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Estate agents shut as housing market slumps to 'worst ever'
Mira Bar-Hillel, Property Correspondent15.08.08
Flagship branches of major estate agents in central London are being closed as house sales nosedive.
Offices in prime locations including Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Fulham have shut and some industry figures are admitting the market is now worse than ever.
Agents say sales in the capital have fallen from an average of about 10,000 a month to 5,000.
One of London's biggest chains, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, has closed its Knightsbridge office in Brompton Road.
Director Paul Masters said it was "a consequence of the difficult market conditions".
He added: "All lettings business has been transferred to our Fulham branch and the sales business to the Fulham and Mayfair branches."
Friend & Falcke has sold its office at 96 King's Road and closed down its Fulham branch. Managing director Simon Albertini said: "For many estate agents, the market we are experiencing this year is the most difficult they have encountered.
"We have been established for 49 years and survived through good markets, bad markets and downright terrible markets - but none as bad as this."
The Felicity J Lord branch at 100 New King's Road, Fulham, closed earlier this year. A spokeswoman said this was "because the lease was up".
The Fulham branch of Chard abandoned house sales two months ago and is now concentrating on lettings, which are improving as sales falter. The London flagship branch of international high-end agents Engel and Vˆlkers, in Sydney Street, Kensington, has also been closed down.
None of the company's directors was available to comment.
The closure of some agents is, however, helping others. Veterans Douglas & Gordon said that, for the first time, they had more buyers registering in July than in June.
Spokesman Ed Mead said: "This was pretty surprising as we would normally expect July to be a very quiet month.
One possible reason is the number of our rivals closing their doors.
"We expect to see more of this, as an awful lot of estate agents are on the brink and really struggling in this market, especially the recent newcomers who f locked into what was until recently a booming market.
"If they aren't actually closing, they are operating on a skeleton staff."
A report this week by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed the number of homes sold nationwide fell in July for the 14th month in succession. It blamed the credit crunch, the squeeze on mortgages and confusion over whether the Government will declare a temporary amnesty on stamp duty.
Eighty per cent of London agents reported prices were falling and the remainder thought they were stable.
However, RICS said the housing market in the capital was deteriorating less rapidly than previously and was doing better than other areas.
Reader views (17)
This is our chance to rebuild the economy form one that relies on selling overpriced houses to each other to on innovation and talent. The problems are nothing to do with stamp duty its just prices are unrealistic and have to fall back to historic multiples of earnings.
- David A, Eastbourne
I can't help feeling slightly glad that there will be fewer estate agents on our high streets freeing up space for more interesting and varied enterprises.
That'll be the charity shops that mushroomed in the last recession will it?
- Lawrence, London
Whilst feeling sorry for those losing money on their houses, I can't help feeling slightly glad that there will be fewer estate agents on our high streets freeing up space for more interesting and varied enterprises.
- Adam, Dubai.
This is now a good time for Tescos and the like to sell houses and remove estate agents from the equation.
- Dom, London, UK.
It's only natural that prices are falling as there had to be a correction in prices but give it 3 to 5 years they will rocket again.
- Stephen, London, UK.
If you have purchased a house in the last 5 years, kiss goodbye to 60% of the value.
- Expat Eastern Europe, Slovakia, Bratislava.
House prices have simply risen by an excessive degree over the last 10 years. This is a result of unregulated Estate Agents, excessive lending by banks and pure greed by developers and house sellers. The credit crunch is NOT the cause of the downturn.
The reality is that the average family cannot afford, or indeed want to afford, the now way out of line prices with respect to wages. Prices need to significantly fall regardless of the credit crunch status.
- George, London, UK.
Oh dear, what a shame, how sad, never mind...
- Peter, London, UK.
This needs urgent action. What about 'Estate Agents Aid' in Hyde Park?
- Pascal, London, UK.
Thank goodness, the fewer Banks, Estate Agents, Building Societies on the high street, the better. Perhaps some local businesses will now be able to afford the rent.
- David Armstrong, Essex, UK
Well if the Credit Crunch drags down the UK property market to levels similar to that being experienced in Detroit (see This Is London story) UK estate agents are going to find it rather difficult to make a living based on commissions from £1.00 (£0.50) property sales!
- Fraser, Telford Park
Oh don't we feel sorry for these poor moaning estate agents. When they were making obscene amounts of money for doing very little, perhaps they should have saved some money for a rainy day.
Stop complaining and get a real job, if you all are able.
- Anthony John Calladine, Weston Supermare, UK.
Where do estate agents go when they get laid off?
- Jimbob, Kensington, UK.
Thanks to Alistair Darling making his comment about a stamp duty holiday, everyone is afraid to buy property at the moment. He can cure the situation by just confirming one way or the other whether there will be a stamp duty holiday. If he doesn't do something soon there will be a horrendous amount of redundancies in the housing sector and then he will have to find the money to keep people on the dole.
- Cm, London, UK.
It is difficult to have any sympathy for estate agents. For years they have helped themselves to others money by excessive fees, poor service, over estimating prices and encouraging gazumping.
- Richard Nash, London, England
Surely Sir Bob and Bonio are going to do something about this humanitarian catastrophe!
Get me the Kofi Annan on the phone...Now!
- Steve, London
What a choker.
- Squiz, Islington
