UK housing market - excuses, excuses, excuses

Forget the omnipresent "location, location, location" it seems that "excuses, excuses, excuses" is the new catchphrase to describe the slump in the UK housing market.

The Guardian ran a story today entitled "Housing slump? blame the weather" with the subhead of:

"Warm weather, a succession of holidays, plus the royal wedding … they're all getting the blame for the spring housing slump".

Miles Shipside of Rightmove says that transaction volumes will remain low and Martin Ellis of Lloyds says that the underlying trend in house prices continues to be one of modest decline.

Actually I'm not sure that there's any need for excuses at all. 

Property is a cyclical business - I first came into the industry in the early 80's and this is my third period at the bottom of the chart. 

It says something in the Bible about seven year cycles of feast and famine and, whilst it's not an exact art, it's clear that property values follow a cycle too. 

Here's an excellent article from Money Week in 2005 forecasting the latest global economic collapse and saying that the cycle is usually around 18 years.

As it says - house prices can’t rise indefinitely for the simple reason that at some point they become unaffordable.

The author does say:

"There are usually 14 years of rising prices followed by four years of recession across the broader economy".

Hindsight shows the slump starting in 2008 and we're now three years down the line.

So maybe we should just realise that regardless of weddings, sunshine and cheap deals to the USA, property prices are going to remain depressed for a little longer yet.

A brave man would say that now is just about the perfect time to invest.

As sure as anything the roller-coaster will be picking up speed again at some point in the near future.

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente life - time to sniff the flowers

Some of you may know that in my former life I was lucky enough to have two jobs simultaneously. 

First as Group Marketing Director and secondly as the Director in Charge of Chesterton's head office in Brook St, with around 200 people in the building.  I think the latter role was given to me as the Chief Executive knew I had a father from Scotland & mother from Yorkshire and would therefore keep a tight rein on the purse strings.

My office used to look out over Claridges and it was a pretty spoiled life.

I had a PA who used to organise my diary, a team of people making sure the office ran smoothly and an accountant to help me add up the numbers.

If my computer started behaving badly I'd pick up the phone and someone from the IT helpdesk would arrive before I put the phone down.  I could eat in the Excecutive dining room (choose the menu even) or send out for sandwiches.

Life is so, so different now.

I work by myself from an office in my garden - make my own coffee, type my own letters, get my own baguette, install my own ink cartridges and wrestle with my own Livebox.

This morning I have been writing to the Prefecture and photocopying lengthy contracts.  I cursed when I saw it was 11.30am as the post office closes at mid-day and there's no magical "out tray" that empties itself at night anymore.

Wearily I licked the envelopes down, sighed at having to drag myself out of my comfy chair, picked up the dogs lead and set off on the 150 metre trek into the centre of my village.

On the way I bumped into my neighbour Yves and spent time chatting with him about how the lack of rain was affecting his potager.  Three people tooted and waved as they drove by.  In the post office the lady behind the counter spent 10 minutes talking about Sarkozy's new tax plans and the royal wedding (still).

Coming home I wandered into my garden behind the church and sat on the grass eating cherries I'd picked from the tree followed by strawberries, raspberries & redcurrants that were ready in my fruit patch.

The dog sprawled alongside me, hoovering up the cherry stones and letting out a half hearted woof if the birds came too close.

Hmm - I thought. 

London was terrific, it's the greatest city in the world and if you want to forge a career in property there's no place better.

But as Walter Hagen* so famously said:

"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

And at the grand old age of 49 I've come to the conclusion that he was absolutely right!

www.cognacproperty.com


*Walter Hagen is the world's third greatest ever matchplay golfer.  Bettered only by Seve and my mate Chris.

International buyers return to the Charente

I'm meeting a client tomorrow to hand over the keys to this beautiful old Charentaise masterpiece.

I thought that I had bought some houses with incredible views over the vines before but this one absolutely takes the biscuit.  It's a cracking house in a prime location and I think that we bought it at a bargain price.

Regular readers will know that after the 2008 banking crisis things became tough in the property industry.  International buyers simply dried up and went from plentiful to non existent.

The tap has been turned back on though and the purchase of this house and some of the others featured recently have led to my best Q1 figures since opening up business here back in 2003.

I'm hopeful that this is a "trend" rather than a "blip" but only time will tell. Certainly the house price indices are encouraging as is general press coverage.

According to my colleagues in the FrenchEntrée property finders network transaction volumes across France are still patchy although a couple of them have seen similar starts to the year as myself.

Long may it continue.

www.cognacproperty.com

Cognac Blues Passions confirm 2011 line-up

It's my favourite festival of the year.

The week of Cognac Blues Passions is always terrific fun with artists and visitors from all over the world creating a unique atmosphere in my home town.

I don't care whether it's BB King in the park or an unheard of band in the street there's something about live music that stirs the soul.  Watching The Comittments perform on an island in the middle of the Charente, overlooking the Courvoisier chateau is still the finest concert moment of my life.

This year the festival takes place from the 5-9 July inclusive and acts include ZZ Top (blues?), Jamie Cullum, Texas, Moby and many others.

Book now as it's always popular.

See you there.

www.cognacproperty.com

Britons eyeing up European property bargains....hmmmm

Just seen this article in the Daily Telegraph.  An extract says:

"Eight out of 10 Britons looking to buy a holiday home abroad are interested in those European countries which have been hit worst by the recession.

Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are now lumped together under the unflattering acronym of the PIIGS. They’re up to their eyes in debt and, in the case of Portugal, Ireland and Greece, they’ve had to be bailed out to keep them afloat.

So 82 per cent of Brits interested in buying abroad in the next 12 months are looking to these countries in the hope that prices have hit rock bottom and they can pick up a bargain".

Sorry but I simply don't believe that.

It might be that people are idly looking at houses in these countries - just as I have spent more time than I should looking at some of the "fire sale" property in the worst hit US states.  http://www.property4peanuts.com/ is a particular favourite.

But just as I wouldn't dream of buying anything in the slums of Detroit, Miami, Baltimore or Atlanta (I've seen The Wire) I tend to endorse the view of Mark Bodega of HIFX:

“The one country they are returning to is France whose property prices were least affected. French property buyers tend to be more affluent, older clients and having held off for the last few years they are beginning to dip their toes back in the water as retirement waits for no man (or woman)".

Ultimately, France has a long and unique relationship with the UK and buyers are comfortable with everything here from the climate & scenery to the decent wine and gentle pace of life.

Buying a home overseas is a major step and both the heart and head should be consulted or you'll end up with a "pig in a poke" that you'll regret buying forever.

Vive la France!

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking for a house to rent in the Charente Maritime?

Talk about organised.

I first spoke to Jason & Jane at the end of last year then met them at the France Show in January.  They had always wanted a second home in France and mandated me to find them something beautiful.

They came across at the start of February to see what I had found and picked up the keys last week to a fantastic house close to the coast (followed by an extremely enjoyable lunch I'm glad to say).

Yesterday I had an email from Jason saying "check this out"

http://www.charentemaritimegite.com/

I can assure you that while it looks good in photos the reality is even better.

So, if you're looking for a holiday home to rent in the Charente Maritime this summer your search could be over!

www.cognacproperty.com

Cycling through the Charente countryside

Regular readers will know that in a couple of months time I am embarking on the longest cycle ride of my life.  Starting in Bordeaux, myself and four friends will journey down to the Pyrenees and then attempt to cycle up the infamous Col du Tourmalet.

I'm currently "in light training" as my father-in-law likes to call it.  As a talented amateur cyclist he has been put in charge of making sure that I don't disgrace myself.

Sadly though there are a few issues:

(i) I have led a sedentary life for 49 years and I'm both overweight & unfit.
(ii) I'm going to be making the journey on my 20 year old "sit up and beg" mountain bike.  The brakes don't work, only one of the three gear rings works and it's still caked in mud from a one off whirl round Richmond Park with my mate Chris in 1992.
(iii) I'm lazy and think that Sunday mornings were made for sleeping in.

So I wasn't impressed to be up at the crack of dawn last Sunday and setting out on a 70km ride.

Father-in-law had broken it down into three stages.

Firstly we set off up into the hills around St Preuil and Bouteville.  Stunning scenery but not easy to climb.

Then came what he calls "speed work" where we kept going back and forth across the river Charente in the beautiful villages of Graves, Vibrac and Bassac.

Finally came "the grind" where we cut through Bourg Charente and up the long hill past Cognac golf course and then back down into Jarnac.

Three hours fifteen minutes later my legs were screaming but I was able to collapse into a heap.  I then spent two hours just watching muscles I didn't know I had dancing around in my thighs.

Town houses in the Charente - such good value

I have posted before that I think the best value for money around here are the town houses in Jarnac, Chateauneuf and Cognac.

It's simple really - international buyers pay premium prices (unless they use me of course) and drive prices upwards.

They also tend to have a similar brief - a house on the edge of a small village (with bar & boulangerie), plenty of land, views over the vines and a short drive to a big town with commerce.

Very few want a "lock up & leave" townhouse with courtyard or garden and right in the heart of the shops and restaurants.  I can't really get my head around this as, for a holiday home, or French living in general, it seems the ideal thing.  Still, it's not my money, nor my dream - I just get paid to turn it into reality.

So it was particularly satisfying that my recent Australian clients fell in love with this magnificent town house which is in the very heart of Chateauneuf.  The split level gardens are pretty spectacular too.

It needs a lot of TLC and we have had an RICS qualified surveyor crawling over every inch of it.  But it came through with flying colours and I think the price we got it for is exceptional value for money.

It's another one where I'm hoping to be invited to share the odd beer or two in one of the many garden areas when they are completed.

Long live the town house!

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente houses: projects that won't ruin you....

Just read this little snippet in the Telegraph about "wrecks that won't ruin you".

It got me thinking about some of the cracking houses that I have seen recently on behalf of clients, some examples pictured below.  I particularly like the top one - it's not a wreck by any means (far from it) but it has some terrific barns to renovate and an old tumbledown house in the 1 ha grounds that's just crying out to be rebuilt.

There still are some excellent bargains to be had around here for those who have an appetite for renovation. 

Be warned though that many bite off more than they can chew.  Make sure that you have funding in place for both the purchase and the restoration and that you have a trustworthy project manager with a little black book full to the brim with good local artisans.

Bon chance.

www.cognacproperty.com

House prices: Ireland slumps, France booms - what on earth!

House prices: Ireland slumps, France booms

This ridiculous headline sits atop a story on todays This is Money site, you can see the full article here.

"....there was better news for those who have bought second homes in France, with house prices in the country actually rising by 9.5% during 2010.

The more conservative French mortgage market means that house prices have been hit less hard by the credit crunch than in some other countries".

As someone who lives & breathes the French property market the thought that the UK press are calling it "booming" seems too stupid for words.  Yes, it may well be picking up but to call it a boom is simply unreal.

Hype like this may well be great fodder for the London dinner party circuit but it does nothing to help us poor souls who make our living in France.  The local agents have enough trouble getting vendors to put houses on at a sensible price as it is.  Over priced houses will lead to lower transaction numbers and a stalling market....no thanks.

You can see the Knight Frank press release here.  I have no idea where they got the 9.5% rise figure from but it's surely skewed by the central Paris market and isn't indicative of the other 94 departments in the country.

If you want to see some useful stats on the market then look at the Notaires figures and "drill down" to the department you're interested in.

Any sensible commentator will tell you that France is a series of hundreds of different markets and that the totality may well see some small growth in house prices this year but it's likely to be at or below inflation levels.

So please all you sub-editors and headline writers out there.....don't hype our market.

www.cognacproperty.com

French holiday homes - is it "le recovery"....The Guardian 26/3/11

There's a nice story in The Guardian this morning which I'm delighted to say features a couple of quotes from yours truly.

Written by respected journalist Graham Norwood the sub-head is "Britons who own a French holiday home have had to weather a much gentler downturn than in Spain – and house prices may now be on the up".

You can read the full story here.

I'm not convinced that we are going to see substantial changes in price (in either direction) anytime soon over here but I definitely stand by my quotes that transaction numbers of international buyers are on the increase again. 

I think that we may see a small, single digit, increase in prices reported for 2011 but as I have said so many times before stats like this are pretty meaningless.

France is a series of hundreds (if not thousands) of micro markets and scientific valuation techniques are non existent.  The owner says how much they want and the agents add their fees on.

If you're thinking of buying in France then for goodness sake take the advice of someone who lives, works and breathes in their local market.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for a few of the 1,130,000 Guardian readers to get on the phone and brief me to find them a holiday home in the Charente!

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking at houses for sale in Cognac? Don't miss the boat....

This entry is inspired by an article I'm writing for the excellent French Magazine (available in all good newsagents price £3.99).

In my last article for them (March/April edition) I was giving some general tips on buying & selling property in France.  This next piece though will be a more specific "call to arms".

You see I'm writing this on the back of having helped clients find, and have offers accepted on, two absolutely spectacular properties in the last couple of weeks.

Both houses had been on the market for a fair while and I feel that we have bought both at an excellent price.  On one of them I know that the owner has since had agents knocking on their door saying that they have clients lined up should the sale fall through.

I know that I'm a small "one man band" and not a particularly useful reference point for how busy the market is but I have plenty of searches to do over the coming months.

I also talk to plenty of local notaires and agents and the general consensus seems to be that I'm not alone in my thinking.

The upshot is that if you've been thinking of buying a property in France then there are many indicators showing that now is a good time to be doing so.  The Notaires de France seem to think so, the FNAIM definitely thinks so and if I lick my finger and stick it in the air I'm inclined to agree with them.

He who hesitates misses the boat and gets stuck at Dover....

www.cognacproperty.com

Gareth Bale animation

I don't often put posts in about my beloved Tottenham Hotspur as I'm aware that it could well put off potential clients who follow any other teams.

This animation was simply too magical not to be shared though.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Top 10 things I love about our life in the Charente

I've just finished reading the Chris Evans book "Memoirs of a fruitcake".  I happen to think that he's a broadcasting genius who pretty much invented the format that all breakfast shows now seem to take.

He starts each chapter with a top 10 listing and it got me to thinking about the aspects of my life here in rural SW France that I most enjoy.  Some of them would be possible in the UK too.....just sadly not if you happen to be commuting up to the West End with the senior partner of a leading property consultancy demanding his pound of flesh each day.

So here goes:

10. The weather.  It's the 2nd sunniest part of France and that little yellow ball in the sky tends to make me happy.

9. The landscape.  What's not to like about rolling hills full to bursting with vines & sunflowers.

8. Reading L'Equipe each morning in my local café...and teasing the owner about the rugby when England win.

7. The schooling.  So far so good - sadly the girls are saddled with my DNA (and subsequent lack of academic ability) but the schooling is excellent and they're thriving.

6. The dinner parties.  Beef from the Limousin, wine from Bordeaux and the company of some of the friendliest people on earth.  It helps that a few of them own their own vineyards!

5. My job.  Driving through the vines and coming across houses that have stood proudly for hundreds of years.  What's not to like?

4. Being able to eat a sandwich outside in my garden that costs a few centimes to make, rather than raiding "pret a manger" and paying fifteen quid to eat lunch while reading two page memos.

3. Cognac town itself.  Blues festival, lunch at Chez Claude, walking along the river, going to the cinema on a rainy Saturday in winter, taking the kids ice skating....it's a charming town and I love it more each day I live here.

2. That we eat together "en famille".....every single night of the week.

1. The fact that I know the names of all the children in my youngest daughters class and most of them in my eldest daughters too.  I've even been known to take the odd hooky day to go on day trips out with the school.

Sorry if this comes across as "smug" at all....it's not meant to.  Without the experience & money I gained over those 20 years in London then the move wouldn't have been possible.

I just wanted to share some of the best bits about life out here and say that if you're at all tempted to quit the ratrace and do the same thing then it truly can work.

www.cognacproperty.com

Some other great French property blogs....

Fresh on the back of being shortlisted in three of the four awards run by Primelocation for property blogs I reckon that my friends at FrenchEntrée should run a similar awards scheme for blogs about French property.

There are plenty of good ones about and to get the ball rolling take a look at some of these:

Let's start with "A view from the foothills of France" where Nadia Jordan combines crisp prose with some stunning photography.  Her post "All in a days work" about a hooky day off work certainly made me jealous.

Take a look also at "Half way down on the left hand side" which gets my vote for the title alone. Val Walmsley is just setting out in the world of blogging but will be one to watch.

Rebecca Russell is a seasoned professional (it's a compliment Rebecca, don't shoot me) and this shows if you read her musings on "Cote Abode" - want to know about life and property in Nice then this is the place to go.

Just a short way along the coast in Provence you will find Neil Ranadé and "Provence property connections" - his posts are always thoughtful and well written - take a look at his writings about art in Provence.

"A word from Calvados" is another that I like - Janine posts infrequently but her thoughts are always worthwhile hearing and accompanied by interesting snapshots.

I have mentioned before that I follow Alison Morton's blog "Loire Thouet property search" - not the catchiest of titles but a real goldmine of information and written in a very professional manner.

Finally, if you still have time before you get back to work, take a look at "Perpignan Post" where Caroline Hill gives us an insight into her life down near the Spanish border.

So there we have it....a magnificent seven if ever I saw one.  Why not take a stroll around some of them and say hello.

I probably should disclose my interest here in that they're all colleagues of mine in the FrenchEntrée property finder network but, hey, you trust me by now surely.

www.cognacproperty.com

Education in the Charente - Monty Python style

Earlier this year our President, Nicolas Sarkozy, declared that he wanted French children to learn "the language of Shakespeare" from the age of three.  Since coming to power he's been encouraging schools and colleges to embrace English and most of my French friends with children think this is a jolly good thing.

So, a couple of weeks ago my eldest (age 11) was very excited to learn that she was going on a class trip to the cinema to see an English film with French sub titles - she had been told that it was a classic comedy.

When she got back I asked her what she thought:

"Well, it was a bit gory and all the French kids kept laughing in the wrong places because the sub titles didn't follow the plot at all - but at least all the boys now know a new selection of English swear words and are having great fun in the playground"

Turns out they'd been taken to see Monty Python & the Holy Grail.  Certificate 15 and pretty difficult for an 11 year old English girl to understand the 35 year old, offbeat, sense of humour let alone a class full of French kids who have only just got to grips with the correct spelling of "Tuesday" or "February".

Having God represented by an animated version of WG Grace for example is unlikely to strike too much of a chord in a country where cricket ranks below conkers as a national sport.

Hmmm - 10/10 for the idea sir but 2/10 for the execution.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente property - some fine examples

I'm often reminded by my colleague Guy (MD of FrenchEntrée) that photos of lovely properties for sale are one of the best ways of attracting visitors to a website or blog.  He should know as his website gets around 1.5 million page views every month!

People in the industry call it "property porn".

Sadly, as a buying agent, I find properties "to order" for my clients and I don't sell houses.  This means that I don't have a regularly changing portfolio of houses to show off and will always struggle when it comes to ranking highly with the search engines.

This thought struck me recently as I was driving round with some clients and showing them some simply stunning Charentaise houses.  Property in the Charente is amongst the finest in France, the local stone is creamy and particularly attractive in the sunshine, even in deepest winter.

So here's a small cross section of some of the houses that I have seen recently - hopefully it will give you a flavour of what you can expect if you are searching for a home here, these houses happen to be in the €300-500,000 range. 

No confidences betrayed, all are being actively marketed (apart from the beautiful house above which has just gone under offer to a client of mine!).

And if it helps attract a few visitors to my blog then so much the better!

www.cognacproperty.com

Primelocation blog awards - move over Tiger

The results of the 2010 Primelocation blog awards have just been announced and what a winner they have chosen.

Propertynewshound is written by award winning journalist Graham Norwood and is in a different class to my occasional ramblings which scraped home last year.  As Graham said when he heard of his victory:

"Thank goodness that idiot in Cognac will have to keep his split infinitives to himself from now on....who cares about the French market anyway."

Actually he's probably only thinking that.  What he did say was:

“So much property writing, by industry professionals and journalists, concentrates on the most exclusive homes. They are fantastic but I wanted my blog to look at other issues, too, in a way which informed and entertained, and sometimes infuriated."

Seriously though, I'm genuinely delighted to have been shortlisted in three areas - best blog, best individual entry (for this) and users favourite as I'm aware that this year the competition was of an extremely high quality.

Any golfers among my readership will know of the tradition in the US Masters - last years winner hands over the green jacket to the newly crowned champion.

I'm the other side of La Manche from Graham and Primelocation don't present green jackets (although they do generously give Habitat vouchers) but I'm sure you get the picture.

My congratulations to a worthy winner and a hearty suggestion that you follow his blog in 2011.

www.cognacproperty.com

Bourg Charente - the jewel on the river

Bourg Charente is a cracking little village on the banks of the river Charente between Jarnac & Cognac.

It holds a special place in my heart for many reasons (it's stunningly pretty, has a Michelin restaurant, great cycling tracks with fond memories and much more).

It's come to mind this morning for two reasons.

Firstly, ex clients and now good friends Andy & Sarah have written about it on the brilliant blog "Prunings from the vines" - you can read the post and see the pictures here.

Secondly, ex clients and now good friends David & Lorraine are coming out to their house in Bourg Charente tomorrow for one of their frequent visits.  We've only known them a couple of years (and sadly they're both from the dark side and hold season tickets at the Emirates) but we've already shared many a bottle of decent red and plenty of laughter - I can't wait to see them again.

I said in my last post that sometimes I think that I have the best job in the world and when I think of new friends like Andy, Sarah, David & Lorraine it has introduced me to then I know I'm right....

www.cognacproperty.com

The changing face of house hunting

I've been busy the last couple of weeks with two different sets of clients over from the UK.

Both couples were charming and, after three days in the car together visiting far flung parts of the Charente (I leave no stone unturned in my searches), I got to know them all quite well....conversation naturally meanders across many topics although rugby did seem to be a common denominator.

Yesterday I had a long conversation about the opportunities available to househunters in these fast changing times.  It was a lively debate and we all agreed that the customer is king and that it's the buyer who will drive through the changes.

Then I read this article in the Telegraph, written by Graham Norwood, one of my fellow nominees for the Primelocation blog award.  I heartily recommend that you read the whole article but, for me, this bit stands out:

Could apps give me more information than I could get in person from the small town’s seven local estate agencies? Yes.

Take the Rightmove app. It displays all the homes on its website within a chosen radius of where I stand.

Its interactive maps allow me to walk up a street and literally look at the house whose details are in front of me on my mobile screen – I do not need to register with any estate agent first and I can spot if the pictures of the property exclude the dodgy-looking shop next door.

Of course, there are literally hundreds of new property related apps that give you more information on a house and its neighbourhood than you could possibly need.

The three of us, in deepest rural France, decided that the Rightmove stance of not allowing private sales would have to be broken at some stage.  If you stop your car in a neighbourhood you want total information of what's for sale not partial.  So whether it's Rightmove relaxing its stance, a competitor coming in or a simple aggregating site we decided that there will, one day, be a single online source of all property listings.

We couldn't really understand the rush from single agents to produce apps showing their listings (other than PR or a short term ego boost) but decided that there would perhaps be opportunities for niche agents to do so.

All of us agreed that there's still a role for the estate agent and it was flattering that my clients described it as the service I was offering them. 

Doing initial legwork and then using my professional background and local expertise to help in the decision making process (which goes beyond the individual property to issues such as selecting the right location, advising on local restaurants, doctors, schooling etc)  and in buying their favourite house at the lowest price possible.

The internet has changed the way we live and work....no-one can say where it's taking us but I'm 100% sure that the guy with the money will have a bigger say in our destiny than the person with something to sell.

Who knows.  I've had real fun over the last couple of weeks though - sometimes this is the most enjoyable job in the world....

www.cognacproperty.com