Rhuthun's Estate Agents—3
We're five hours away from the launch of onthemarket.com. We've already suggested that this might be a bad move for consumers. It may yet be that Rightmove eclipses onthemarket and agents will be forced to abandon the newcomer and go back to the Rightmove-Zoopla duopoly. Time will tell. For now, though, expect some backslapping at Cavendish Ikin & Williams Estates that onthemarket is here.
What's the state of play currently regarding the residential stock for sale in the town (not including Rhuthun's hinterland)?
There are 75 properties for sale via established or online agents plus one homeowner trying to go it alone.
The total market value of the 75 is an incredible £16mil of real estate. The average Rhuthun house price is £202,000. Assuming offers are at 10 per cent less, that's £14.5mil and £184,000 respectively.
If all properties sold with a 1½ per cent commission, this would realise £239,000 for the realtors. Add VAT at 20 per cent and vendors will be shelling out £287,000 to get their properties sold. The government through VAT is better off by £48,000, before the much loathed stamp duty.
Now, let's say these properties transferred to Fair Fee or another online agent (e.g. eMoov or 121move.co.uk). By charging its current introductory offer of ½ per cent, Fair Fee would save customers £160,000. Add VAT and the saving to vendors would be £191,000. Or, if you were to pay the upfront £500 fee, as you might with 121move.co.uk or eMoov, this equates to a saving for vendors including VAT of £242,000.
Which estate agents are the most popular for those of us in town?
Note that four properties are on with more than one agent.
And what about the value of properties they market? Cavendish Ikin features more of the "top end" (the median or mid-point of the property values = £203,750, close to the mean or average). Beresford Adams and Williams have an almost identical but lower median (Beresford Adams = £169,950). Note, however, that those with very expensive property tend to migrate towards Strutt & Parker or Jackson Stops Staff in Chester.
Why does Molyneux have one property for sale? This is a throwback to when it had an office in Rhuthun. The vendor went with Molyneux at the time and has stayed there even though Molyneux closed in Rhuthun. This inertia was not because Molyneux was good at selling in Rhuthun but because there doesn't actually appear to be any real interest as regards the vendor in selling in the first place. According to Molyneux's Yr Wyddgrug office staff, they cannot book appointments to view.
What about online sellers? eMoov and 121move.co.uk both have a house each for sale, though that on 121move.co.uk is also on with Beresford Adams.
Finally, there were a further 169 properties for sale in Ruthin's hinterland, as marked by the map above. Many are just ordinary homes, some more expensive than Rhuthun's, others offering better value, depending upon location: south and west are cheaper; east tend to be comparable or more expensive. Some, though, are prestige country properties for sale by the aforementioned Strutt & Parker and Jackson Stops Staff. The further east you go and the more likelihood you'll encounter Yr Wyddgrug/Mold-based agents, such as Town & Country.
Update: as at 0500 on January 26th, there were 47 Rhuthun town properties on the onthemarket.com portal, compared to 32 on Zoopla and 79 on Rightmove
We're five hours away from the launch of onthemarket.com. We've already suggested that this might be a bad move for consumers. It may yet be that Rightmove eclipses onthemarket and agents will be forced to abandon the newcomer and go back to the Rightmove-Zoopla duopoly. Time will tell. For now, though, expect some backslapping at Cavendish Ikin & Williams Estates that onthemarket is here.
What's the state of play currently regarding the residential stock for sale in the town (not including Rhuthun's hinterland)?
There are 75 properties for sale via established or online agents plus one homeowner trying to go it alone.
The total market value of the 75 is an incredible £16mil of real estate. The average Rhuthun house price is £202,000. Assuming offers are at 10 per cent less, that's £14.5mil and £184,000 respectively.
If all properties sold with a 1½ per cent commission, this would realise £239,000 for the realtors. Add VAT at 20 per cent and vendors will be shelling out £287,000 to get their properties sold. The government through VAT is better off by £48,000, before the much loathed stamp duty.
Now, let's say these properties transferred to Fair Fee or another online agent (e.g. eMoov or 121move.co.uk). By charging its current introductory offer of ½ per cent, Fair Fee would save customers £160,000. Add VAT and the saving to vendors would be £191,000. Or, if you were to pay the upfront £500 fee, as you might with 121move.co.uk or eMoov, this equates to a saving for vendors including VAT of £242,000.
Which estate agents are the most popular for those of us in town?
And what about the value of properties they market? Cavendish Ikin features more of the "top end" (the median or mid-point of the property values = £203,750, close to the mean or average). Beresford Adams and Williams have an almost identical but lower median (Beresford Adams = £169,950). Note, however, that those with very expensive property tend to migrate towards Strutt & Parker or Jackson Stops Staff in Chester.
What about online sellers? eMoov and 121move.co.uk both have a house each for sale, though that on 121move.co.uk is also on with Beresford Adams.
Update: as at 0500 on January 26th, there were 47 Rhuthun town properties on the onthemarket.com portal, compared to 32 on Zoopla and 79 on Rightmove
Tags:
Housing