Estate agents appear to be in agreement that a little more stock has come on to the market, owing to the HIP (home information Pack) being put on hold, along with the elections and budgets having been announced. Domestic buyers in Central London still appear to be a ghost of the past, although those whom have held on as long as they can are now looking to move- those with expanding families for example who look to have their move accomplished before the start of the next school term.

Overall however, there is still a general consensus that the right property at the right price and in the right location is still being snapped up at an alarming rate. With HIP’s on hold, it is now more difficult for buyers to ensure that they are getting in through every door. It is hugely time consuming to ‘become friends’ with all of the agents in any one area in London, and therefore buying agents are finding that more clients are coming to them with the hope that they will enable them to get in through these doors. Stacks London has been very successful in this area recently and continues to be. It takes many years of building business relationships and also knowing exactly how to ensure that everything is in the right place to secure any purchases, and having a good buying agent with experience, knowledge and also the contact lists is imperative in finding the correct property and being ahead of the game.

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville or Sara Ransom on the e-mail addresses or telephone numbers above.

Over the last month, overseas and domestic purchasers and vendors, have all held their breath whilst the results of the election and also of the economic crisis in Greece had yet to be revealed. There was a severe lack of new stock coming to the market and overseas clients chose to hold out until they could see where sterling would establish itself. We are now already feeling a sense of relief from all sides, with overseas investors continuing to perceive the London market as having good potential growth, and also gradually more properties coming to the market as home owners seek to make a move over the summer months in order to be settled in time for Autumn.

The last quarter has also seen a stabilising of rental yields, with a general consensus across most estate agents that a gross yield of  approximately 4% should be considered reasonable at this time.

Therefore we expect a busy summer market ahead, with overseas investors continuing to take advantage of the weaker sterling, and domestic buyers gradually having realised some of the equity in their properties therefore enabling them to make the onward purchase. This has been encouraged by gradually relaxing bank lending policies.

At Stacks London, we feel that more property will continue to come to the market over the next few months, therefore releasing the bottle neck which currently grips the prime central London market. However, whilst we do not see enough new stock coming to the market to satiate current demand, we do believe that prices should settle a little more with only slight rises of 2%-3%towards the end of the year.

If you would like expert and experienced help and advice during these difficult times and in order to be more confident of where and how to proceed with your purchase, please do not hesitate to contact the Stacks London office on 0207 3854101. Or London@stacks.co.uk

Whilst buyers are having to be understandably cautious, due largely to vendors asking high prices and speculating the market. There are still many instances of ‘sealed bids’ and even ‘gazumping’ across London.  Agents are cautious however as to how much this will increase prices- most suggest 5%-10% maximum by the end of the year as the prices become less tempting for the foreign buyers, and only those buyers with large deposits are able to obtain attractive mortgage rates.

The Bank of England has again held interest rates to encourage growth in other financial sectors of the country, which will hopefully encourage banks to become more competitive with their lending. Although this is unlikely to change radically in the near future, particularly with the looming general election.

We maintain the necessity of using a buying agent  in order to view properties as soon as they come on to the market, and to know what and how to offer. Stacks London has a well established network of contacts across the industry as well as the knowledge on how to negotiate on our clients behalf and put them in the strongest position to buy and to secure properties throughout this turbulent time.

If you have any questions or would like any information about our services, please do not hesitate to contact Adam Keville or Sara Ransom on 020 7385 4101 or London@Stacks.co.uk

Buyers are still proceeding with caution, particularly after price rises in the last 6 months despite a still fragile economy. Stacks London are becoming increasingly important to buyers, as agents offer properties which are not yet on to the market- giving our clients an advantage.  It is also key to have the correct advice on the area, the price and buying a property which has as many positive points as possible in order for future re-sale to be as un-compromised as possible.

However, we still recommend proceeding with caution- the estate agents are having to be highly competitive in order to win their instructions, therefore causing the asking prices to be inflated further. The next few weeks will be vital in order to ascertain whether these prices will be sustainable, or in fact a little caution from buyers will level the rises slightly.

Finding the time to view properties at the moment, appears to be another reason for clients to come to buying agents with it being the beginning of the year and many people having particularly large workloads, it can be very frustrating finding the time to view properties which then do not fit the criteria previously outlined to the agents.

If you are finding it hard to fit in the viewings around work, or that you are not managing to view properties in time, or if you are finding that you are not sure of the area you are looking in, then this may be the moment to employ a buying agent who can help advise and manage your complete search for you.

For any enquiries, please contact either Adam Keville  or Sara Ransom on 020 7385 4101 or London@Stacks.co.uk

Potential receivers of city bonuses are beginning to speculate the market, with a view to buying in the New Year once the figures have been released.  There is a general feeling amongst buyers that there might well be an increase of property throughout the market for 2010 which traditionally has been the case. There is very little to indicate that this will necessarily be the case according to the estate agents. With a large majority of estate agents continuously  having to fight for instructions , it is likely that the prices may be inflated  further, and therefore proceeding with caution will be an essential part of considering offering  and purchasing during the first couple of months of 2010.

We hope that outside influences such as a continued fall in inflation, mortgage lending become a little easier, and some recovered equity in property will begin to reassure buyers and are likely to bring more buyers but also more property to the market.

To summarise, it is likely that there will be a continued rise unless there is a deluge of stock to the market , but it is unlikely that this will be at the same rate as we have seen in the last 6 months. Our advice as always,  to proceed with caution ensuring that the correct and professional advice has been sought.

If you would like any advice on purchasing a property in London or would like to have thorough professional and experienced advice and representation on your purchase, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville or Sara Ransom either by e-mail, or on the telephone numbers above.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our clients and prospective clients a very happy Christmas and a successful New Year.

With companies such as Nationwide reporting that prices are now back to the levels of September 2008 (rises of approximately 0.9% across the country in the last month) and the average home price now standing at £161,816, it appears that this is bringing even more buyers who wish to speculate fu to the market. Key estate agents are also reporting increases of as much as 1% in August bringing prices 6% higher than they were in March of this year (widely considered to be the lowest point of the market)

However, we are still cautious as to how far these price rises will go and for how long. The economy is still extremely fragile with the continuation of reported redundancies in the city, and un-employment still rising. Therefore we believe it is even more important that our clients are fully updated and that we inform as to what is happening in the market place and where the values lie. This ensures that our buyers do not get carried away in bidding frenzies which are now common place in some of the prime residential properties.

The most pertinent questions being asked of the property market at the moment is ‘how long do we think this will go on for’ and ‘will there be another crash’? Rises at this accelerated rate are rarely ever sustainable and our belief is that in January, property owners having recouped some of the equity they lost over the last 18 months will then be looking to move on. However, there would have to be a substantial influx of property in order to satiate the current demand in the market.

As we have said before, the key to buying now is to have as much information and expertise available and using an established buying agent to help represent you makes a sensible judgement.

If you would like help to find a property or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville, or Sara Ransom on the numbers or e-mail addresses on our website.

Leading agents have cautiously submitted their second quarter reports, stating that prices are beginning to rise slowly with some reporting rises in the South West of London of as much as 6% in the last three months.  It must not be forgotten that this level, albeit enthusiastic, is still well within  20% fall from the peak figures of September 2007. 

It is widely assumed that many vendors are un-willing to surrender their SVRs (Standard Variable Rates) due to the current job security situation and this is in turn dictating the pace of new instructions to the market. The real test will be the dawn of the Autumn market in September and those vendors who have held on to their properties for as long as they can. Estate agents across London have reiterated to us the lack of market appraisals they are being invited to, and this has to be a key indicator to the supply remaining low.

It is our recommendation to clients who are in a strong financial position to buy now and seize the opportunities as they arise. That being said, it is essential to proceed with caution and with sound advice and thorough research. Stacks London continues to be competitive with our pricing structure for what is now more than ever a necessity to buyers looking to make such an important  financial decision.

If you would like any advice or are interested in using a buying agent to help you through this turbulent time, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville or Sara Ransom on the e-mails or telephone numbers above.

There is no accounting for experience!

At Stacks, we offer our Clients the benefit of 25 years experience.  We are  one of the biggest retained buying agents in the UK with 17 regional offices.

Here at the London office we look after all types of purchasers, from individual clients looking to buy a family home, to Corporate clients, including Private banking clients, looking for investments.

Through the years we have advised purchasers on prime London property at all levels, from £350,000 apartments to £20,000,000 houses. Now more than ever before we believe that all buyers need our service, for no other reason but to take advantage of the current market conditions and negotiate the best possible price.

“The search process is only a small part of the overall service we provide”

It’s no surprise that the London market has changed drastically due to the current economic climate. There is a significant demand for experienced companies like Stacks London to conduct comprehensive due diligence programmes and specifically identify the properties of interest. We furnish our clients with the right information and advice in order for them to feel that they have looked at all their options without the time, stress and legwork that this process would otherwise require.

However, this is only a small part of the service we provide! Identifying the property is all very well but identifying the right property at the right price is what we do best.

“Our job is to increase our value from every service we provide”

Much of what we do is managing our clients expectations. It is important to understand and work closely with them throughout the whole buying process. This is why we rely heavily on good communication and allow our clients access to us 7 days a week. This has proved very popular with our overseas clients. Whilst we can’t guarantee that we can see each and every person every day, we make every effort to return calls and discuss individual property matters at every opportunity, even after general working hours and weekends.

In following with the same theme on service, we offer our clients a variety of “competitive” commission structures that allow them to remunerate us based on our success.