Mainstream Press Catching On...

[TestIcicle]

TV starlet and housing market cheerleader makes sense amidst dire market conditions.

 

Not a bad article, altogether. Lots of advice which actually is sensible and useful, plus plenty of stuff for sellers - especially white lie suggestions! - which canny buyers (GPC readers!) ought to be able to see through.

 

But, seriously, the best and most glorious bit is the recommendation to make, bluntly put, badass offers. Go buyers go! Put in your hitherto cheeky offers in advance of the several years of "stability" (ahem - price drops and stagnation)... Kirstie needs it to keep her TV career going.

 

And this is such a welcome change in tone from the "property queen" previously well-known for her property price cheerleading. Have I thus entered a parallel universe??

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buying...nd-sellers.html

 

Now, we are in the grip of a property climate change, and, in a land where “For Sale” signs once sprouted like forests, the financial taps have been turned off, and instead of a housing glut, there’s a housing drought.

 

Has Kirstie despaired? Not at all. Instead, she is urging the nation’s vendors and purchasers to do that bit extra to beat the slump.

Beware of mod cons: Remember, what’s state-of-the-art today won’t be in five years’ time. I wouldn’t touch a house that makes a big deal out of having the latest technology.

If you want to offer 10 or 20 per cent less than the asking price, that’s OK. You can even offer 50 per cent less, if you think you can get away with it. But don’t try to screw the vendors to the wall on price. Come moving-in time, you may well find yourself short of a washing machine and every other form of domestic appliance.

 

The worst example I have seen of a scorched-earth policy is when the vendors even removed the bit of carpet that had been cut out to fit the shape of the loo. If you are worried about the state the house will be in when you move in, you can always request a pre-completion inspection.

[TestIcicle]

Some interesting comments on the article:

 

The woman should be lambasted for persuading thousands to get into huge debts buying a home at bubble prices.

Yes, undeniably yes, she is an epic pornstar for property. Now she seems to be courting a different market.

 

This silly girl is someone who should be asked to explain why she has presided over a stupid housing bubble- shifting wealth from the young to the older- making young couples put off having children and now causing huge numbers to fall into negative equity by her completely wrong advice.

Not a bad point. Perhaps a bit of a personal dig, but the notion makes sense. Will Kirstie make good for her previous advisory wrongs? Will she acknowledge the imperfection and shortsightedness of her prior advice? Will she ever recognise her own contribution to "the problem"?

 

jail is too good for you and your ramping....have you got no shame? prices are going to fall again and fatty will have to eat her hat again.

Lovely gauge of sentiment from a deliciously hacked-off individual.

 

What strikes me is how purely unaccountable Kirstie et al are for their financial recommendations; their own MASSIVE contribution to the boom that has damaged at least TWO generations, i.e. those who "won" Vs. those who "lost" - yes, deliberately using quotes, as monetary "success" is only ONE aspect of the beauty of sentient consciousness, isn't it?

 

Anyway, this sentiment here is a surprising turnaround from the old duck. Never, ever expected her to be recommending sellers to talk down the market.

[drbubb]

...the best and most glorious bit is the recommendation to make, bluntly put, badass offers.

Go buyers go! Put in your hitherto cheeky offers in advance of the several years of "stability" (ahem - price drops and stagnation)... Kirstie needs it to keep her TV career going.

That's rich coming from someone who said: "Property prices never go down."

 

And accused those (RS and GG) who suggested standing aside from a property bubble of "poising the well."

 

Perhaps Kirstie should now poison her own drinking water for this remarkable flip-flop.

[Lambie]

Anyway, this sentiment here is a surprising turnaround from the old duck. Never, ever expected her to be recommending sellers to talk down the market.

 

Is there any significance of her 'unofficial' role as the Coalition Government Housing Tsar?

 

is she trialling the new 'message' on orders from the Government? I do hope so, and that the words are choking her.

 

Still it's all worth it to become Baroness Alsopp of Location, Location, Location.

[neil324]

Remember being at an auction late 2004 i think it was. Was there to bid on a property. Anyway the auctioneer gave a brief description of the property which needed modernising, at the end he said, come on you have all seen the TV shows. It ended up going for a silly price.

[wee Jinky]

 

The worst example I have seen of a scorched-earth policy is when the vendors even removed the bit of carpet that had been cut out to fit the shape of the loo.

 

that'll be the one their kids and old man would have pissed on for a few years

 

thats the 1st thing to be skipped imo

manky cow!!

[VictorBroom]

The worst example I have seen of a scorched-earth policy is when the vendors even removed the bit of carpet that had been cut out to fit the shape of the loo.

 

that'll be the one their kids and old man would have pissed on for a few years

 

thats the 1st thing to be skipped imo

manky cow!!

:lol: Classic!

[Member100]

The worst example I have seen of a scorched-earth policy is when the vendors even removed the bit of carpet that had been cut out to fit the shape of the loo.

 

that'll be the one their kids and old man would have pissed on for a few years

Is that the one that became a famous renovation project on Loo- cation, Loo- cation, Loo-cation ?:

 

 

Win a holiday at Kirstie Allsopp’s Devon cottage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/trave...on-cottage.html

 

Visit Devon and Classic Cottages have teamed up to offer you the chance to win a holiday at Kirstie Allsop’s home on the north Devon coast; all you have to do is enter your details…

 

After renovating Meadowgate cottage on the north Devon coast for Kirstie’s Homemade Home series on Channel 4, TV presenter and property tycoon Kirstie Allsop has finally finished, and now, in collaboration with Visit Devon and Classic Cottages, she is offering one lucky person and their family the chance to come and stay for a week.

 

Set in the idyllic location on the north Devon coast, Meadowgate is a charming, rural cottage in Welcombe’s deep valley, which boasts traditional furnishings and a rustic ambience.

[d2thdr]

What strikes me is how purely unaccountable Kirstie et al are for their financial recommendations; their own MASSIVE contribution to the boom that has damaged at least TWO generations, i.e. those who "won" Vs. those who "lost" - yes, deliberately using quotes, as monetary "success" is only ONE aspect of the beauty of sentient consciousness, isn't it?

 

Anyway, this sentiment here is a surprising turnaround from the old duck. Never, ever expected her to be recommending sellers to talk down the market.

 

 

No one but the individual should be accountable for any financial decisions they make. Holding krusty accountable for this mess is ridiculous. I do not think she reduced interest rates nor did she lend money.

[TestIcicle]

No one but the individual should be accountable for any financial decisions they make. Holding krusty accountable for this mess is ridiculous. I do not think she reduced interest rates nor did she lend money.

Absolutely agree, of course, but Kirstie did give unqualified investment advice and I do think she was a teeny bit of a bellwether by not only reflecting overwhelmingly positive sentiment in the bubble but driving prices further upward as well, contributing to a vicious circle of "prices only go up" mentality.

 

I can appreciate why she is villified.

 

More than any of the other property pornstars, Kirstie became a trusted institution of the nation. Just like Woolworths and, er, Michael Barrymore.

[tallim]

My local free paper housing supplement lead with this front page last week;

 

 

Up and down prices made last year a real rollercoaster ride. Now they're on the slide - meaning sellers will need to lower expectations

...

There may also be a gulf between what homeowners ask for homes, and what they actually get.

...

"If there is such a thing as 'the average house' there are signs that it might be around 10-15 per cent over priced. As a result, I am more bearish than my colleagues and wouldn't be surprised if main indices fell by as much as 10 per cent by Christmas 2011."

 

There's another article on page 2 titled 'Hope for first-timers' with some interesting things in;

 

...

However, despite recent improvements, the figures suggest an average worker in their 20's earning just under £21,000 a year might need 17 years and six months to save enough for a deposit - by saving 10 per cent of take-home pay (£136) each month.

...

The recent squeeze has inclined first-time buyers to buy more space by turning their backs on poky flats.

Around 42 per cent of first timers settled for a terraced home in 2010. Purchases of semi-detatched homes by first-time buyers has risen from 21 per cent in 2007 to 28 per cent, while flats fell in popularity - accounting for only 24 per cent of purchases in 2010 compared with 37 per cent in 2007.

...

The average age for a first-time buyer is now 29, and four in five (80-85 per cent) of them under 30 get financial assistance to raise their deposit.

The average age of first-time buyers who don't get financial help has risen from around 33 in late 2007 to 36 now.