So, I recently got an email, from a “leading” international agent which has a few local offices. In it they kindly informed me that my house’s value had dropped by 7.8% since the last market peak in Spring 2014.

Now there are three points here that I want to discuss, all of which are interlinked.

1. That I received the missive.
2. That I am a Director of a local estate agency that sells around three times more houses than they do in the area (according to Rightmove stats).
3. That they were wrong.

You see, I live around here, so that’s why I received the communication; and because I run an estate agency around here, I know that they are wrong because I sell more houses than they do.

Is any of this of interest or relevance to you? (definitely). Am I just showing off? (possibly). Is this just inter agency warfare? (probably).

Let me explain…and no, I’m not going to stick my finger in your eye.

As an owner-operator of a very good estate agency I make a point of living where I work and working where I live. As do all the RB directors; we all live within a mile of our offices. This is because we CARE. It is our livelihood., It is our business. This is our baby.

You see- and here’s the thing – this 7.8% drop in value came out of their head-office based on stats supplied by their local offices which don’t sell many houses. Our stats come out of our local offices which do sell many house (because we do a good job).

And what do our stats say?

Well, they say that prices for houses around the commons did drop about 11% after 2014, but that they have risen again and, in some cases, to the same level as Spring 2014.

Why does this matter? Well (and here’s the important bit) if we come to value your place now we will value it higher than less well-informed agents.

There will be some ill-informed agents who will over-value it, but they will do so in order to get your business – even though they know it’s not true .In common estate agency parlance this is referred to as being “punchy” or “optimistic”. In normal business parlance it is referred to as “lying” or “giving bad advice”.

Most agents can get lots of viewings on houses in Wandsworth (supply and demand dictates that), but after twenty-odd unsuccessful viewings, most agents will ask you to accept a price drop. We’re more likely to do 20-odd viewings and present you with an offer…

When we value high, we do this because we believe it and because we know what  is achievable. And when you believe something is achievable you will, almost always, achieve It.

This is important – by getting the initial valuation right, we will make you more money whilst delivering excellent service. This is because we’re local, we care, we’re good and we know what we’re doing.

You can trust us to  know the local market better than the Research Dept of a multinational conglomerate, publishing figures from a marginal outpost of their sprawling empire; because we live here, we work here and we are only here. This is us.

So, go on, pick up the phone or drop us an email, and find out what your home is truly worth

Bellevue: 0203 846 0999 / Northcote: 0207 228 5111