THE UK housing market remained in a strong position in July compared to the previous year, despite the traditional summer dip in activity.
Despite July and August traditionally marking one of the lower points of the year for estate agents, t
he average agent sold nine properties last month, according to new figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).That is compared to six the same time last year, and ten in June 2009. 22 per cent of last month’s sales were made to first time buyers.
The NAEA’s July market report, released today, also revealed that the number of house hunters is increasing – with 100 more people registering to look for property with each agent than at the same time last year. On average, an agent had 292 house hunters registered in July, compared to 192 in July 2008 and 290 in June 2009.
Supply of houses remains low this year, with 59 properties available at each branch. This means that there are five registered house hunters for every property available.
President of the NAEA, Gary Smith, said: “Estate agents expect a drop in activity over the summer months, but there is no doubt that the market is in a considerably stronger position than a year ago.
“Agents sold more in July than in any month last year. That is concrete evidence that the housing market, while not recovered, has potentially been through the worst.
“It is now up to the Government and the banks to lead the way. The NAEA will continue to lobby hard for responsible lending from the banks and effective Government policy to ensure that they do.”
Ocean Cafe 5 Star Excellence
If having a name for serving the best tapas in the city wasn't enough, Ocean Cafe Head Chef Stuart Seth has launched an all new A La Carte menu which is proving to be a huge hit. Stuarts wonderful interpretation of the Mediterraean menu has dishes from both land and sea including Moroccan Lamb Tangine, Paella a la Valencia, Roast Hake, Arroz de Prima Vera and Calamares Sevilliana. The usually hard to please food critic from Venue magazine has awarded Ocean with 5 stars across the board with the food, service and atmosphere all getting top honours. Ella Harris, the Cafe Manager knows only too well how it is not just the food that does the talking. "My team and I are passionate about providng a really comfortable and friendly dining experience. Some restuarant can be so stuffy and formal, we hope that our laid back approach suits the very laid back menu, but we are always on hand to answer questions about he food or suggest a perfect wine to compliment your choices". BOOKINGS 0117 946 9825
Changes to Home Information Packs Law
From 6th April 2009 the rules regarding Home Information Packs (HIPS) are changing. Currently, as long as a HIP is ordered a property can go onto the market. After the 6th April the vast majority of the pack must be available before marketing can commence. This includes the Energy Performance Certificate. Choosing a HIP supplier is now going to become as important as choosing your estate agent. With many of the budget HIP suppliers found on the internet, they rely on subcontracting the EPC work to outside firms. They cannot guarantee when the EPC will be done or more importantly available to put in the HIP. Ocean have their own dedicated team of Energy Performance Inspectors working exclusively for us. In conjunction with them, Ocean have their own team of property lawyers including a HIP expert. By having a dedicated team of HIPs professionals working for our clients we can ensure a property reaches the market in the shortest possible time. To find out more about OceanHIP, just call Ocean Property Lawyers on 0117 9166600
Mortgage lending rises 3x higher than expected
Mortgage lending for the month of December rose 3 times faster than expected. The Bank of England said that 1.903 Billion pounds was lent, compared to 834 million pounds a month earlier. 31,000 mortgages were approved during this period. The figures echo evidence reported by Ocean, who have seen a marked upturn in activity since returning from the Christmas break.
New Office for 2009
January 2009 has seen the latest of our lettings offices open for business on the busy Shirehampton High Street. Having acquired the premises over 2 years ago and running a successful residential sales operation during that time, we noticed a big gap in the market for a high quality lettings service. "BS11 does not have its own dedicated letting agency, which seems ludicrous for such an exciting area" says Chris Mclaughlin, Senior Manager at Ocean. Local landlords have had to use agents in Clifton, Portishead and even Almondsbury to try and find a tenant. Now Ocean Letting and Management will be offing a full range of services from let only right the way through to full management, 6 days per week on the High Street. The lettings operation will be run by a local Shirehampton Resident, Lisa Weaver who has already experienced high demand despite only being open for 2 days. Call Lisa on 0117 916 0066 for a Lettings valuation if you are a landlord or contact her if you are looking for a home and she will be more than happy to help.
We have moved home too!
Moving home can release a whole set of emotions. On one hand there is the excitement of the new place and new neighbours but on the other hand is the natural sadness associated with leaving your previous happy home. No one understands this more than Ocean, Southville’s leading independent estate agent. Having been a fixture on North Street since 1983, ocean themselves are moving.
Ocean have acquired a local landmark to make their new home and have given a once tired corner of North Street the Ocean facelift treatment. The old Plaza cinema on the corner of North Street and Raleigh Road will become oceans latest and biggest office, incorporating their sister company Ocean Letting and Management. Ocean are taking estate agency in BS3 to another level with state of the art air conditioned offices, a relaxed “contemplation area”, LCD window advertising and an huge projector displaying all our properties on the Big Screen and staying true to the cinematic roots of the building.
Chris and his first class team have moved to the new branch towards and look forward to showing you around it and all the other homes that they will be marketing. Lucy Kilby, the lettings manager will also be on hand with her years of experience to advise on the finer details of letting your home and to explain how the ocean “menu” of letting services works.
Investment in Bristol
The Ministry Of Defence has announced that it will be expanding its operations in Bristol and moving jobs to an enlarged Abbey Wood. The total number of staff at the site will increase from 6,000 to more than 10,000.
House price to rise by 25%
The average house price in England will rise by 25 per cent over the next five years to reach £274,700, despite fears of a housing market crash – according to a new report published today by the National Housing Federation.
The document – researched by independent economists Oxford Economics – forecasts that house prices will fall in 2009, start to recover in 2010, and then rapidly increase from 2011.
The paper, entitled Home Truths 2008, says that house prices will increase by:
5.2 per cent in 2011
9.2 per cent in 2012, and
9.3 per cent in 2013 – with the typical price at the end of the period being well above the average in 2007 of £222,600.
In the short to mid term, it says house prices will:
Fall by 2.1 per cent in 2009, and
Increase by 1.3 per cent in 2010.
The report also states that while demand is growing, supply of new housing is falling, with only 75 per cent of the new homes required being built each year.
Ocean Property Lawyers Moving home
Ocean Property Lawyers, a sister company of Bristol's leading independent estate agent, Ocean Home, has aquired new premises on the Gloucester Road, next door to the estate agency. The lawyers who, on average help 1000 people a year move home, have given up their old premises on the Gloucester Road and have taken up residence in new, larger, state of the art offices at number 199 Gloucester Road. Jon Aldous, director, says "due to our increasing workload and to allow us to offer more services such as Home Information Packs, we have invested heavily in a once derelict building, giving it the Ocean treatment. We now can accommodate our larger team and have dedicated meeting rooms for our clients plus a Home Information Pack processing centre." Ocean are also pleased to announce that Kirstie Wilkins has been promoted to director of the conveyancing company, having worked within the Ocean group for 12 years.
Bristol is top city for home movers
Bristol has been named as the most popular destination for prospective homebuyers, according to research by email4property.co.uk. The city has recieved more interest than any other destination in the UK. Records taken from their site over the past six months have shown that Bristol, on average, has received over 10,000 more online searches for property each month than any other city.
A large number of young professionals are now either choosing to move to the city, or opting to stay after university to take advantage of the thriving local economy and opportunities within the many financial, technical and creative industrys.