In the credit crunch of 2008/9 the rate of home moving plunged to its lowest level ever. In 2009 the rate at which a typical house would change hands slumped to only once every 20 years. The biggest reason being that confidence was low and many homeowners didn’t want to sell their home as Bexhill property prices plunged after the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. However, since 2009, the rate of home moving has increased (see the table and graph below), meaning today:The

I was having a lazy Saturday morning, reading through the newspapers at my favourite Blueberries coffee shop in Bexhill. I find the most interesting bits are their commentaries on the British Housing Market. Some talk about property prices, whilst others discuss the younger generation grappling to get a foot-hold on the property ladder with difficulties of saving up for the deposit. Others feature articles about the severe lack of new homes being built (which is especially tr

My thoughts to the landlords and homeowners of Bexhill… The tightrope of being a Bexhill buy-to-let landlord is a balancing act many do well at. Talking to several Bexhill landlords, they are very conscious of their tenants’ capacity and ability to pay the rent and their own need to raise rents on their rental properties (as Government figure shows ‘real pay’ has dropped 1% in the last six months). Evidence does however suggest many landlords feel more assured than they were

Recently I was having a chat with one of my second cousins at a big family get-together. The last time I had seen them their children were in their early teens. Now their children are all grown up, have partners, dogs and children. Wow – how time flies! So, I got talking over a glass of lemonade with my 2nd cousins and a couple of their children, about the times of 15% interest rates and how the more mature members of our family had to endure the 3 day week, 20% inflation and

As the dust starts to settle on the various unread General Election party manifestos, with their ‘bran-bucket’ made up numbers, life goes back to normal as political rhetoric on social media is replaced with pictures of cats and people’s lunch. Joking aside though, all the political parties promised so much on the housing front in their manifestos, should they be elected at the General Election. In hindsight, irrespective of which party, they seldom deliver on those promises.

The good old days of the 1970’s and 1980’s eh … with such highlights lowlights as 24% inflation, 17% interest rates, 3 day working week, 13% unemployment, power cuts … those were the days (not)… but at least people could afford to buy their own home. So why aren’t the 20 and 30 something’s buying in the same numbers as they were 30 or 40 years ago? Many people blame the credit crunch and global recession of 2008, which had an enormous impact on the Bexhill (and UK) housing ma

Well, hasn’t 2016 been eventful. The ups and downs of Brexit, the Queen’s 90th, Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, Trump, Bake Off to Channel 4 and something close to the hearts of every buy to let landlord and homeowner in Bexhill … the Bexhill Property Market. So, let’s look at the headlines for the Bexhill property market… In the last month, Bexhill property values rose by 0.63%, leaving them, year on year 10.8% higher, whilst interestingly, Bexhill asking prices are down 2% m

Tenant fees set to banned within 12 to 18 months Concern this may cause rents to rise as those fees are passed to landlords Landlords won’t be worse off – and neither will tenants or agents Our new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond, revealed a ban on tenant fees in his first Autumn Statement on Wednesday. What does this actually mean for Bexhill-On-Sea tenants and landlords? The private rental sector in Bexhill-On-Sea forms an important part of the local housing ma

The Bexhill Property Market continues to disregard the end of the world prophecies of a post Brexit fallout with a return to business as usual after the summer break. The challenge every Bexhill property buyer has faced over the last few years is a lack of choice – there simply hasn’t been much to choose from when buying a property (be it for investment or owner occupation). Levels are still well down on what would be considered healthy levels from earlier in this decade, as

I had an interesting chat the other day with a Bexhill landlord. He said he had been chatting with an architect friend of his who said back in the mid 2000’s, the developments he was asked to draw were a balance of one and two bedroom properties, compared to today where the majority of the buildings he is designing are more towards two and sometimes three bedrooms. There is a really important point as I explained to this landlord, as knowing when and where the demand of tenan

Let me speak frankly, even with Brexit and the fact immigration numbers will now be reduced in the coming years, there is an unending and severe shortage of new housing being built in the Bexhill area (and the UK as a whole).  Even if there are short term confidence trembles fueled by newspapers hungry for bad news, the ever growing population of Bexhill with its high demand for property versus curtailed supply of properties being built, this imbalance of supply/demand and th

Even the sane among us in Britain has to admit the Brexit vote will, in one shape or another, affect the UK Property market. Excluding central London which is another world, most commentators are saying prices will be affected by around 10%. So looking at the commentators’ thoughts in more detail, property values in Bexhill will be 10% lower than they would have been if we hadn’t voted to leave the EU. As the average value of a property in the Rother District Council area is

Well it’s now been 7 weeks since the Referendum vote and we have had a chance to reflect on the momentous decision that the British public took. Many of you read the article I wrote on the morning of the results. I had gone to bed the night before with a draft of my Remain article nicely all but finished, to be presented, at just after 5am, with the declaration by the BBC saying we were leaving the EU. I don’t think any of us were expecting that. If you want to read a copy of

It is 5.50am, and as I start to type this article, David Dimbleby has just announced that the UK will be leaving the EU as the final votes are counted and verified.  As most of the polls suggested a Remain winning outcome, it came as a surprise to most people, including the analysts in the City. Sterling Pound has dropped 6% this morning after the City got their predictions wrong and MP’s from the Remain camp are now starting to use words like “challenging times ahead”. So, n

April Fools Day was no joke for some landlords, as they rushed their buy to let property purchases throughout late March to beat the extra 3% stamp duty George Osborne imposed on buy to let properties after the 31st March 2016. Because some investors brought forward their 2016 property purchases to save the extra tax, speaking to fellow property professionals in Bexhill, all of us have noticed, since the clocks went forward, demand to buy in April and May from these landlords

If you read all the newspapers, the Brexit debate seems to be focused solely on central London. Many commentators have said Brexit would mean central London would have a lower standing in the world, meaning less people would be employed in Central London, with the implication of lower wages, fewer jobs etc. in Central London, but we are in Bexhill, not Marylebone, Mayfair or any part of Zone 1 London. Now on the run up to the vote on the 23rd of June, I predict the ‘in’ camp