Where have all the sellers gone….?

In this season of good will, we thought to share a couple of tips for those property searchers who have been left wondering where all the fresh properties have gone:

Not news to search agents, but Knight Frank now confirm that not only are ‘off-market’ sales on the up, but also that around 30% of their 2016 prime properties were sold without being openly advertised!

They say ‘it is a more discreet, exclusive way to do business.  One that gives sellers confidentiality and buyers first access to sought after properties’.  Something that search agent like us, who make a point of regularly visiting the key selling agents personally, have long been aware!

Secondly, for buyers listed with the main internet portals and who have been left wondering why their ‘inbox’ isn’t as full with news of fresh properties, they may not be aware that selling agents are now banned from “portal juggling”  – a practice where a property which have been on the market for some time are taken off the internet and then re-listed, to give the impression that the property is new to the market.

The Property Ombudsman, a redress scheme which represents most of the UK’s estate agents, has rewritten its code of practice to ban this ruse.  Agents caught relisting old properties by consumers or other agents could not only be suspended by the portal concerned, but also be prosecuted by trading standards.