Estate Agents 19

[macroban]

On my way from Lordship Lane Sation to East Dulwich Station I counted 19 estates agents (excluding Foxtons).

Into the early 1970s I seem to remember there were three estates agents only.

Why this substantial increase? Is it an index of the dysfunctionality of the East Dulwich community? Are there now so many transients?

[Keef]

Surely it's just an estate agent's dream.

People seem to be willing to pay huge amounts to live in ED, so their commision is great in the area.

[Jeremy]

Macroban, where is Lordship Lane Station?!

[citizenED]

Lordship Lane Police Station?

[SeanMacGabhann]

some info about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordship_Lane_(Dulwich)

[macroban]

Don't trust wikipedia. Trains in 1958? The tracks were taken up in 1956.

Lordship Lane has/had three stations which are commonly used as reference points to say where you are.

Railway station

Fire station

Police station

e.g "I was down by the fire station".

[SeanMacGabhann]

Oh I know I shouldn't use Wiki as a basis for proper facts - but it does give an idea of location

[jim_the_chin]

i always take numerous estate agents as a sign that a place has become a parody of itself

the agents sell the East Dulwich dream, but take up space for proper businesses that made it the dream in the first place.

[macroban]

I've not done a recount recently, but I'm interested to see which is the first to fall with the opening of Foxtons.

Or could it be Foxtons have got their timing wrong and will be the first to fall?

[lozzyloz]

Macroban, sounds like a good prediction. The previous owner of Foxtons probably got his timing right by selling out for ?370m and the new owners (BC Partners) will be desperate to get an ROI before the market turns sour.

[Domitianus]

We shall see how the Estate Agents manage to fare. Did anyone see this morning's TImes? Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, which had previously predicted at least three percent increase in London's house prices next year (same as Nationwide), has now reviewed its forecast to reveal NO INCREASE AT ALL and a one in ten chance of a 1990's-like crash!

Also the property website, Right-move, has shown a fall in London property prices last month of 2.5%. Crumbs!

[Muttley]

A quick look at Rightmove suggests that perhaps 30 "properties" (god I hate that word) are coming onto the market each week at present in SE22. Foxtons say they are looking for 200 properties for their 0% offer, and they've probably hooked a fair portion of these already. So, you can expect that a large number of Foxton properties will hit the market on launch day. Prepare for a sudden flood of properties on the market, with Foxton signs everywhere. I wonder if this might mean that local prices DROP for a while because of oversupply, the opposite of Foxtons' (supposed) normal impact on local markets. Of all the local agents, I expect Haart to be the ones who will be competing most savagely with Foxtons.

[macroban]

I am surprised that no estate agents have closed yet and I'm still wondering which will be the first.

[karter]

Macroban, which are you putting your money on?

Any estate agent on here care to tell how business is going?

[????]

In the 1970s EAgency was still a basically small business enterprise with one shop indepndents, now it's much more a branded multi-shop business. Most in LL now are chains and they will want 'shops' in desireable areas often even if they run at a loss and certainly they can afford to run them at lower margins. Not sure if any on the Lane are sole agencies...

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I'm not sure you're right ????. I was at college with a lass whose vast family fortune was made from a huge estate agency chain - they were well established by the 70s.

[????]

Well - I'm sure there were chains but nothing like nowadays. As I said there are no single-shop EA on LL now I think...

[benmorg]

Muttley Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> A quick look at Rightmove suggests that perhaps 30

> "properties" (god I hate that word) are coming

> onto the market each week at present in SE22.

That was September 2007. There are now about 70 coming onto the market every week and stock levels building up faster than people are buying.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Much thanks to Edgar the Peaceful.

[DaveR]

"Well - I'm sure there were chains but nothing like nowadays. As I said there are no single-shop EA on LL now I think..."

Some of the chains are franchised, so if they go broke they close, unless they can find someone else to take it on - unlikely at the moment

[macroban]

If Halifax Estate Agents on Lordship Lane were to close, would this provide sufficient respite to the others?

[seanmlow]

19 - yes, and before you have a rant and a moan, we are all here to take your money and be total a-holes. And have horrible cars. Beat you to it.

[gh]

MORE AGENTS MEANS HIGHER FEES

Quite simply, the more agents there are, the fewer properties they each get to sell and so they have to offset this will higher fees. At the moment they will all be struggling to make ends meet as they still have the same outgoings as they did a year ago for rent, staffing, advertising, cars etc yet are selling fewer properties.

We only use an estate agent when we move house, for the rest of the time they offer nothing to our community and high street.

How many agents would it take to create some competition in any given area? 3, 4, 5?

The sooner some close the better.

[seanmlow]

We only use an estate agent when we move house -

Why else would you use one ,and what other service are we here to provide? Shall we sell clothes as well to make us more loved?

[macroban]

Mine was a general question about the equilibrium number for estate agents in post-property boom East Dulwich. It was not an attack on estate agents.

I'm also interested in the impact on East Dulwich of void shops (downside) and falling cost of retail rents/lease (upside).