A SLOWING property market has claimed its most high-profile victim so far – the new Martel Maides branch on the Bridge.
Opened just seven weeks ago, the office has now closed its doors because of the effects of the credit crunch. Two members of staff will lose their jobs as a result. According to figures released yesterday, local and open market transactions for September were down from 105 in 2007 to just 59 this year.
Martel Maides’ Town branch remains open and director Nick Renny said closure of its second office had been a tough business decision, but it was a sign of current market conditions.
‘I want to be very clear that it is the quantity of sales that is affecting property-related businesses in nervous economic conditions. Where sales are taking place, house prices have so far been holding up well. The market is relatively robust and history shows that, given time, it will recover.’
But the latest housing figures compiled by Unusualities of Guernsey paint a bleak picture.
In September, there were just four open-market house sales – up four from August, when there was none.
But the figures mean the number of open market houses sold in the first nine months of this year is down from 72 at the end of September 2007 to just 34.
In the same timeframe, open market flat sales are down five to seven, local market house sales have fallen from 628 to 455 and local flat sales have dropped to 151 from 230 this time last year.
Treasury minister Charles Parkinson said the figures showed that the credit crunch was biting, particularly in terms of the open market.
He said that he hoped the changes his department was consulting on, in reducing the income tax cap from £250,000 to £100,000, could improve things in the future.
‘It’s the credit crunch.
‘The state of the property market in the UK and the fact that people in the UK cannot sell their business at the moment.
‘We are consulting but that does not mean we will definitely introduce a new tax cap.’
Ray Sebire, who compiles the figures for Unusualities of Guernsey, said, ‘Prices have held but the number of sales is ridiculously low.
‘However, estate agents will be happy that at least something had been happening in the open market last month after no movement in August.
‘And I don’t know if they are “bigging it up” but some of them have been quoted in the Guernsey Press recently saying that they have got some good arrangements in September, which I suppose we should see the results of in October.’
Article posted on 3rd October, 2008 - 2.30pm
7 Article Comments
An Estate Agent is hardly ‘High Profile’!!
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Perhaps if the States had created legislation to cap mortgage loans at say four times earnings instead of the ridiculous amounts that were being loaned out, house prices might actually be affordable to people in “average” salaried jobs.
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Is this a sign of greed on behalf of the directors or a real problem? 7 weeks is hardly enough time to give a business a chance. Was this perhaps just a bad business decision in the first place but with the credit crunch making headlines on a daily basis used as a good excuse to make 2 members of staff redundant.
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I think it was a bad business decision to open another estate agency on the island in the first place, why did we need another.
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As onerous as document duty might be the flattening of sales will mean less is collected. It’s time Guernsey stopped the avoidance of document duty by ’share transfer’. But no doubt the likes of Jack Moneybill will shout ‘the banks might leave’ and then Peter Rose will be wheeled out.
It’s wholly wrong for the already well off to avoid paying their bit on the sales of domestic property
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The story behind the headline is just about the negative impact of various business decisions. Perhaps in planning the opening, perhaps in closing so soon, I don’t know the facts. But this headline is bad reporting, potentially dangerous even. It’s like the editor is feeling left out of the bad news spreading through the US and UK and wants to join in!! The crunch will increasingly be felt here soon enough, we don’t need confidence bashing headlines hurrying it on its way.
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I feel for the two individuals who have lost their jobs and hope that they are able to find employment elsewhere without delay.
However I am gleeful to read that the local estate agents had an unpleasant wake-up call. I hope that those agents will realise that it’s time to stop playing God and time to introduce decent service.
People will continue to need houses and those who knuckle down and provide a supportive and efficient service to buyers and sellers will stay in business.
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