Property Latest w/c 11th August!

August 10, 2014 by Joanna Harrison

I hope everyone is well and enjoying this fabulous weather we are having at the moment!!!!! Well until yesterday that was!!!!!

I am so lucky to live & work (in an air conditioned office) in Leigh on Sea with the beaches and the superb Broadway whilst everybody seems to be enjoying themselves with a smile on their face when the sun is out.

My colleague Donna popped out for lunch the other day and none of us thought much of it. When she returned her hair was a bit wet and we asked her where she had been. It turns out that she had found out the tide times and had been down to the estuary for a swim in her lunch break. How many other places do you know where that is available!?Good for her.

This great weather makes me think about seasonal fluctuations in the property markets. Can people really be bothered to look at houses when they can be at a family BBQ, watching Wimbledon/Commonwealth Games or going away with the children during the school holidays?

Back in the dark ages, when I started in the business, it was a real factor when thinking about when to put a property on to the market. Most of July, all of August, Easter, some of November and all of December were so quiet you could find estate agents twiddling their thumbs and worrying about where they were going to find the money from for their next shiny suit purchase.

However, these days we all live in a 24-7 society and are never more than an arms reach from our mobile phones, tablets, laptops or PC’s. My wife thinks that I need to get my mobile phone surgically removed from my hand when I go on holiday, but it is so easy to check e-mails, look at what is coming on to the market or check in with the office you never really leave it, no matter where you are.

I personally believe that we, as estate agents, are in the service industry and therefore should be available for people who are worried, or need updating on one of the most important decisions they will make in their and their families lives 24/7. With thanks to modern technology (my wife may not agree), this in turn means that the previous seasonal troughs and peaks in the property market are not as pronounced as they used to be. Of course people go away on holidays and aren’t around personally, but rarely are people out of communication now completely! 

.. and just in case you were, dont feel too sorry for us poor, hard working estate agents, we do get christmas and boxing day and it means that the purchase of a much needed shiny suit, can be an option for more than 6 months of the year!

Rob @ Scott & Stapleton