is the lenders and regulators view that this type of lending was too risky. There are also very few 95% loans available in the market, effecting first time buyers. Additionally a number of lenders including Bank of Ireland, Bradford & Bingley, Mortgage Express, Paragon and others, have withdrawn from new lending altogether. Others such as Northern Rock who lent £29bn. in 2007 drastically reduced lending and last year lent only £3bn.

All in all you would think this represents a petty bleak picture of the market. However things are improving, month by month. In November 2009 mortgage lending was twice that of the previous November. With limited mortgage funds available one might assume that selling your home would be a problem. This is not actually the case if you have the right approach. Although mortgage funds are fewer there is still over £140bn. per year being lent. A tidy sum.

Coast & Country have re aligned business as the market changed seeking quality buyers for their exciting register of property. We have maintained excellent levels of sales by simply hunting down those with access to the cash. That means quality applicants with good financial track records and established finances. As bait for the best buyers we use exceptional marketing and the very best properties, presented in the best possible light. We are able to do this because we know and understand the property market at a local and national level, and advertise and promote our company and properties in a way that really stands out.

Coast and Country Set the Scene for 2010

Pent up demand, fuelled by a financial turmoil in the banking sector and wider economy in the early part of 2009, lead to an increasing level of property sales throughout the autumn. As consumer confidence returned and homebuyers’ perception of their job security increased, demand for quality homes outstripped supply. This has lead to upward pressure on houses prices with some homes changing hands for as much as 10% more than they would have done 12 months previously.

Coast and Country were instructed on substantially more properties than most other agents offices, according to independent internet data. This has meant we can attract considerable numbers of quality buyers and has fuelled our ongoing run of successful sales. We believe that our register of highly desirable homes at realistic asking prices attract the best possible buyers, leading to quicker completions. This, in turn, attracts the vendors with the best properties to use our services, which are underpinned by the extent of our local advertising, Internet presence and national connections.

The partners at Coast and Country expect 2010 to be an interesting and exciting year for the property market, both locally and nationally. We believe that the pent-up demand will continue through the early part of the year. The increasing level of mortgage funding which is becoming available will buoy this up. Mortgage approvals rose in November to over 60,000, twice the number approved in November 2008. We expect this level to slowly increase as an effect of quantitative easing and as more lenders return to the market. We do not, however, expect levels to return to their peak for several years, as many sources of mortgage funding have dried up completely. Later in the year, with an election looming and with further potential tax increases on the cards we feel it is more difficult to be certain how the property market will perform.

Our advice is that now is a good time to make that move. We are certain that the market is currently strong. Buying or selling, there are deals to be done on advantageous terms. We are also offering their best ever marketing package, with four weeks of advertising in the Mid Devon Advertiser guaranteed, just for starters. Enhanced Internet listing. Free HIPS and attractive rates.