Estate Agency Closures

lynzpower

Townends on Streatham High Rd london was closed when I drove past the other day

Zcac- does alan de maid have other branches?

zcacmxi

Yes, AlanDeMaid have 7 branches left in the Kent area. See: http://www.alandemaid.co.uk/content/001_Offices/

I think the one in Sidcup is the only one that has closed down. However, in Sidcup they had a very bad reputation for overvaluing property. They were second worst after Bairstowe Eves which also shut down earlier in the year.

zcacmxi

Cockburn in New Eltham looks like it's also shut down down.

All properties have been removed from Rightmove:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/estate-agents/agent/Cockburn/New-Eltham-17471.html

novazombie

zcacmxi wrote: »

Cockburn in New Eltham looks like it's also shut down down.

All properties have been removed from Rightmove:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/estate-agents/agent/Cockburn/New-Eltham-17471.html

What happens when all these EAs are going under to all the properties on their books?

There may not be many EAs left to take them all on.

itsnever2lateisit?

Seems their Hawkhurst Office has closed, meaning all the EA's in the village have gone.

Personally I am quite sad as this was no fair weather EA having been in the village since the early 70's

It now means the village is EA free

olly300

novazombie wrote: »

What happens when all these EAs are going under to all the properties on their books?

There may not be many EAs left to take them all on.

Some estate agents have been going for years and have weathered other recessions. I know the ones my parents brought their house from has been going for at least 31 years. So sellers will just have to move to them.

They will get more business but as transaction volumes are really low they won't have a rush on their hands.

drbeat

olly300 wrote: »

Some estate agents have been going for years and have weathered other recessions. I know the ones my parents brought their house from has been going for at least 31 years. So sellers will just have to move to them.

They will get more business but as transaction volumes are really low they won't have a rush on their hands.

Yes I've seen this too. The newbies seem to be dropping like flies but the old ones that have been around since I moved here in 88 look to be doing ok. Interestingly, the established EAs seem to be the ones that don't make stupid predictions in the local rag and haven't expanded to bigger offices i.e. they keep their mouths shut and have stayed in the same premises.

pickles110564

drbeat wrote: »

Yes I've seen this too. The newbies seem to be dropping like flies but the old ones that have been around since I moved here in 88 look to be doing ok. Interestingly, the established EAs seem to be the ones that don't make stupid predictions in the local rag and haven't expanded to bigger offices i.e. they keep their mouths shut and have stayed in the same premises.

One large solictors in Ipswich had 20 completions in November not a patch on what they used to do but a lot more than the doom mongers have been predicting.
Spring next year and the green shoots will have started emerging and someone out there will make a serious amount because they have the largest B@lls.

zcacmxi

I'm guessing the near 20% reduction in prices has tempted some buyers back to the market.

It shows that although the economic outlook is bleak and the availability of mortgages is not as plentiful as previously, at the right price buyers can be found.

I expect now that prices have fallen for a year, and are expected to continue falling next year, then more and more buyers will return to the market.

besonders1

I find that many of the smaller estate agents tend to over value properties by 20% where as many of the established EA's seem to have their prices more realistically based on sale or the current market. May be that has something to do with why small EA's are going bust.