WEST HOUSING MARKET IS PICKING UP

The housing market in the west of England is showing signs of a revival, according to one of the region’s leading estate agents.
Figures announced by Besley Hill reveal that sales at their 15 offices throughout Bristol and Gloucestershire are up by 20% compared with a year ago.
New buyer registrations have increased by 16% during the same period, with viewings rising by 12% and contract exchanges by 20%. The firm’s “pipeline” is 23% higher than a year ago.
“Our year-on-year performance points to a definite revival in the housing market in the west of England,” said Besley Hill managing director Adam Offer.
“The feedback from the branches is that the market is picking up and all indications are that we can look forward to a better year ahead.”
Mr Offer said that instructions at Besley Hill’s branches were down “just 5%” and viewings up 12%, reflecting the fact that “we need more homes to sell to waiting buyers”.
Other statistics include 20% more legal services referrals than 12 months ago due to clients taking advantage of benefits resulting from the group’s “buying power”.
Besley Hill’s offices are situated at Bedminster, Bishopston, Bishopsworth, Downend, Dursley, Easton, Fishponds, Kingswood, Knowle, Longwell Green, Stroud, Thornbury, Whitchurch Village and Wotton-under-Edge.

ESTATE AGENT HOLDS CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS ART COMPETITION

Thornbury estate agents Besley Hill Town & Country Homes are holding a Christmas art competition for local schoolchildren.

There are three age categories - four to eight, nine to thirteen and fourteen to seventeen – with the winner of each category winning an Amazon kindle.

Entrants are required to submit one picture or painting with a festive theme, the only stipulation being that it has a house or property in it.

The competition closes on Saturday 3 December and the winners will be announced the following week.

“Ultimately we are looking for a design that can be used on our office Christmas card with the best entrants being displayed in the branch window in the run up to Christmas,” said Andrew How, manager of Besley Hill’s Thornbury office.

For further details, contact Mr How at Besley Hill Town & Country Homes, 57 High Street, Thornbury BS35 2AP, tel 01454 411522, email thornbury@besleyhill.co.uk

BESLEY HILL APPOINT NEW BRANCH MANAGER

Rob Chapman, who has worked in the South Gloucestershire property market for 26 years, has been appointed manager of Besley Hill Town & Country Homes at Chipping Sodbury.
Besley Hill managing director Adam Offer said: “We are thrilled that Rob has joined us. It is quite a coup because he has such a wealth of experience in the local housing market.”
Rob Chapman has spent all his career based at the same office in Station Road, Yate, initially for 11 years with Sandoe Luce Paynes, then Nationwide, and latterly with R A Bennett & Partners.
He said: “During this time I have experienced a number of different housing markets, enabling me to gain an insight of how best to work in a particular situation to achieve the best results for my clients.
“I have had the pleasure of representing a number of clients more than once and this is something I hope to continue through providing customer service that meets people’s needs.”
At Chipping Sodbury, Rob will manage a team supplying a full range of property services, including house sales, lettings, mortgages, financial services, auction, survey and conveyancing.
In addition to giving free market appraisals, he will be launching a new initiative, a professional property stylist service run by Alison Armitage, which is designed to maximise a home’s sales potential.
For further details, contact Rob Chapman at Besley Hill Town & Country Homes, 14 High Street, Chipping Sodbury, BS37 6AH, tel 01454 313575, email sodbury@besleyhill.co.uk
Besley Hill, the West’s largest independent estate agency group, has other offices throughout Bristol and Gloucestershire at Bedminster, Bishopston, Bishopsworth, Downend, Dursley, Easton, Fishponds, Kingswood, Knowle, Longwell Green, Stroud, Thornbury, Whitchurch Village and Wotton-under-Edge.

HOUSING MARKET IS MAKING A REVIVAL

New figures just announced indicate that there are positive signs of a recovery in the housing market.
The number of mortgages lent for house purchase rose 7% in August from the month before, to reach 52,000, up 2% on August the year before, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
At the same time, figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) show an increase in house-hunters registered per branch from 299 in July to 304 in August, the highest since September 2007, with sales up from an average of seven to eight.
These trends are confirmed by leading South West estate agents Besley Hill, who report a similar upturn at their network of offices throughout Bristol and Gloucestershire.
The CML data reveals that the number of loans to first-time buyers rose 5% both from July and August last year, with 19,000 loans taken out by first-time buyers. Home movers took out 33,000 loans in August. Lending to both first-time buyers and home movers was at its highest for over a year while remortgaging activity rose sharply by 9%, with 34,100 remortgage loans advanced.
“These statistics and the NAEA figures showing the highest number of house hunters for four years and rising sales in the traditionally slow month of August are evidence of a revival,” said Besley Hill managing director Adam Offer.
“This improvement is also borne out by reports that the market is beginning to move again from the directors and Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) representatives at all our offices.”