Glasgow West End Property Market
Sales in the City
Should I do up my property before selling it?
August/September 2007
What happened to the summer? It hasn't so much flown by, as been swept by on a tidal wave of wind and rain. However, at least this humble article seems to have had an extended summer break, which is more than can be said for its author, whose summer highlight has been a couple of orthopaedic consults following inadvisable gym activities. After the last magnum opus on multiple occupancy, I feel like tackling a slightly lighter topic.
A question we frequently get asked is whether the owner of a property should do work to it before putting it on the market. Now, I am aware that there is no shortage of advice elsewhere on this topic. The television is a fairly redundant article in your correspondent's house, but I am aware that every second programme seems to be about making a killing by doing up houses. The only programmes about property I can bear to watch are Kevin McCloud's Grand Designs', and 'Location, Location, Location', but the latter interest has got more to do with having met The Honourable Kirstie Allsop when she was filming the first series.
The Hon. Kirstie told me that she ran a company who found property for clients. Sensing an opportunity for some celebrity goss, I asked if she'd had any famous clients. 'Well, I found Damon Albarn's house in Notting Hill for him' she said, 'and when Madonna first moved to London, I met her because she was interested in renting my Mum's house...'
Now, with all due respect to my mother, and her own smart apartment in Jordanhill, I can't quite imagine it's where Madonna would want to live if she were to relocate to Glasgow. But I do rather like the idea: that would make the net curtains of G14 twitch. This little anecdote does however go some way to explaining why the Hon. Kirstie is really quite posh.
It seems to me that as a result of these programmes, apocryphal stories, and maybe some true stories, a legion of amateur do-er uppers have been added to the already existing hordes of professional or semi-professional do-er uppers that existed before. Now everybody and their aunty think that all they need to make a fortune is buy a one bedroom property in Partick, knock a few walls down to make an internal kitchen, and before you can say 'building warrant and planning permission?' what was once a one bed is now a two, and Robert's your father's brother.
Can I sound a note of caution here? Not everyone finds a wee internal kitchen a source of joy: some people like a nice big traditional tenement kitchen, and would rather accept the fact that on the rare occasion they have guests to stay, someone is going to be sleeping in the sitting room. There is some evidence for the proposition that a one bedroom tenement flat with a traditional kitchen is worth much about the same as a converted two bed.
This business is all about margins of course. And that can lead to a variable quality in the standard of workmanship. I am sure we have all seen the magnolia walls, beige carpets, B & Q kitchen, and poorly painted skirting boards that characterise the hastily turned round done up.
What this frenetic demand for do-er uppers also creates, of course, is plenty of competition for that which needs done up. My firm recently sold a fundamentally beautiful property in an excellent location that required much doing up, and we had more than 200 viewers.
It follows therefore that if the property you are selling is in a poor state, by which I mean that the kitchen and bathroom clearly need to be replaced and redecoration is essential, and it is in a good area and a good building, there will no shortage of buyers who will think that there is a profit to be made. There might be merit in doing the work yourself, or having it done, and taking what profit there is. If you are in this position, I would suggest that you ask a valuer from an estate agent to give you an idea of the value is before and after the proposed work is done. My own firm, like most others, make no charge for providing this service. You also need advice on planning requirements and building control. An absence of the proper certificates may mean your project is difficult to sell. Ultimately, the decision might depend also on your enthusiasm and time availability for undertaking or managing such a project.
However, what if nothing major is required, but the property is looking a bit tired and dated? There is no doubt that the properties that sell for fantastic prices are the ones that have the wow factor: something that sets them apart from the run of the mill. This does not have to be an expensive kitchen or bathroom: it might be simply fresh and tasteful contemporary decor, sanded and varnished floorboards (please please no lammy: it already looks dated) a lack of clutter, a few nice bits of furniture and some tasteful pictures or prints. Do as much as you can to maximise the light: ditch heavy curtains for example. Nothing sells a property better than sunlight flooding in the windows. What you are trying to create is the impression that all the buyer needs to do is move in their own furniture, and they will be really happy here. A couple of thousand pounds judiciously spent may reap dividends at a closing date.
You can easily tell what a tenement building will be like to live in by walking through the close. Worrying signs (apart from large cracks and staining by the roof-light) are 12 uncollected copies of the yellow pages, a hundred copies of the local free-sheet, large piles of undelivered mail, bin bags, rusty bikes chained to the banister, a large notice imploring visitors not to make so much noise when leaving the building, and dirt. The most curious thing I saw in a close recently was a hospital type wheelchair that had obviously made it from the Western to the upper reaches of Hillhead. Remember that people coming to look at your property will start judging it from the moment they arrive outside, so do whatever you can to tidy up the entrance to the property and any shared close. I believe this is what is known to the TV pundits as 'kerb appeal.' A clean, tidy, freshly painted close gives the impression to the house hunter that the potential new neighbours care about the building, and their investment will be protected.
And now, here is this month's market report, based on recent sales in summer 2007.
Sales have been very strong indeed, fueled by the fact that westenders wilnae put their houses on the market until they have found something to buy, and hence there have been fewer properties on the market than we might usually expect at this time of year, and no shortage of buyers. But in today's Herald, there is an article predicting a slowdown in the Scottish market due to interest rate rises.
A very nice one bedroom top floor tenement flat in Broomhill, with a dining kitchen exceeded £175,000, (see my observations on conversions, supra.) It is hard to single out a two bedroom property - we've sold a lot of them- but a very attractive example in Kelvinbridge comfortably exceeded £200,000. You can never underestimate the effect of a property being in a desirable location: a three bedroom ex-local authority property, in a quiet part of Scotstounhill, reached a figure well over the 1/4 million pound mark.
Now the caveat: the value of a property very much depends on how attractive it is, and these sale prices are for guidance only. GSPC member firms, like my own, have access to a bang up-to-date database of recent sale prices, with detailed information on the sold properties that non-solicitor estate agents can only dream about. So if you want to know how much your property might be worth, ask a GSPC firm, like Pattison & Sim, for an appraisal.
Sales in the City will be back in October. In the meantime, happy house-hunting, or day dreaming about house-hunting.
David J. Howat. Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim. August, 2007.
19 Glasgow Road, Paisley, PA1 3QX; 00 44 (0) 141 889 3296
117 Byres Road, West End, Glasgow, G12 8TT; 00 44 (0) 141 334 7706
11 Park Circus, Park, Glasgow, G3 6AX; 00 44 (0) 141 331 9950
djh@pattisonsim.co.uk
www.pattisonsim.co.uk
I am thinking of letting my flat out: do I need one of those Multiple Occupancy thingies?
David Howat, Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim
March / April 2007.
Well, I am in no doubt that spring is upon us, for sitting in my eerie in our Byres Road office there is a sure sign. Within the space of 5 minutes my estate agency colleagues have switched off the heaters, and put on the air conditioning. Now, I am not suggesting that our wonderfully friendly and dare I say it highly presentable people are hothouse flowers per se, but the maintenance of a constant 20°c at all times, regardless of climatic conditions, is clearly essential for proper deportment.
Last month I hinted that I might tackle in this month's Sales in the City the vexed question of Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs). Frankly, I am not sure that I am up to this. I had what I believe is cynically referred to as 'man flu'last week and am still feeling a little peeky. But, then again, if I get it out of the way now I can forget about it and go onto something more interesting next month. Back in the day when I plied my trade in the Sheriff Courts, I went to Greenock to argue something fiendishly complicated before the charming and highly capable Sheriff Sir Stephen Young (as he then was, as we say, somewhat curiously.) At the end of two days of listening to me and my opponent refer to endless case law, legal textbooks, and whatever else we could get our hands on, Sir Stephen said: 'I will have to wrap a wet towel around my head and think about this. I will issue a written judgement later.'
I have followed Sir Stephen's advice when dealing with difficult legal matters. I have a wet towel wrapped around my head. I am able to continue.
Let us get one thing clear from the start about the whole multiple occupancy licencing issue: although a lot of owners of flats undoubtedly find the rather byzantine regulations an enormous nuisance and a classic example of pettifogging bureaucracy, there are compelling reasons for regulation. On 4 March 1999, students James Fraser, and Daniel Heron, both 20, were killed in a fire in a flat on Melrose Street that they shared with a third student, who managed to escape. The flat, which was in the basement of the building, had bars on the windows, and the smoke alarms were defective. The owner, Mr Harry Singh, received a 2 year custodial sentence for lying at a subsequent fatal accident enquiry. The tenants had all been at Balfron High School together. James Fraser's mother was reported as saying: 'Families should be able to send their children to the city safe in the knowledge that they are living in safe accommodation.'
Indeed they should. Following this case, City of Glasgow Council stepped up a few gears in their efforts to control multiple occupancy properties.
A House in Multiple Occupation/h3>
So, what is a 'House in Multiple Occupation?'Believe it or not, this is where it starts to get confusing. There are three aspects to the whole issue: (1) planning, (2) licencing, and (3) landlord registration.
If the property is in 'multiple occupation'as defined by planning law, then it will require planning permission to be used as such. To work that out, have a look at the council's website: www.glasgow.gov.uk and follow the links to business / city plan / Part 2 / 3 Residential / Res 13 (Multiple occupancy.) Helpfully, this starts out by saying: 'There is no definition of multiple occupancy in planning legislation'. Nonetheless, the Council nail their colours to the mast, and do set out what they have decided constitutes multiple occupancy. In the West End of Glasgow the planning aspect is a little more generous: 4 or more unrelated occupants constitute multiple occupancy. Elsewhere in Glasgow, it is 3 or more. The 'West End'is defined according to a map, which is on the website. The Planning department has rigorous criteria for granting planning permission for an HMO. The criteria are set out on the site. You need to read these, but essentially unless you can prove that the property has been in multiple occupancy for at least 10 years, planning will not be granted unless the property has direct access to 'a lit street.' That, therefore, rules out tenement flats other than main doors.
Licencing
Once you have safely negotiated the whole planning aspect of HMOs, you need to deal with the licencing aspect. Confusingly, licencing has a different definition. Again, the Council's website has some information, including a guidance note.
Please note however that at the time of writing, the guidance note is inaccurate, as it appears to fail to take account of a recent change to the definition of multiple occupancy. There is a better source of information, being a booklet produced by the Scottish Executive, which you can download from: /www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/47060/0028721.pdf
Basically, the licencing definition is a house (or flat) occupied by three or more unrelated people. A family of 20 can share the same property without fear, therefore, of this particular bit of legislation. Note that a cohabiting couple would count as 'related', so an unmarried couple could take in a lodger without contravening the HMO regulations. But, note that a recent relaxation of the rule means that an owners of the property (or member of their family that live with them) do not count towards the total.
The differing definitions mean, of course (and do try to stay awake at the back) that a 'three person'flat (assuming one of the occupiers is not the owner) in the west end (as defined on the council's special map) would not require planning permission for multiple occupancy, but would require an HMO licence.
The HMO Licence department imposes, of course, their own conditions, mainly designed to ensure that the premises are safe: a lot of these are concerned with fire safety. A list of the requirements is on the guidance note. The website also advises of the fairly hefty fee levied for considering the licence application (currently £1887 for a three year licence.)
A third issue to be dealt with is Landlord Registration. Basically, any private landlord required to be registered, regardless of the number of tenants. See Glasgow City Council's website on this point:landlord registration.
The Council will not allow registration unless the landlord is 'a fit and proper person'. The website sets out some criteria that they look at in this regard.
Needless to say the complexity of the issue, the expense of carrying out the required improvements, the expense of the application itself, and the impossibility of getting planning permission for a flat without a main door, means that a lot of larger flats are only suitable for larger families. This may well have the effect of moderating the value of a larger property, particularly if it is in a traditionally 'student' area, as the attraction of these properties as an investment is reduced.
Take professional advice
A word of caution: this whole area is extremely complex. Only a ninny would rely on something they read on the internet. If you are thinking of making a HMO licence or planning application, or if you are buying a property with a view to having more than three unrelated people live in it, you must take professional advice. I would suggest an architect experienced in HMO work would be appropriate.
This month's market report
Phew, and now for anyone still reading, here is this month's market report, based on recent sales (February and 1st week in March 2007.)
A nice one bedroom tenement flat in Hyndland, with a large dining kitchen, nearly reached the £160,000 mark. We have sold a lot of two bedroom properties recently, but a spectacular result was achieved by a garden flat in North Kelvinside that sold for around £250,000. Dorchester Avenue in Kelvindale is hugely popular, particularly with first time buyers, as the flats offer good value for money. We have just sold a very nice three bedroom ground floor flat there for well over £130,000.
Now the caveat: the value of a property very much depends on how attractive it is, and these sale prices are for guidance only. GSPC member firms, like my own, have access to a bang up-to-date database of recent sale prices, with detailed information on the sold properties that non-solicitor estate agents can only dream about. So if you want to know how much your property might be worth, ask a GSPC firm, like Pattison & Sim, for an appraisal.
See you next month, when I very much hope to tackle a somewhat lighter topic.
David J. Howat. Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim. March 2007.
Should you buy a flat for your student offspring?
David J. Howat, Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim.January/February 2007
Is it just me, or is the Scottish winter getting darker, windier, warmer, and wetter? Every time I step out of the door, I seem to get lashed by gales, and rain that travels horizontally then vertically up under my coat. Ever since I was interviewed for Scottish Television news on the subject of SEPA's warning about areas likely to flood (Austin Lafferty, the usual legal talking head, was at the hairdressers, apparently) I have become paranoid that all the houses we have bought for clients are liable to be flooded. Even the ones in areas with deceptive names like 'Dowanhill' or 'Hillhead.' Even the top floor flats. Stuck in a traffic jam on Great Western Road recently, I was overtaken by a U.S. submarine that had taken a wrong turning at Faslane. It really is that bad.
New Year is a time for re-appraisal, stock-taking, and decision making. There will be those of you out there with sons or daughters at university or college in Glasgow, who are questioning the wisdom of handing over hard earned to a landlord for the privilege of junior having somewhere to grab a few hours sleep and to store empty pizza boxes. In my day, the government actually paid students money to live on while at Uni, and this was enough to pay each term for halls of residence, which included breakfast and dinner. What was left over went on books. Well, some of it went on books. In later years, we moved into shared flats with no hot water and other deprivations too hideous to mention.
But times have changed, and today's student is left to borrow the money to study from the state, the bank, or the Bank of Mum & Dad (whose terms, I understand, are often most favourable.) I never cease to be amazed at the number of mummies and daddies who come into our estate agency office with their student offspring, looking to acquire a nice flat for the duration of their studies. I know that the customer is always right, of course, but it can take an estate agent with a strong nerve to keep cool when an otherwise suitable property in Hyndland is rejected by Tabatha because 'it's too far from Byres Road.' A colleague experienced an extreme form of this. Having shown a number of schedules for one would have thought suitable properties, Precious turned to her father and said: 'daddy, tell the woman, these are not what we're looking for.'
But let's examine the facts:
| West End: Average Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual change in average property values | Cumulative change from Q1 1999 | |||
| Date | Average Price £ | Change £ | Change % | |
| Q1. 1999 | 92,388 | - | - | - |
| Q4. 1999 | 100,634 | 8,246 | N/A | 8.9% |
| Q4. 2000 | 106,297 | 5,663 | 5.6 | 15.1% |
| Q4. 2001 | 108,438 | 2,141 | 2.0 | 17.4% |
| Q4. 2002 | 122,459 | 14,021 | 12.9 | 32.5% |
| Q4. 2003 | 138,892 | 16,433 | 13.4 | 50.3% |
| Q4. 2004 | 150,746 | 11,854 | 8.5 | 63.2% |
| Q4. 2005 | 162,844 | 12,098 | 8.0 | 76.3% |
| Q4. 2006 | 173,990 | 11,146 | 6.8 | 88.3% |
(Source: GSPC)
This table shows the average increase in prices for west end properties since 1999. On average therefore, if you bought a property in 1999, and sold it in 2006, it would have increased in value by 88%. Just to add my own, purely unscientific data, it is not uncommon for us to sell a property and find that it has doubled in value over a period of 5 years. It all depends, of course, on the particular property, the demand at the time it was sold and whether the owner has improved it.
Now, I am not a financial adviser, accountant, or any other type of financial guru, and you should obviously consult such a person for advice, but it seems to me that short of putting your life savings on the 2.30 at Doncaster, you ain't going to see that type of return on your pennies from any other type of investment (and the 2.30 clearly has a degree of risk.) Add to this the fact that if you choose to buy a property for a student offspring someone (probably you) will be saving on the rent each month, and the concept starts to look like a no brainer for those with the money to do it. Even if you don't have the money to do it, the saved rent might well cover, or go a long way towards, the cost of a buy to let mortgage (you will usually only be able to borrow 85% of the survey value.) Two bedroom properties are particularly suitable for this arrangement, as another student can be brought in to help with the mortgage. (More than two unrelated occupants and you get in to the whole multiple occupancy issue: I may take a deep breath and tackle this thorny subject next month.) If you have more than one child who is likely to go to Uni or college, and you can persuade them both (or all) to come to Glasgow, you could be looking at a minimum of 7 to 8 year ownership, making the whole idea highly attractive.
There is yet another advantage to the whole 'flat for offspring' concept: Inheritance Tax planning. This is too big a subject to go into here, but if your combined estate is worth more than £285,000 (current threshold) you have an I.T. issue to think about, and passing on part of your wealth during lifetime might be part of the answer.
You should, of course, consult a solicitor, accountant, or other suitably qualified person for advice on these matters. My own firm, for example, regularly acts for parents and students who are purchasing in this type of situation.
Market Report
Now, here's the market report, based on December's sales. A nice one bedroom starter flat, with the kitchen at the back of the sitting room, in Thornwood, sold for well over £90,000. We sold a number of two bedroom flats, but a lovely one, with a beautiful internal kitchen, again in Thornwood, did very nicely at just under £160,000. A modern three bed in Yorkhill, with two bathrooms, and in nice condition, did spectacularly well when it left the buyer with not much change out of £200,000. Another excellent price was achieved by a three bedroom traditional tenement garden flat in Hyndland, in excellent order, which was near the £215,000 mark.
Now the usual caveat: the value of a property very much depends on how attractive it is, and these sale prices are for guidance only. GSPC member firms, like my own, have access to a bang up-to-date database of recent sale prices, with detailed information on the sold properties that non-solicitor estate agents can only dream about. So if you want to know how much your property might be worth, ask a GSPC firm, like Pattison & Sim, for an appraisal
Happy New Year and may 2007 see as few interest rate rises as possible.
David J. Howat,
Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim.
January 2007.
Why Do Estate Agents Fix Such Low Offers Over Prices?
Articles by David Howat of Pattison & Sim, Solicitors & Estate Agents
December 2006
As I write this, the Scottish winter is throwing all it's got at us. Byres Road is best seen from the sanctuary of Heart Buchanan Kitchen, I would say. It is the time of year when estate agents top up their tans, and contemplate tidying the stationery cupboard. For there is no denying it (and I know of one agent who does try to deny it by banning the Christmas tree and decorations,) but as soon as the Sally Army are out on Byres Road playing 'Oh Come, All Ye Faithful', peoples' minds are not on moving house.
But what better time than Christmas to deal with an old chestnut: 'why do estate agents fix such low offers over prices?' Oh, if I'd had a penny for every time I've been asked this. Like all great mysteries of the universe, the answer is shrouded in the mists of time.
A long, long time ago, when non-solicitor estate agents were dominant in the West of Scotland, people expected to pay over the asking price, as the words 'offers over' imply. But at that time, the margin was 10%. We've moved on a lot since then. Hardly a day passes in our office on Byres Road without someone coming in and asking 'how much over the asking price are properties going for?' I can understand their confusion. And it is not a question one can answer other than by saying, well, 30%. By that, I mean that it is now standard practice for the agent to arrive at the offers over price by subtracting 30% from the figure they are expecting the property to sell for. But please don't assume that either (a) the property will sell for as much as 30% over the asking price, or (b) it will sell for as little as 30% over. Some sell for less, some sell for more.
The criticism of this practice is that it gives a misleading impression to house-hunters of the figure that the agent and client are willing to sell for, and induces house-hunters to waste money on survey fees.
So, why do the agents do this? The theory is, 'to generate interest'. A low asking price will get more people over the door, which will create a flurry of interest, which will mean lots of people offering at a closing date. 'But', I hear you exclaim, 'surely that is unfair on the unsuspecting house-hunter, who will end up viewing property they can't ultimately afford, and unfair on the poor client, who will have lots of people who can't afford the property coming to see it'. Ah, the agent will rejoin, but +30% is well known in the West End, and no house-hunter will be so naïve. Well, if that's the case, you ask, how come it works? If everyone knows to add on 30%, surely you won't get more people over the door than if you just put the true price on it in the first place!
At that point, the agent will fall silent, as you have delivered a verbal check-mate. All I can say is: it works. Selling houses is a black art, that doesn't always stand up to analysis. I have known of properties that have achieved more at a closing date on a lower offers over price, than any offer received when the property was on the market at a fixed higher price. It may well be difficult for house-hunters to get a handle on, but provided some advice is sought at the outset from a solicitor experienced in the West End market, then it should be possible for house-hunters to understand the system.
Now, I can sense a charge of hypocrisy being levelled at me, as my own firm puts low offers over prices on the properties we sell too. In our defence, I have to say that no one agent is going to be able to change this now well established practice. If we were to go back to the +10% mark up, for example, the properties we are selling would seem overpriced. In short, it is a practice that may be of dubious value, but it is here to stay.
My advice, if you are house-hunting, particularly in the West End of Glasgow, is to find a solicitor familiar with the local market, who is able to spend time advising you in relation to the likely sale price of a property before you survey it. That way, you should be able to pursue an interest only in properties that are likely to sell within budget. My colleagues in the conveyancing department at Pattison & Sim spend a lot of time with our clients at the early stage of their interest in a property. Our experience, knowledge, and access to the superb GSPC database are invaluable to our clients.
Now, here's the market report. We recently sold a one bedroom traditional tenement flat in Dudley Drive in Hyndland for well over £150,000. A lovely two bedroom tenement flat in Lawrence Street, with an internal kitchen, did extremely well at a closing date at more than £190,000. And a very large four bedroom flat with dining kitchen, requiring modernisation, in Hyndland, recently sold at a closing for well over £280,000.
Now the caveat: the value of a property very much depends on how attractive it is, and these sale prices are for guidance only. GSPC member firms, like my own, have access to a bang up-to-date database of recent sale prices, with detailed information on the sold properties that non-solicitor estate agents can only dream about. So if you want to know how much your property might be worth, ask a GSPC firm, like Pattison & Sim, for an appraisal
Have a good Christmas. More Sales In The City in the New Year.
David J. Howat.
Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim.
December 2006
www.pattisonsim.co.uk/patsim
Is the property market ever quiet in the West End?
David J. Howatt
October / November 2006
I was in one of the big chain estate agents on Byres Road a couple of weeks ago, and heard a negotiator tell a potential client that the market was 'quiet; quieter than it should be for this time of year.' I did not have the same impression at the time, and it got me wondering: 'Is the property market ever quiet in the West End?
The answer to this is: 'all things are relative.' A quiet market in the West End exists, and as I write this, things are definitely on the quiet side due to the October week holiday, but let's be honest, we would all still rather be selling property here when it's quiet, than on Barra at boom time. I think the number of properties on the market may vary for seasonal reasons, economic reasons, or for reasons that defy any kind of explanation, but the number of house-hunters remains pretty constant. So demand occasionally outstrips supply. And you don't need a degree in economics to work out that this may be favourable for sellers.
West End Grid
No, what freaks West End estate agents out is what I call the 'west end grid lock', and I don't mean the junction of Beith and Byres. It happens like this. West-enders don't worry about selling their properties; they worry about not finding (or being able to afford) the right property to move to. So they won't put their property on the market until they get an offer accepted for a new property. But of course, if everybody thinks like that, then there won't be enough properties on the market for those potential purchasers to buy. Grid-lock sets in.
I am not sure that I accept the apparent orthodoxy in the West End that it's best to buy first. If you are moving within the West End, you have two highly relevant unknown factors: 'how much will I get for my own property?' and 'what will I have to pay for the new property?' Does it not make sense to go house-hunting with the first question answered, and hence know exactly how much you can afford?
Market Report
Now, here's the market report. We recently sold a one bedroom traditional tenement flat with a good sized kitchen in nice condition in Yorkhill for comfortably over £120,000. A cracking two bed in White Street sold for a hefty sum in excess of £180,000. A really smart full three bed with a large dining kitchen in Woodlands made our client very happy when it sold last week for well over £220,000. But the runaway property this month was the lovely mid-terrace in Broomhill with four bedrooms and a large dining kitchen that sold for a smidgeon under the half-million. And not even in the Jordanhill catchment. So, in conclusion, the market is temporarily quiet this week, but demand remains strong, and prices are high.
Now the caveat: the value of a property very much depends on how attractive it is, and these sale prices are for guidance only. GSPC member firms, like my own, have access to a bang up-to-date database of recent sale prices, with detailed information on the sold properties that non-solicitor estate agents can only dream about. So if you want to know how much your property might be worth, ask a GSPC firm, like Pattison & Sim, for an appraisal
Finally, here's a thought: this is a column about property NOT written by Justin & Colin. That's got to be good.
Happy House-hunting.
David J. Howat.
Managing Partner, Pattison & Sim, Solicitors & Estate Agents,
19 Glasgow Road, Paisley, PA1 3QX; 00 44 (0) 141 889 3296
117 Byres Road, West End, Glasgow, G12 8TT; 00 44 (0) 141 334 7706
11 Park Circus, Park, Glasgow, G3 6AX; 00 44 (0) 141 331 9950
djh@pattisonsim.co.uk
www.pattisonsim.co.uk
Photographs by Jim Byrne from Photo Gallery
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Comments
Charlie Hay | Sun Feb 03 2008
Maggie | Tue May 29 2007
Pattison Sim | Tue Apr 10 2007
Pattison Sim | Tue Apr 10 2007
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Alex | Fri Feb 09 2007
Welcome to Stephen O'Neil of Newton Letting who will be contributing articles with tips drawn from his extensive experience working in the renting sector.
Jason | Fri Jul 04 2008