Coast & Country Are Best Sellers!

Coast & Country remain the best selling office in TQ12, according to independent internet data analysis company Vizzihomes. We are extremely pleased to have been recognised as top sellers in the area. This is also great news for our customers as it means their properties are selling fast.

In order to meet demand, we are taking on new properties almost daily. We believe that because of our successful track record we are attracting some of the very best instructions from highly motivated vendors. This in turn attracts numerous high quality buyers.

Wherever you are selling, look for an agent who can demonstrate this cycle of success, combined with the highest quality marketing. An agent with a limited register is not likely to attract as many buyers as one with an interesting and extensive list of property for sale.

When it comes to the cost, the cheapest agent may not be able to give your home the profile it needs to get the best market price. Look for value rather than concentrating on cost and that way you will be a winner, just like our customers.

CONFIDENCE, FREE HIPS & THE BEST BUYERS

Choosing the right estate agent is always difficult. Different agents will have varying views as to the price achievable for a property. They will also offer different marketing packages, which have different costs attached to them. There can also be incidents where an agent, to gain an instruction, might inflate a valuation. This can be extremely damaging to the marketing of a property, leading to long delays in selling and potentially considerable expense. The shrewd vendor should always consider not only the valuations obtained, but also how these figures are derived. Beyond this, they need to decide whether the marketing on offer will achieve a sale at the best price available, to a qualified buyer who can actually complete their purchase.


As a professional agent with a long track record of selling success, Coast & Country draw on a wide range of sources to obtain different information relevant to the value of a property. These include the Land Registry, property portals, their own records and statistical information from major financial institutions. This information is considered in detail and made available to potential vendors in order to assist them in making the right decisions.

We advise all vendors to ensure they have seen evidence of similar properties actually selling at or near a suggested marketing price, prior to following an agent’s recommendations. If this is not forthcoming, we advise extreme caution. Common sense can also be extremely useful when assessing the accuracy of valuations. If, for instance, there are a number of detached properties for sale within an area that remain unsold, it is unlikely that a semi-detached property with similar attributes could be marketed successful unless the asking price was lower. No matter how tempting it is to think of banking that extra cash!

Coast & Country believe that we currently have one of the most attractive registers of property available locally. In part, we put this down to the fact that we offer completely free Home Information Packs. Our understanding of the current market tells us that this has benefits beyond the obvious. Vendors of course have nothing to pay upfront and know that their agent is confident that they can sell their property.

Agents who require clients to pay for Home information Packs or offer refunds upon sale are not demonstrating the same deal of commitment to getting the job done.

When an agent has demonstrated their commitment, by making a considerable investment, they would be foolish not to back this investment with the best possible marketing to ensure they get a return.

There is at least one other considerable advantage that is not immediately apparent. We believe that buyer confidence is increasing greatly. Buyers are aware that our vendors have been provided with free HIPs. They therefore assume correctly that homes offered for sale by us must be priced competitively. This attracts a large number of extremely good buyers.

Buyers who can buy with confidence make the best purchasers: this combined with accurate pricing leads to fewer complications with, for instance, mortgage valuations, and the high quality of buyers make for a greater percentage of faster sales. Vendors share this high degree of confidence and this leads to numerous completions on terms advantageous to both buyer and seller alike.

Coast & Country hunt for the CASH

With homebuyers back in the market and keen to buy, we at Coast and Country have taken the opportunity to carry out a review of the money market: the idea being to get a clear view of where the cash to fund purchases is coming from. We hope that the following information proves useful to those who are currently looking to buy or sell.

In 2007 mortgage lenders lent in excess of £350bn. By 2009 this huge figure had dropped by over 55%. It is obvious that this change in loan funds available has affected the property market. Prices dropped and the number of transactions plummeted: only established and efficient estate agencies were able to maintain sales levels and a number of agencies and lenders withdrew from the market.

Based on research in December 2009, Coast and Country established in more detail why less money was available and the sectors most affected. Buy to let lending has dropped, from £44bn in 2007 to £8bn in 2009, because lenders are only prepared to lend to experienced landlords with larger deposits. Self-certification lending was at a level of £36bn. 2 years ago, whilst non-conforming lending was around £22bn. There are currently no schemes available. The reason for this is the lenders and regulators view that this type of lending was too risky. There are also very few 95% loans available in the market, effecting first time buyers. Additionally a number of lenders including Bank of Ireland, Bradford & Bingley, Mortgage Express, Paragon and others, have withdrawn from new lending altogether. Others such as Northern Rock who lent £29bn. in 2007 drastically reduced lending and last year lent only £3bn.

All in all you would think this represents a petty bleak picture of the market. However things are improving, month by month. In November 2009 mortgage lending was twice that of the previous November. With limited mortgage funds available one might assume that selling your home would be a problem. This is not actually the case if you have the right approach. Although mortgage funds are fewer there is still over £140bn. per year being lent. A tidy sum.

Coast & Country have re aligned business as the market changed seeking quality buyers for their exciting register of property. We have maintained excellent levels of sales by simply hunting down those with access to the cash. That means quality applicants with good financial track records and established finances. As bait for the best buyers we use exceptional marketing and the very best properties, presented in the best possible light. We are able to do this because we know and understand the property market at a local and national level, and advertise and promote our company and properties in a way that really stands out.