As of today the coalition government has suspended the use of Home Information Packs (HIPS) by home sellers.

The Housing Minister Grant Shapps comments “Today the new government is ensuring that Home Information Packs are history. By suspending the Home Information Packs today it means that home sellers will be able to get on with marketing their home without having to shed out hundreds of pounds up front. We are committed to greener housing so from now on all that will be required will be the simple Energy Performance Certificate”. The packs have been suspended with immediate effect pending primary legislation for a permanent abolition.

The ombudsman for estate agents of whom we are proud to subscribe has recently undertaken some independent research into agent’s clients to find out more about the profession and ultimately and most importantly what customers think of the standards.

Customers were then asked whether they would recommend the services of that particularly agent to their friends. A scale was used from 0 to 10 with 0 being outraged through to 10 being delighted. Our independently compiled results are as follows:



The slogan that the ombudsman has used is ‘don’t take our word for it, see what our customers say’. Needless to say we are absolutely delighted with our results which we feel are testament to the hard work and care that our whole team put in to Sparks Ellison on a daily basis. Complete independent verification of the way your business acts and deals with its customers we feel is an excellent way for the public to select a provider of that chosen service. Ombudsman member firms agree to follow the ombudsman for estate agents code of practice for residential sales, which has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading consumer codes approval scheme.

Is the tide turning for the property market in Chandlers Ford?

We are delighted to announce that an unbelievable level of sales have been agreed in the first few days of trading in March. Within the first 11 days we have agreed a staggering 16 sales, which cumulatively add up to nearly £4,000,000 worth of property. Since the beginning of the year activity levels in general have been high, with an excellent number of new buyers registering looking and over 900 viewings conducted. Due to this incredible number of sales we need to replenish the stock of homes for sale and would very much welcome the opportunity of discussing your plans for moving if you are thinking of selling.

It is no secret that the housing market toughened in 2008 and that it has become harder to sell property.

In this tougher market anyone wishing to sell their property needs to make sure they choose the right agent, an agent that has a proven track record for selling property in their local area. There is plenty of choice when it comes to choosing an agent and all agents will make claims about how good they are. At Sparks Ellison we believe actions speak louder than words and we have conducted the board count below to show customers how likely they are to sell their property depending on the agent they choose. 1. Sparks Ellison 23 sold boards, 62.2% market share. 2. Austin & Wyatt 6 sold boards, 16.2 % market share, 3. Goadsby 4 sold boards, 10.8 % market sharre, 4. Morris Dibben 2 sold boards 5.4% market share, =5. Alexander Keen 1 sold board 2.7% market share, =5. Fox & Sons 1 sold board 2.7% market share, 7. Jonathan Rees 0 sold boards 0% market share, Total sold boards 37.

Firstly may we wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2009.

At the time of writing this brief comment on Monday January 5th, things have already started in a very busy fashion. Already in only 3 days over 40 viewings have been arranged on the properties that we have for sale, over 30 new buyers have been registered looking for a new home and many appointments have been booked for us to carry out market appraisals on fresh properties that will be coming to the market in the coming weeks. The end of 2008 proved very productive as well. Evidence of this was that in a single week just before Christmas, we agreed the sales of 6 properties that we wouldn’t have normally seen even on the back of a very strong housing market. We are also delighted to announce that we have added a new member of staff to the team here and have taken on Connor Doswell as a trainee negotiator. Connor is a very polite and articulate young man, who will be a credit to our office and whose family has been connected with the property world in Southampton for many years. We felt the time was right to afford an opportunity to a young trainee, with the situation bearing all the hallmarks of when Adam started in the business as a sixteen year hold back in 1986 and joined a local firm of estate agents as a trainee in Chandlers Ford. We are excited at the prospect of being able to train and coach Connor in the correct way, with a structured learning programme and he will shortly be embarking on his National Association of Estate Agents qualifications. Therefore we enter 2009 in an exceptionally positive frame of mind and very much look forward to helping you with the sale or purchase of a property in the coming weeks.

Welcome to the second quarter edition of Property Matters 2008. Despite the growing doom and gloom we are continuing to show that transactions are still holding up.

So far this year we have sold over 100 properties, conducted over 2000 viewings and listed over 150 properties for sale on the market. We are delighted to report that our market share has continued to grow due largely to the ability of our team. When things get tough you need the best, and whilst marketing material is vital, the quality and experience of your team is at the heart of success and results. The other essential agreement is honesty and integrity which were the blue print for our business when it opened and remain strong values today. This advice we feel is particularly important when pricing a property, discussing market conditions and the condition of the property for sale. The upside to the slow down, is that the industry will be cleaned up, become more streamlined and be left with quality players and a more professional image. In recent weeks the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and National Association of Estate Agents conducted an independent report into the industry. What came from this were strong recommendations that a basic qualification must be taken by everyone, similar to in the US where you need a licence to practice. It is also recommended that it become compulsory to be a member of a regulatory body, all of which we wholeheartedly support. Many of you may have noticed that the Southern Property Advertiser is not being delivered to your door anymore, sadly with newspaper advertising becoming a thing of the past. When you analyse it the adverts are at least a week old when they are published and only offer a snapshot of what is on the market with limited information. Go on line these days and you get all the information that you could ever wish at your finger tips, with lots of photographs, floor plan’s and room measurements relating to every property that is on the market, not just the minority. Many months ago we could foresee this happening which is why we invested heavily in our own website, www.sparksellison.co.uk and continue to support heavily rightmove.co.uk. Traditionally the summer months can cause a slow down in property transactions, although we feel that current business levels could be maintained, due largely to the fact that the people already on the market, or looking to move are motivated or have to move due to personal reasons. It is fairly obvious that property values since this time last year have fallen, although we would stress that this is relative and applies to every sector of the market, regardless of price range of location. If you are therefore looking to trade up market, we continue to emphasise that there are savings to be made and at present a good stock of property to choose from. All in all despite the fact that the first six months trading has at times proven to be hard going, we are exceptionally pleased with our results, and would like to thank all of our customers that have transacted business with us.

Major American banks collapsing, base rate cuts but lending rates increase, squeeze on lending, prices falling, uncertainty, forecast not good.

What a cheery start to the second edition of Property Matters in 2008. Ironically as we are writing this article on Monday April 21st, we have just agreed eleven sales last week. These figures represent a fantastic week in a buoyant property market, let alone what is supposedly a flatter one. It is fair to say as we commented last time, there are some real issues regarding the economy and world financial markets. As we speak, the Bank Of England are hatching a plan to underpin the mortgage market and ease the burden of trying to obtain a mortgage at a better interest rate. We firmly believe that this will have a very positive effect on the market. It was welcome news that at the Bank of England’s meeting at the beginning of April interest rates were dropped to 5%, although unfortunately as yet this has not been passed on by the lenders and if anything some of their mortgage rates have increased. There is widespread talk of a further reduction in the base rate in May to 4.75%, which coupled with the government and Bank Of England plan, could offer some encouragement and positive news. There are undoubtedly still a good number of motivated buyers and sellers, although what is clearly evident is that properties are having to sell at a realistic price in order to get people moving. This is not to say that you have to give your property away, far from it, some of the prices that we have been achieving have been excellent and only this week two of the properties that we have sold have had more than one bidder, which is hardly the sign of a very weak housing market. We are finding that as the market has got tougher our market share has improved further still, as there is wide spread public recognition that a very good quality agent, with experienced motivated staff, will be required in order to achieve a result. It is fair to say that in a fast moving market poor quality service can still sell the house, albeit probably at a lesser figure and with more hassle. Inside Property Matters are some interesting facts and figures which highlight our results. The other positive thought is that if you are looking to purchase a property at an increased value then the gap has narrowed. For example, if you are selling a property at £200,000 and looking to buy a property at £300,000 and you are achieving 10% less then you are infact £10,000 better off. In tougher times as a business, you can also take one of two views and that is cut back, or invest to improve. In recent weeks we have clearly invested in our business, with a re-brand, new website, improved property particulars and further advertising, all in an attempt to enhance our level of service and ability to achieve results for our customers. Once again we would urge you to ideally, completely ignore the media, however at times there seems no escape from their constant negative talk. If it were not for the media then we firmly believe that people would feel better about the economy and their own position. The danger is that we talk ourselves into a recession. We firmly believe that whilst the property market is a tough place, there is light at the end of the tunnel and that whilst we still have motivated buyers and sellers, transactions will still take place. Hopefully with the lighter evenings, better weather, further interest rate cuts and who knows possibly even less negative media coverage, things will improve further still. However, one thing will always remain certain in that Sparks Ellison will adopt an exceptionally positive and pro-active approach to everything we do.

It hardly seems possible that it is three months now since launching the first edition of ‘Property Matters’ our quarterly newsletter for local people offering news and views on the local market, topics and events.

Undoubtedly, the final quarter of 2007 proved to be a tough experience for anyone trying to move and connected with the property industry. Talk of the Northern Rock crisis, sub prime lending and global credit crunch and the effects that they may have on the world economy and financial markets, once again played a significant factor in customer confidence, together with the implementation of HIPS. However, we are of the very strong opinion that whilst these issues are real and exist, they are not the main reason for the down turn in market activity in the final quarter. Once again, we are afraid that the media have sensationalised these stories and with their very negative portrayal of what events are occurring, have caused more panic than necessary and indecision amongst potential buyers and sellers. Whilst the final quarter of 2007 saw a changing market place, we at Sparks Ellison were equipped to deal with this through our knowledge and experience and still managed to create some excellent results. Undoubtedly the Bank of England’s decision to reduce the base rate from 5.75% to 5.50% came as welcome relief and saw the first drop in interest rates since August 2005. It is also encouraging that many analysts are predicting further base rate cuts over the coming months, which we feel will have an extremely positive effect on people’s confidence and decisions to move. Since returning from the Christmas and New Year break on January 2nd, there has been an immediate upturn in the level of enquiries from both buyers and sellers, which is also particularly encouraging. House prices in the final quarter of 2007 in Chandlers Ford edged down slightly in line with the general pattern across the UK, but fortunately in Chandlers Ford not to the extent of many other locations. Chandlers Ford remains an extremely sought after location with excellent communication links, schooling and pleasant neighbourhoods. It is vitally important that you continue to update the value of your home in light of changes in market conditions and as a business we are only too pleased to come and see you, even if you are not thinking of moving immediately. Looking ahead for 2008, we are extremely optimistic about the market in general, particularly if we see further cuts in interest rates in the first quarter. House prices we feel will stabilise with no real movement either way, with an upturn in supply and demand being seen. We would like to wish you a happy and prosperous New Year and hope that we can be of service to you during 2008.