Graph showing all major UK house price indices over the last two years

There has been an awful lot of alarmist claptrap talked about in the press over the last couple of years but, as these figures from Houseprices.uk.net (link below) show, ALL the main house price indices indicate a relatively steady picture for the past two years.

Certainly, house prices have dipped and, may even dip a little again but; house prices have also risen over this period. Whether we will then see a return to the traditional 10 year rise then fall cycle of the past, remains to be seen.
Chris

http://bit.ly/rte7Qe

As a business owner, you will either know that social media exists or, be reading this drumming your fingers waiting for the bailiffs’ to arrive; you are THAT out of touch with the market. But what is all the fuss about? Do I need to get involved with all that B2B and B2C chatting or, can I just ignore it?

Like the internet when it first broke into estate agency, ignore it at your peril. At that time, there were agents who embraced the internet early on and developed highly engaging and impressive websites; there were those, who thought all you had to do was say you have a web presence because no customer was ever going to actually look at a website anyway…were they? Or, like many agents, you could just ignore it. The internet was just going to be a passing fad.

We now know that those days are long gone along with the agents who railed against the brave new world of the information superhighway. But now, we have a new phenomenon to deal with: Social media!

Like the late eighties and early nineties, it is a tough time for agents. Focus on core strengths and business is the mantra. “Why waste time and effort on a kids plaything (Facebook) or a celebrity wannabe toy (Twitter)?” And this is where my blog really starts.

I’m what marketers call an ‘early-adopter’, when it comes to technology. My family has a phrase of their own which is not so business-like; I’m known as ‘gadget-boy’. What this means, though, is that I am often one of the first to see and appreciate what a new piece of technology can do for me, my family or, in the case of my business; my customers.

When Facebook and Twitter came on the scene, I immediately appreciated just how great the potential would be for PDQ and my customers. For me, good estate agency is all about good communication. Facebook and Twitter, I realised, allowed me to do that much, much more effectively and, with a vastly increased audience. I am a firm believer that the more you do to help your customers, the more business heads your way. It therefore stood to reason, in my mind, that helping an almost limitless number of people via Twitter and Facebook could only be a good thing for my business.

I started to engage on social media just over a year ago (just before I was mobilised to go to Afghanistan with the Army). Not surprisingly, my early flourish in social media, took a back to almost non-existent seat whilst my pre-deployment training took place.

Having been deployed to Afghan, I was swiftly sent back early with an injury (non-combat). Home-bound and frustrated I could not be with my mates in Afghan’ yet unable to return to my civilian job; I looked around for something positive to do with my time. Facebook and Twitter proved to be the answer. When I returned from Afghan, PDQ’s Facebook page was receiving around 1,000 post views a month. Within a month, that figure had snowballed to over 6,000 post views.

However, by the middle of August, whilst our post view numbers were still increasing, I realised that our new ‘likes’ on Facebook and average monthly users had flattened out; we weren’t losing anyone but, we weren’t gaining any more either.

At first, I thought there may be seasonal factors at play but, as time moved on, I realised that we had probably reached saturation point with the way we were working. We needed to change.

Facebook’s internal analytics must also have realised this as they cunningly sent me a free invitation to try £30.00 worth of free advertising. Which I duly did…

I set up two adverts. One targeted at people who had never seen our site before and had no relationship with it (shared with a friend or otherwise) and, the other, targeted at the friends of our page who had not yet visited our page.

We set a daily budget of £5.00 for click-through’s (who says you need a big budget?) and waited. I say waited; we carried on doing our daily posts on topics we thought and hoped our customers would like as well as adding some new features from time to time.

The adverts certainly worked! The number of ‘likes’ we have received has leapt up by around 140%, with the number of monthly regular users increasing by a very healthy 45%. Analysing the results a little more closely, I can see that the majority of the new traffic can be put down to our advert whilst the majority of the regular users, is more closely related to the content we put on the site.

Conclusions?

• I am very glad my competitors haven’t cottoned on to this as yet as we are now gaining hard, bankable business from social media (Twitter and Facebook).
• Facebook advertising works and can be done very cheaply indeed.
• Social media provides a massive ROI if done well

Good luck!
Chris

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

If we look at the cold hard facts (see table below), there appears to be a direct correlation between households having two breadwinners and the increase in the price of houses. When women first started to enter the workplace in large numbers as part of a family unit (rather than as individuals who would be expected to give up work once married) in the 1960’s and 70’s it was, in the main, to be as liberated individuals with their own spending money and not, as is so often the case nowadays, simply in order to meet the cost of living and owning a home.

This extra source of family income in the early 70’s (more than doubling some households income in some cases), along with other economic factors in play in the UK at the time; enabled families to better themselves with the ultimate status symbol; their home. As with all markets, the simple Laws of supply and demand came into play and prices skyrocketed by 380% between 1970 and 1980 (see table below).

By the early 80’s, the genie was out of the bag and no longer was the extra income ‘extra’. By now, it had become essential to the family budget. Put simply, if families wanted to be able to afford to buy a home, both partners HAD to work. The choice and freedom to work or stay at home for one or other partner had disappeared. Not only that, but for the majority of married/ co-habiting couples who had children, the cost of childcare was no longer relatively easy to afford – in fact, as legislation has been brought in, child-care costs have increased dramatically; creating even more pressure on both parents to go out to work.

Before I am lynched for being a misogynistic pig, I should say that I am firmly of the opinion that Dads make equally as good single parents as Mums (I was a single father for a while) and, I see no reason why either gender should not stay at home to look after the children. However, it is m y personal belief that children benefit from having at least one parent at home in their formative years wherever possible. This blog is purely about exploring the possible causes of the housing boom, it is not in any way attempting to make a social statement about the rights or wrongs of any such cause.

From the 1930’s up until the 1960’s, UK house prices* had been relatively stable with a regular, but generally low, rises in prices of just a few percent per year. The figures below are very basic and taken from the most accurate year-end figures I could find. They do not account for inflation. Nor do my calculations factor in other important variables that would certainly have contributed to some of these rises, such as changes in overall affluence of the UK economy etc. Despite these omissions, I am convinced that this seed change in household incomes was the principle factor behind the housing boom of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s.

1930 to 1940 15% drop

1950 to 1960 31% increase

1960 to 1970 96% increase

1970 to 1980 380% increase

1980 to 1990 154% increase

1990 to 2000 70% increase

2000 to 2010 61% increase

The logical extension of this theory and the current concerns of childcare costs is, whether we will see a gradual return to their being just one bread-winner in a family unit whilst one partner stays at home and looks after the children. If this were to happen in sufficient numbers, and I think that highly unlikely, then the price of property would almost certainly drop. Whether that possibility might generally be a good thing or not will, no doubt be hotly debated.

What are your views? You can debate this topic with me and others on my property forum

Regards

Chris Wood

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his three dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

*Unless otherwise stated, all data has been taken from these reports/ sources

http://wzeu.ask.com/r?t=p&d=eu&s=uk&c=a&app=aoth&l=dir&o=468&sv=0a65010f&ip=59f23294&id=90063910A81C43BBDE7B81D0CC8F3CBD&q=house+prices+in+1930&p=1&qs=2089&ac=24&g=3d47qhZvN2zp1u&en=te&io=0&ep=&eo=&b=a001&bc=&br=&tp=d&ec=1&pt=Live%20tables%20on%20housing%20market%20and%20house%20prices%20-%20Housing%20…&ex=tsrc%3Dtled&url=&u=http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/housingmarket/livetables/

http://www.wwwk.co.uk/culture/housing/index.htm

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/financial/housing-market/house-prices.html

Often, the ‘need’ to move to the more expensive area/ type of property isn’t really a need at all. Certainly, the need to move may well be genuine but there are often cheaper areas within commuting distance of the perceived ‘must-have’ address that may be equally suitable if not having quite the same cachet (see my blog on ‘The agent keeps sending me the wrong property details’). There are also many people who downsize to release capital/ reduce debt but still believe that they will be able to live in an identical/ similar home and area they currently live in at the end of the exercise.

However, once someone has trapped themselves in the vicious circle of flawed logic, it can be very hard to rescue them and it is not a simple matter of lack of education or intelligence; in fact, quite the opposite. Usually, in my experience,  it seems that the more intelligent or educated someone is, the more likely they are to get psychologically hamstrung by this phenomena. Quite possibly this is to do with the pressures of maintaining a certain perceived social standing and moving from being a large fish in a small pond to being rather smaller fry in a lake.

So how to overcome it? As an agent, I have found the best way is to Establish

• the urgency and actual need of the move (do they actually HAVE to move (job/ health reasons etc)
• if the move is THAT location/ property type specific (is there any flexibility)
• the timescale (when must the move be completed by; will the person’s health deteriorate if the situation goes on and on)
• the REAL budget. (How much extra are they prepared to spend/ how much money do they need to realise to cut the debt etc)

Once that information has been discovered and confirmed*, you need to do some very simple maths. The key to solving this conundrum is focussing on the areas of flexibility and price difference NOT the asking and selling prices of the two properties. E.g. Mr A has £30,000 extra to spend on top of what he sells for/ Mr A needs to clear £30,000 off his mortgage by moving.

By looking at the price difference between the two properties, it makes it easier to look at making and taking sensible offers. Very often, people trapped in this situation believe that the prices of property where they are moving to are non-negotiable; so don’t even try to see whether local sellers might take lower offers by asking around in local agents or, using house price data that is now available. Consequently, they become even more entrenched in the own selling price position. Another problem is one that I alluded to earlier, which is the attachment to a certain style of living and an inability to see that it is not always possible to have everything we want; sometimes compromises must be made, whether this be on price, location or condition of a property.

By speaking to agents in the area you/ the customer is moving too, you can often establish just how flexible sellers really are in a given location and, whether there are any comparable areas nearby which might be more affordable which are ‘on-the-up’, and so a good, or possibly even better, investment.

*say it back to the customer and obtain agreement that those are the facts or; if you are the person stuck in this trap, say it out loud – even if no-one else is there;  doing so makes it ‘real’ in your mind and helps break the mental block.

Good luck

Chris

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

Some agents and members of the public believe that multi-agency does increase your chances of selling but many, me included, do not. Before I explain why, I should also explain that I DO believe that joint or sub-agency agreements can work but there are different to a normal multi-agency agreement.

At this point, it may be helpful to the differences between sole-agency (SA) and multi-agency (MA) agreements? Below, are set out the definitions of each type of agreement taken from our estate agency contract (holder of the Plain English honesty and Clarity mark) that we send to each of our selling customers at my company, PDQ.

Multiple-agency – when you have more than one agent working for you. You will pay whichever agent introduces the buyer.

Sole-agency – the agent you appoint is usually the only agent who has a right to sell the property. You may appoint other agents, but you will usually have to pay extra costs and fees. As the owner is not an agent, the owner has the right to sell privately and will not be charged a selling fee (unless the buyer was introduced by the agent).

‘The other agents will try harder!’ To an extent, that statement is partly true but, it’s not as simple as that. In a SA, the agent has the clearest incentive to work for his client to achieve the best price in the current market. He knows that, as long as he does his job well, has good, well-trained staff and has priced the property correctly to attract good interest, his efforts will be rewarded by a paid invoice on completion of contracts.

In a MA contract though, this is not the case. In a MA the agents do not have the certainty that if they do a good job and work hard to obtain the best price, that they will secure the sale. In MA, it is dog eat dog, where the first agent to secure an offer, any offer, will be desperate to encourage the seller to take the offer through their agency rather than, possibly, wait for a higher offer to be made by a better buyer.

Why should this be? Surely, you might say, an agent has a duty to obtain the best for their client? And you would be right BUT, put yourself in the shoes of a typical negotiator in a typical estate agents office. He/ she is there to earn a living, just like you. If your property sells through his efforts, he will get paid, if it doesn’t he may not or, at the very least, he may lose between a third and a half of the wages he might make if he had been successful. He knows that if his offer isn’t accepted, another agent may secure a similar or higher offer which MIGHT be accepted and he (the agent) will lose out. So now, with that thought held firmly in your head; ask yourself, if you were that agent, would you recommend the first offer your office secured on a customer’s home or, would you gallantly suggest they might achieve a little more if they waited, after all, he knows from speaking to the owner that there is another viewing from another agent coming around this afternoon….

Whilst the above argument against MA is my chief one, most agents will also tell you that MA’s can cause horrendous commission disputes between agents that owners and buyers inevitably become embroiled in which can cost sales and certainly add stress at an already very stressful time. Agents employed on a MA basis work AGAINST each other rather than FOR you. Driving service down, prices down and, quite often, putting off buyers by encouraging very pushy sales tactics to ensure that their office secures the sale (see above)

‘The more coverage you’ve got the better’ Again, this statement has some truth in it but, let’s look at what that actually means in the real world. In a typical town or area of a City, each agent will have access to pretty much the same advertising mediums as the other. Most will advertise on a major portal, most will have their own websites, most will advertise in the local or regional paper and a few may even use social media to help market your home. But, unless one agent has a particularly unique feature, then any buyer looking for a property is going to see your home is for sale no matter WHICH agent is marketing it. Putting it with more than one agent is simply going to have it seen several times by the same buyers which may be interpreted as a little desperate by some, who will almost certainly negotiate that bit harder on price as a result. Which leads me on to…

‘The more agents you have the greater your chances of selling’ As in the last paragraph, the chances are that the more agents you put your home with, all you are really doing is increasing the number of times a buyer will see the same home rather than increase the total number of buyers seeing your home. In fact, if your home is seen everywhere, you can experience what I call the ‘oh no, not that one again!’ effect; where buyers utter that phrase when the latest in a long line of agents in the town tries to suggest a viewing on your home; which is not, I suspect, the real result the owner is after.

It could be argued that MA does have a role to play IF you need to sell quickly and IF best price is not a factor but then, if price is not a factor and a quick sale is required, any half-decent agent worth his salt will be able to find a buyer for you on a sole agency basis and, will charge you less for the privilege; after all, multi-agency tends to cost around a third more.

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

As agents, we are often accused of sending out completely the wrong type of property to people (only for them to subsequently buy something exactly like that). So why do people reject those properties at the time only to purchase them later?

In terms of estate agency cliché’s, sending out ‘the wrong type of details’ ranks alongside ‘all agents are awful’ yet, agents persist in doing it and, clients persist in buying ‘the wrong properties’. So is it the agents fault, or all of the buyers who don’t seem to know their own minds?

In fact, it’s a bit of both.

The buyers: As soon as buyers have made the decision that they need to move home, they usually have a relatively firm picture of the home they want. This idea is usually, and understandably enough, focussed strongly on the principle reason for the move (an extra room is needed for a new baby etc). Consequently, the initial description given to an agent will be a very clear instruction of perceived needs. However, if a suitable property isn’t found relatively quickly, buyers will often re-assess their needs.

This is either a simple logical process driven by market realities (they can’t afford to buy in the area they ‘had to’ move to so need to consider other options) or, a more complex one. There is often a realisation that their list of ‘must-haves’ are, in fact, not as essential as they first thought; following a re-assessment of other factors involved with the need for moving e.g. not just an extra room for baby but also the need to be near schools; bus routes, play parks, have a garden etc.

The agents: Let’s be honest from the outset; far too many agents are just plain bone idle and don’t listen to buyers. It’s much easier to mindlessly fill an envelope with everything on the list, than take a little time and be selective; after all, if you throw enough rubbish at a wall, some of it will stick; right?

However, there are also those agents who have been around the block a bit and have a good idea of what a buyer actually needs compared to what they say they want, based on the reasons given for moving. Consequently, they may appear to be throwing rubbish at a wall but, in fact, look a little more closely, and you will see a pattern emerging in what has been sent. It’s still not ideal but, it’s understandable.

You then have the agents who will take the time to ask a great many questions of the buyers when they register (whenever possible), and to use this information to build a personalised picture for that buyer. The agents will also explain WHY they need that information and how this will help them find a property the buyer wont put straight back on the market having moved in, as they have overlooked a crucial factor. The agent will also try and show the buyer some other properties and explain why they are sending/ showing these, despite what the buyer has just told them. He is trying to help them save money and find a property that really suits their current and likely future needs. In short; he is trying to find them a home.

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

There has been a lot of debate in the media recently about ‘affordable housing’. But what is it? For many, it is trumpeted as the greatest thing since sliced bread; allowing local people or, people who are not so well off, to live in or move to, an area they could otherwise not afford. A helping hand in the dog eat dog world of the housing market. A laudable aim.  But is it that simple?

Politics aside, the first question that must be addressed is that of why we are building affordable housing. Is it a) to ensure that everyone who wishes to can own their own property or, b) to provide housing for people who could otherwise not afford to buy?

If it is a) then we need to ask whether we can afford to do this as a country and, also, whether this is ethically sound. Why do we want everyone to own their own home? Home ownership is not the right choice for many for a variety of reasons in any case.

So, is it b) giving a helping hand to those who wish to buy (or have been convinced by peer, social & media pressure that it is a good thing) but cannot afford market prices? Leaving aside the ethical and moral issues this, then, begs the immediate question as to how do we decide who receives the helping hand and why. And with that question there is the accompanying unsaid statement and moral issue about who doesn’t receive help and why.

Whilst it is certainly not unique to my home County; in Cornwall, we have a terribly low median salary and very high median property prices. This means that the children of many ‘local’ families, my own included, have little, if any, chance of buying their own home near to where they were born or wish to work. The result is that many live at home, rent or move away. There are knock on effects too. Emergency services such as fire-fighters etc. need to live within a certain distance of their work but this is often impossible. This has led many across Cornwall and other areas (parts of London and other cities as well) to suggest that we have a ‘key worker’ policy for property. But what, exactly, is a key worker?

Is a fire-fighter, more important than, say, a shoe salesperson? Is a Doctor not a key worker along with a refuse collector? Is a local business owner who provides employment for local people to be denied an ‘affordable home’ simply because everyone assumes that, as a business, he she is automatically wealthy (an odd but pervasive assumption that often defies reason and reality)? Some would argue strongly that people who work in the media, politics or arts are key workers for the important role they play in our democracy and spiritual well-being. In fact, in my opinion, everyone who works for a living and pays taxes is a key worker; no matter which way you value their job. So can you really make homes available for key workers if you can’t fairly define what one really is?

So let’s move away from the tricky subject of key workers and try another angle that is often tried: local homes for local people. Again, we then have the problem of defining just what is local. Is it to be by mere accident of birth/ A demonstrable lineage within an area for a set number of generations? Or, perhaps in Cornwall and Wales at least, it could also be by genetics?

Being born locally; now is this to be physically born in the town itself (a home-birth) or, to parents who lived in the town at the time of birth and, what if you were born in the town but moved away as a child; do you still qualify? All sorts of problems there so; maybe a demonstrable lineage from an area is better. Well, that immediately creates problems for those whose families have actually married outside of the local gene pool at some point in the recent past so that idea falls at the first fence. Genetics it is then! But even here in Cornwall, where the remnants of the oldest tribes to inhabit Britain reside, The Celts, we also have a problem. For thousands of years, the Cornish have been  miners, seafarers and traders and, like most sailors and traders, they haven’t always played at home, ahem. Consequently, proud ‘Cornish’ families bear the now anglicised names of Breton fishermen, survivors from the Spanish Armada and miners from all over the world. And, no doubt, scratch deep enough, and there will be genetic evidence linking many of long historical descent to the pre-historic traders from the Mediterranean who traded tin, silver and gold with our distant forebears. So that’s out too.

Leaving aside the minefield of whether we should and can build affordable housing and who we actually give the golden ticket too, what happens to those people who have been given one of these cheaper than average houses? Often, such properties are sold with a great deal of red tape tied in with them, often as what is called a ‘Section 106 Agreement. Sadly, in my experience, these golden ticket holders soon find themselves trapped in a home they cannot sell and are usually forbidden from letting out; that no longer suits their growing family or personal circumstances. Cornwall Council 106 page – One solicitors take on 106 Agreements

Sadly, in many years of dealing with these properties, I have seen these same people who were supposed to have been helped by this well-intentioned piece of meddling with the laws of market forces; suffering real hardship and distress as a result. Couples who need more space for a new baby, unable to sell at a price that enables them to trade up without moving out of the area; stress, just when they don’t need it. Families who are splitting up, tied to a property that they can’t sell at a price that allows each side to move swiftly on with their lives – causing more tension and stress at an already emotionally charged time. Home-owners who, having lost the relatively low paid job they did have, now unable to sell as no buyers meet the buying criteria. Consequently, instead of being able to sell with perhaps a little profit or, at least a small loss; they are now almost certain to face repossession and subsequent credit blacklisting. Much as the champions of affordable housing might hope; market forces have the final word.

Affordable housing is, as I have said above, a highly laudable ideal IF you believe that everyone should be encouraged to own their own homes. Making it work effectively has, so far, proved to be counter-productive in almost every case I have encountered. Is state/ local authority owned social housing due for a return perhaps?

Chris Wood

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

In most industries, but in service industries like estate agency especially, it is too easy to forget that we are dealing with people; not customers. Yes they may be customers as well, but, they are people with needs, fears and expectations first and foremost.

In estate agency, we are dealing with people who are making one of the largest emotional commitments in life; often due to another life-changing change in personal circumstances – job, divorce, death, pregnancy etc. It is a hard fact that the stresses and emotions involved can cause mood changes and depression so it’s hardly surprising that the business of buying or selling a property is an emotionally charged minefield; for them and us.

In earlier blogs, I have often stressed the need to ask questions, find out information and to listen more than you talk and to manage expectations and they are all key to making your job easier and, more importantly, your customers experience a positive one.

In estate agency, I often find we play many roles apart from salesperson and often, chief of these is that of a counsellor. By asking the right questions, finding out WHY someone is moving, WHY they need to be in quickly, WHY they have a certain aversion to an area (in one case I know of, the customer’s very unpleasant ex in-laws lived around the corner). Crack the ‘why’ and everything else is plain sailing.

It’s only once you have found out someone’s motivation for moving and the reasons behind and surrounding it that you can really begin to offer a truly helpful and personal service and understand just why this apparently otherwise intelligent person has taken temporary leave of their senses…..It’s quite possible that due to the stress of everything going on in their lives at the moment; they really have. Be nice

Chris

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

Whilst Machiavelli concluded it was, in general, better for a prince to be feared rather than loved, he also extolled the results to be gained by being held close to the heart of his subjects. That’s not to say you should be a pushover, you shouldn’t; people need and want to someone to guide and motivate them. They want you to be a leader, just not Genghis Khan*.

There is a time and a place for blind obedience and barked orders but those are the times when people understand that there is an imminent threat of some sort and there is no time for debate. For the rest of the time, in my experience, people work far harder, give better results and take less time off, when they have someone they enjoy working for.

When was the last time you made a cup of tea/ coffee for your team; brought them buns, took a genuine interest in their life/ problems? Have you ever rewarded someone with a ‘Hollwood lunch break/ lie in/ finish’ (extra time off at lunch for a really leisurely lunch/ a late start on a Monday morning/ early finish on a Friday)? Knowing that a colleague has a childs or partners birthday coming up and offering some extra time off before it is asked for can be a massive tick in the goodwill box the next time you need some flexibility in return; chances are, if you get it right; they will see the need and offer their time before you even ask for it.

It’s not easy being a good boss and we all make mistakes but, aiming to be a leader who is liked, is a good start. Good luck.

There are numerous books about management skills and I don’t intend to write another one in this blog however, I’ve read some great ones and this is one of my personal favourites

*I’ve used Genghis Khan as he is always portrayed as a terrible and brutal leader. However, the truth is somewhat different. In the context of his time, he was no worse than many other leaders of the day. In fact, unlike teh Romans for example, he placed a high value and tolerance on other cultures, encouraging assimilation with the people of the kingdoms he conquered; rather than annihilation.

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

As a young boy at junior school, I was fortunate enough to have teachers who were passionate about education and so, I paid attention and learned and did well. When I started at our newly converted comprehensive school, things changed. Whilst I still had a couple of excellent teachers who I would work hard for and who fired me with enthusiasm and a desire to learn more; I had many more who just went through the motions. I, like the remainder of the class, could see they didn’t care about their subject, us, or our results, For them, it was all about doing enough to get the pay cheque at the end of the month. Needless to say my interest in those lessons, along with my grades, plummeted.

And the same is true of all jobs. Most shops I go in, I receive an adequate service. It’s not noticeably above average, so I feel little loyalty and will happily buy the same or similar products or services elsewhere. However, when I receive great service I go back; I tell my friends and, in one particular case; I even asked the person to come and work for me (he went from stacking shelves in Tesco to now, running his own multi-discipline estate agency business). Passion creates loyalty, trust, enthusiasm and advocates for your business; your own army of living, breathing, walking, talking, advertising banners.

I was prompted to write this article after reading a blog written by a highly regarded teacher, for teachers and lecturers. The text was superb; a step by step guide on lesson planning by the book. But, not once, was there ever any sense of passion. There was no soul, no individuality; it was a perfect text on how to create a tin of baked beans on a supermarket shelf full of them.

If you are happy to churn out tins of beans, keep doing it, there is a huge market for them, you will be successful but, when was the last time you went to a restaurant and ordered baked beans? The people who create great food have a passion for their cooking and it shows. You can taste the difference. The same is true for all jobs. Put your heart and soul into what you do and you will see just how huge a difference it makes. Don’t settle for average. Just being ‘good enough’, is never good enough.

Chris Wood

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on Klout LinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.