Inflation falls again – could this be good news on interest rates.
This morning the latest inflation figures have been released and show a fall back in the annual rate from 7.9% to 6.8%.
This is coupled with the news over the last fortnight that lenders have started to reduce their fixed rate mortgages on the presumption that the Bank of England base rate may be nearing its peak.
What does this mean for the housing market? Higher interest rates and the cost of living will continue to have an effect but a stable rate of borrowing and a more favourable out look can only be a good thing.
Many buyers are still seeking to purchase and move. We have had a healthy start to August and some well priced properties are attracting good levels of interest.
Thinking of selling? Call your local Aldreds office today!
Sales Progression – The most under rated thing estate agents do.
When house sellers choose an estate agent, they will often consider their experience at selling houses, their marketing package, how they present their properties and where they advertise.
Many sellers pay little or not attention to what procedures agents have in place after the all important sale is agreed.
At Aldreds we pride ourselves on pro active and thorough sales progression. When a sale is agreed the negotiator who handled it will see that sale through to completion. Initially they will check that the person offering is in a strong position by checking out any chain of sales and making sure they are all in place, by asking for mortgage agreements or proof of cash and by getting ID for the buyers. They will then instruct solicitors to go ahead. Routine monitoring is carried out to avoid fall throughs such as making sure mortgage valuations are instructed and talking to solicitors and estate agents involved with the chain to ascertain that searches etc are applied for.
By carrying out these checks we hope to cut out fall throughs as much as possible and make the process as smooth as possible for buyers and sellers alike. If problems or hurdles crop up we can help by acting as a go between and talking to solicitors and agents in the chain to find resolutions.
Although cancelled sales happen, we know that the approach of our fantastic staff and the procedures we have in place helps to keep them to a minimum.
10,0000 raised for Break and the MAB foundation!
Aldreds were delighted to support the Mortgage Advice Bureau golf day in June. The results are in and over £10,000 was raised for two wonderful causes.
Well done to Stephen, his team at MAB and all who supported it!
Looking forward to next year!
Good news on inflation!
Some better news for the economy with inflation falling to 7.9% - a bigger fall than expected! Drive mainly by lower energy prices. Food inflation also started to fall back but does remain very very high.
This may mean that future interest rates are less severe and fixed mortgage rates (that have expected rate changes already built in) could soften.
Time will tell and watch this space!
Good bye to the old and in with the new
13 years ago, Aldreds took a big leap and came away from paper based systems. We signed up for a client relationship management system (CRM) called Expert Agent.
This took some getting used to after years of files and different coloured paper! However, once we had adjusted and our systems were in place we reaped the rewards through better office systems, improved email contact with sellers and buyers and steam lined office practices.
This week we jump to ALTO. A more modern replacement. This will allow us to combine our lettings and sales systems giving us more straight forward operating procedures.
