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British property news in a nutshell - Thursday 29/05/08

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Globrix

Lots of activerainers contact me saying they're interested in finding out how the British property market is getting along in these difficult days, so I'm going to start doing a daily round up of the key goings on here on this little island! It may not all be relevant to you, but I firmly believe there's always a possibility to learn from each others markets - heck that's why I'm on this US site in the first place :-)

So, here's our hot property stories of the day...

  • House prices fall at fastest rate since records began. Okay that’s not necessarily as biblical as it sounds, but Nationwide have been recording data for 17 years so it’s a pretty big deal. The average British house lost 2.5% off its value during May, the seventh consecutive monthly fall in house prices. Read more at The Times.
  • Mayfair still most expensive in the world for offices. Nationwide’s bad news doesn’t seem to cover Mayfair’s offices, the West End is still holding the medal for the most expensive square footage of office space, with prices increasing to around £150.7 per sq ft in the year to March 31. Read more at the FT.
  • HIPs reduce transaction times by 12 days. Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Connells have completed a detailed analysis and found them to speed up the transaction process by an average of 12 days. Read more at NRG Experts. Just to explain, a HIP is a Home Information Pack - and since summer 07 they have been reuqired by law when selling a property. They detail all sorts of things including the energy efficieny of a property.
  • Foxtons loses it’s £20,000 commission claim. Does this spell a change for the way joint agency agreements work? Read more at the BBC

And lastly...

  • The perfect birthday cake for your tech guy. Although a real geek will tell you that Scotty would never be in the navigator seat (via FrostFireZoo)

 

Comments (4)

Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros

Hi Poppy,

We are trying to tap into the Uk market. In fact all my inlaws are British so they update me too. Any ideas how we can do things together or for us on our own

Thanks

May 29, 2008 12:56 AM
Courtney Cooper
Cooper Jacobs - Seattle, WA
206-850-8841

Poppy - Great update!  I actually do have to London people here that I work with so someday...  My daughter will be in London next month - I am hoping for lots of pictures:)

May 29, 2008 02:05 AM
Kathy McGraw
CELLing Realty - White Water, CA
Riverside County CA Real Estate

Poppy- I enjoyed the Post.....I like to hear what's happening in different areas :)

May 29, 2008 06:22 PM
Poppy Dinsey
Globrix - Anaheim, CA
London, UK

Charlie - We're in the middle of setting up some sort of international referral system at my company. We're looking for ways to connect our British property searchers with opportunities in the US for either holiday homes, investment or simply moving stateside!

Courtney - I hope you're daughter has a great time, I'm sure she will! It's pretty hard not to have a great time as sightseeing in London :-)

Kathy - Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjyed it :-)

May 29, 2008 10:57 PM