What is land registry? The problems of using just this data to value your Ipswich home

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

Be wary of just using Land Registry data to put a valuation on your
home - it can have serious drawbacks when used in isolation

Land Registry for England and Wales is a government department originally set up in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property. In more recent years this has also included the price the property actually sold for on completion and other information such as how the purchase was financed.


To put it bluntly, this “cuts out all the bull”. The price of property actually exchanged hands for is the most accurate valuation of a home – or is it?

Land Registry data comes with some drawbacks. The first is that the data takes a while to come onto the site, sometimes three months or more and so, by its very nature, is out of date as soon as it can be accessed. In a market where prices are static this method is fine. A market where property prices are changing rapidly, either up or down, this can only be, at best, a rough guide.

Many estate agents in Ipswich believe that property prices may be about to start rising. If this is the case, then Land Registry data could lead to an inaccurate figure.

The Land Registry data also does not take into account the circumstances surrounding the sale of that property or the seller themselves. The price that the property exchanged hands for could be reflected that this was a forced sale and a seller took considerably less for the property because the buyer could move extremely quickly. In other circumstances with a seller who was in no hurry and was prepared to wait, a higher price may have actually been achieved.

There is another problem with the time delay of the Land Registry data. At Jonathan Waters Estate Agents in Ipswich, a check on our applicant base showed that a majority of the buyers we have registered as wanting to buy a property right now were not registered with Ipswich estate agents three months ago, they hadn’t even started looking then.

Estate Agents Ipswich – contact us today for an accurate valuation of your Ipswich or Martlesham property

625 Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ND
01473 721133
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

35 Buttermarket, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1BH
01473 281188
jonathanwaters@jonathanwaters.co.uk

Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham IP5 3RY
01473 620222
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

or visit www.jonathanwaters.co.uk

Estate Agents Ipswich - Science + art + experience – the essential ingredients for an accurate valuation of your home.

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

Jonathan Waters Estate Agents valuers use their years of
experience and expertise when valuing your home

Each of the valuation team at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents in Ipswich and Martlesham is highly experienced, regularly and continually trained and updating their skills. Jonathan Waters himself oversees the entire valuation operation of each valuer.


Each of our valuers has valued thousands of properties before – but why is this important?

Well, all our valuers are looking for the little things that inexperience could miss – leaving you under-selling your home, achieving less than its potential and basically could mean you sell your home for less than you could get.

All the valuers know the tiny little differences that may mean your property will sell for more or less than other similar homes in the area.

For instance, things such as the difference in price of a home with a south facing garden versus one with a north facing one; a property with a slightly wider drive; a home with a slightly longer or wider garden; or a home in one road achieving a totally different price to that of an adjoining road.

Even which side of a pair of semi detached houses a home is can affect the price. How much more will a home sell for with an un-overlooked garden than an identical home nearby with an over-looked garden?

When even two identical properties next door to each other can sell for different prices, it brings into the perspective how all the various sources on line cannot possibly be exact.

They certainly have their uses, but only to give a very rough figure.

So the Jonathan Waters Estate Agents valuer when visiting your home will have done considerable research on the websites that we as Ipswich estate agents have available, will have met with the negotiating team with regard to the “hot” buyers who are currently looking to buy right now and will have the extensive experience from their previous valuation of 1,000s of properties to be able to spot those little things we have detailed above.
In short, science + experience + art.

Estate Agents Ipswich - To book a valuation appointment with Jonathan Waters or one of his senior valuation team, please contact:

625 Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ND
01473 721133
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

35 Buttermarket, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1BH
01473 281188
jonathanwaters@jonathanwaters.co.uk

Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham IP5 3RY
01473 620222
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

or visit www.jonathanwaters.co.uk

Estate Agents Ipswich: So how much is your property really worth?

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

At Jonathan Waters Estate Agents we really get to know
our buyers by giving them the time to tell us what they're really looking for

Anyone’s home is worth what somebody who is able to buy now is willing to pay for it. Nothing more, nothing less. Therefore, the applicants who are registered as looking now who weren’t registered three months ago may be prepared to pay a different price, more or less depending on the market, than those people who purchased three, six or nine months ago when the properties who have now completed first came onto the market.


My staff at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents at our three offices in the Ipswich area, which is Ipswich town centre, east Ipswich and Martlesham, spend their entire working day talking to these very people who are looking to buy right now. Because we spend so much time with our buyers and, of course, our sellers, we know exactly how much they are willing to pay, how much they can pay, and how much they want to pay for properties they are looking for.

This is where experience is invaluable.

My sales staff and myself between us have been speaking to buyers in the Ipswich area for a combined total of over 320 years so we know our stuff. Whichever Ipswich estate agent you use, ask them how long they have been selling homes and working in the Ipswich area. I cannot stress how important this is.

When either myself or one of my valuation team here at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents comes to value your home, he/she will have had a meeting first with the sales team to discuss the buyers each negotiator is currently working with. This is to see which buyers may be interested in the property they are going to value should it come onto the market.

Estate Agents Ipswich – contact our friendly knowledgeable team today for a free valuation of your property.

625 Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ND
01473 721133
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

35 Buttermarket, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1BH
01473 281188
jonathanwaters@jonathanwaters.co.uk

Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham IP5 3RY
01473 620222
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

or visit www.jonathanwaters.co.uk

To sell your Ipswich property, call in the experts – the dangers of trying to value your home yourself

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

At Jonathan Waters Estate Agents we have over 320 years
combined estate agency experience

In these days of modern high technology, estate agents ,can access a whole host of data and whole variety of information from property portals and websites. Members of the public too, wishing to sell a property in Ipswich or Martlesham also have access to some of these resources. But beware of some of these!


There are websites around that claim to actually “value” your house, based on nothing more than the charges of average prices of properties in a specific area. We have tested some of these sites and the results are, at best, laughable and, at worst, downright dangerous.

Taking these figures at face value could leave you £1,000s out of pocket and having months of wasted time. When you place your property for sale you never get a second chance to be “fresh on the market” which is the honeymoon period when interest in your home should normally be at its highest.

Simply comparing your home against other similar homes on the market in your area is also meaningless. Some of these properties could be well over-priced and stand no chance of getting anywhere near their current asking price.

Some of them may even be under priced – it does happen!

Therefore, a comparison with the price that they are on the market for could even lead to you under-selling your property and equally being £1,000s out of pocket.

Equally dangerous, in my experience, is taking notice of what friends, acquaintances and even family may tell you they got for the sale of their home. There is always a chance they may have inflated the price they actually got to make it appear they had “done well” or to impress you. Perhaps they had to throw in extras that they won’t tell you about. Perhaps there were other terms and conditions in the sale that were also a factor that would remain unmentioned.

It could be that after they agreed the sale price, they saw evidence that would suggest that they had “under-sold” the property and wouldn’t want anyone else to know that.

I was approached by a lady in Ipswich last year about the sale of her house. She told me how much a neighbour had recently agreed a sale on their property for. She hadn’t actually been thinking of moving but “if she could get that much for it she definitely would sell”.

The figure sounded ludicrously high. When I checked on land registry statistics two months later it turned out that her neighbour had actually sold for over £50,000 less than she had been told.

To sell your Ipswich property contact Jonathan Waters today for a free, accurate valuation.

625 Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ND
01473 721133
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

35 Buttermarket, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1BH
01473 281188
jonathanwaters@jonathanwaters.co.uk

Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham IP5 3RY
01473 620222
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

or visit www.jonathanwaters.co.uk

Ipswich Estate Agents - The worst of times, the best of times

Sales have been going through the roof at
Jonathan Waters Estate Agents

We are in an interesting housing market right now. By 2007 house prices had been rising for almost 13 years but this came to a quite spectacular end.

Depending on which set of statistics you read, prices dropped anywhere between 5.1% and 16% between the autumn of 2007 and the spring of 2009.

Ipswich estate agents are not always in agreement but my personal viewpoint is, as at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents, the prices and the activity of the market were at their lowest in about October 2008.

In Ipswich, unlike many areas, we were luckier than most. At Jonathan Waters Estate Agents we started to see Ipswich area prices showing the seeds of recovery as early as spring 2009 and by the summer of that year, there were a good deal of sales being agreed, especially in areas such as Grange Farm, Martlesham Heath, Pinewood, The Crofts and east Ipswich.

It is a matter of some debate too, amongst Ipswich estate agents, as to whether we shall ever see the return to pre-2007 activity levels in the housing market. There is, however, no doubt, that in terms of sales and people viewing, that at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents we have seen numerous records broken in the last six months.

These records have stood for over 13 years, in the 13 years that Jonathan Waters Estate Agents have been in Ipswich and the 20 years that we have been in existence as an estate agent.

The record for the number of sales we have agreed in a single month has been broken three times in the last seven months. We first saw a new record made in October 2012, this record was beaten again in February 2013 and positively smashed in March of this year with nearly 60 units achieved of residential sales alone.

On one Friday in April, we achieved 50 viewing appointments in a single day on properties for sale in Ipswich and surrounding areas which was another new record.

February this year saw Jonathan Waters Estate Agents three Ipswich offices take on to the market more properties than any other month in our history.

All these factors must surely an indication that something is underway.

Ipswich Estate Agents - To book a valuation appointment with Jonathan Waters or one of his senior valuation team, please contact:

625 Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ND
01473 721133
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

35 Buttermarket, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1BH
01473 281188
jonathanwaters@jonathanwaters.co.uk

Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham IP5 3RY
01473 620222
jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk

or visit www.jonathanwaters.co.uk

Estate Agents Ipswich: Selling homes in IP3 is no puzzle at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

Jonathan Waters Estate Agents were celebrating this week with the news that they are the office with the most sold properties (gross) registered on line in the IP3 postcode.


This was based on a survey of property websites undertaken by Vizzihome, the industry market research provider and it was from data collected by Vizzihome between 29th March 2013 and 19th April 2013 showing Jonathan Waters Estate Agents at 38.3% (18 units) of the total number of properties marked sold (gross) registered on line in the IP3 postcode.

The next nearest competitor, with five units, was 10.64%, meaning Jonathan Waters Estate Agents has nearly four times more properties marked as sold than the estate agent in second place.

Vizzihomes research was based by looking at all properties with the status marked sold subject to contract and looked at any property type, at any price and with any number of bedrooms.

“We are delighted with the results”

 said Jonathan, owner and Managing Director of Jonathan Waters Estate Agents in Ipswich.

“We have put in an enormous amount of effort with regard to the marketing of homes in the IP3 postcode, as well as all the other postcodes in the Ipswich area and surrounding villages.”

“We have an incredibly experienced and effective sales team operating from our office in Foxhall Road, Ipswich which is backed up by our two supporting offices in Ipswich town centre and Martlesham Heath. This three office marketing that we are able to offer our clients is currently unbeatable anywhere in the Ipswich area and when combined with our level of experience, it is no wonder we are so far ahead of the competition.”

Vizzihome Sales is an independent company providing market intelligence for estate agents. They would like to point out that the number of properties registered as sold on line does not necessarily equate to completed sales. Information has been sourced for this survey from estate agency internet data, portals and individual websites and collated and published by Vizzihome. For further information on Vizzihome Sales please visit www.vizzihome.co.uk.

Estate Agents Ipswich  – contact us now to buy or sell a property!

Estate Agents Martlesham: Who is Jonathan Waters?

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

Jonathan Waters is the owner and Managing Director of Jonathan Waters Estate Agents Ltd. They have a three office estate agency dealing with both sales and lettings, one branch of which concentrates on houses, bungalows and flats specifically in the Martlesham Heath, Martlesham and surrounding IP5 areas.

Jonathan Waters Estate Agents, Martlesham Office

The Martlesham office is situated in a prominent position in the Bristol Court units facing onto Gloster Road, near to Ladbrokes and King Pin. The Martlesham office opened in the summer of 2011 to give unbeatable three office marketing for property in the Martlesham area by combining service from the other two offices in east Ipswich and Ipswich town centre respectively to effectively give three estate agency branches working together for the price of one.

The addition of a Martlesham Heath branch has proved to be a master stroke and Jonathan Waters Estate Agents soon established itself as an estate agent of choice for the Martlesham area. More people are currently choosing Jonathan Waters Estate Agents to market their Martlesham/Martlesham Heath home than any other estate agent.

Estate Agents Martlesham - to see the properties we currently have for sale in the Martlesham Heath, Martlesham and surrounding area, click on the link here.

If you are thinking of selling your Martlesham home and wonder exactly how much it might be worth right now, then book a valuation with Jonathan Waters or one of his experienced Martlesham valuation team by clicking on link below or contacting 01473 620222 or e mailing us on jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk.

Alternatively, why not come and give us a look for a chat at our office at Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham, IP5 3RY

Estate Agents Ipswich and Martlesham: Why is property on Martlesham Heath so popular?

http://www.jonathanwaters.co.uk/ipswich/index.cfm

Properties on Martlesham Heath continue to be as popular as ever.


Recent arrivals of Next and M&S Food on Martlesham Heath to compliment Tesco and other retail outlets, shops, offices and commercial premises on the business park side of the road has meant the whole of the Martlesham Heath area is now a hive of activity, attracting people to visit. Not to mention, BT.

Jonathan Waters, owner of Jonathan Waters Estate Agents Ipswich and the driving force in charge of the Martlesham office, comments

“I remember 25 years ago, when building of the houses on Martlesham Heath was still in full swing, properties were popular then. Even in the tough markets of 88 – 93 and the downturn of the 2007/2008 era, Martlesham Heath houses, bungalows and flats still continued to sell. You can always rely on the sale of a Martlesham Heath property!”.

So why are properties on Martlesham Heath so popular?

“A number of factors in my opinion combine to create and maintain this popularity” Jonathan continued.

“Firstly the original idea of the village was just that, to make it look like a village and to be a village.”

“Focussed around a central green, with pub, shops and commercial facilities on the edge of the green, this became a focal point to the development that other large estates may lack.”

“Every hamlet was constructed by a different developer, creating a striking and unusual mix of different house types, styles, designs and fashions both interior and exterior of the homes.”

“Also Martlesham Heath was built over an unusually long period of time. Construction of the residential side of the Heath started in the mid 70s and carried on till the late 1990s and beyond – that’s 25 years – more or less a generation.”

“This has added to the variation in house styles. Even if the same builder had built every home on Martlesham Heath, the design, appearance and specification of the properties would have changed considerably in that time. Properties built at the start would have looked quite different to those built at the end. The fact that it was all different developers constructing the hamlets over that period enhanced and enriched this difference.”

“Martlesham Heath never got too big. If you look at an aerial photograph taken since construction of Martlesham Heath was completed you will see that only a relatively small part of the available land was actually developed.”

“This meant that vast areas of the original heathland remained unspoilt and created a paradise for dog walkers, cyclists, joggers and families with young children. I haven’t done a survey, but I would imagine that there is higher proportion of people owning a dog on Martlesham Heath than a lot of other relatively modern estates.”

“Furthermore, the heathland is all publicly accessible – peace, quiet, tranquillity and beautiful countryside surrounding your home – what more could anybody want?”

“For me, another appeal of Martlesham Heath is the constant reminder of the history and former use of Martlesham Heath.”

“Such things as the World War II control tower, the remains of the runway to the south, and a lot of the buildings on the business park serve as a constant reminder of this past.”

“In fact, it is a little known fact that one property on Martlesham Heath wasn’t actually built, it was converted to residential use from a former wartime building (it’s in Coopers Road).”

“

Then, of course, is ease of access. Wherever you live on Martlesham Heath the A12 is never more than 2 minutes away. Whichever direction you need to go, the access is straightforward and easy, be it 5 minutes to the A14, 10 minutes to the Orwell Bridge, 15 minutes to A12 Colchester and London bound and then if you’re going north, well you’re already halfway there!”

“My family have lived on Martlesham Heath since 1984 and I have bought and owned a house on Martlesham Heath and my family still lives there. I am on Martlesham Heath in one capacity or another every day of the week, albeit viewing properties, dog walking, cycling or visiting family or friends. I love it and it’s easy to see why other people do too.”

Estate Agents Ipswich and Martlesham  – click here to browse for properties.
If you are thinking of selling your Martlesham home and wonder exactly how much it might be worth right now, then book a valuation with Jonathan Waters or one of his experienced Martlesham valuation team by clicking on link below or contacting 01473 620222 or e mailing us on jonathan@waters-ips.co.uk.

Alternatively, why not come and give us a look for a chat at our office at Bristol Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham, IP5 3RY.

A selection of properties we have recently agreed sales on Martlesham Heath

 

Estate Agents in Ipswich – the many different ages of property we see at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents.

One nice sunny evening last week I decided to cycle from my home off Bucklesham Road through east and north Ipswich and back again via the town centre.

It struck me as I travelled just how lucky estate agents in Ipswich actually are. We have such a broad age range of properties to see in the town in the course of our day- to-day work.

My journey started from home and almost immediately I passed by the start of a new development of 24 top of the range detached homes in Purdis Farm Lane – the breeze block footings had just gone in.

250 yards up Bucklesham Road, a new home being built had, earlier in the day, had the roof support lowered onto the structure by crane – these days, of course, made of steel not timber. Less than six weeks ago a 1950s bungalow stood on this plot before it was demolished in just one day.

Cycling through Broke Hall, east Ipswich’s most popular estate, is a mixture of lighter brick, mainly semi detached and detached houses and bungalows built in the mid 1960s with very good size gardens.

Bixley Farm came next, started in 1987 and involving a small selection of builders. Work soon came ot halt when the property crash happened in the second half of 1988. Re-started once things picked up you can see many different designs of typical 1980s an early 90s style properties.

Next came Kesgrave, predominantly semi detached 1960s bungalows. I then cycled up the top half of Humber Doucy Lane which are mainly 1950s double bay semis, so many now altered and extended.

At the top end of the Lane we have an unusual mix here in Ipswich – I wonder how many other towns have this? An estate of 1950s council house stock on one side of the road, pre-fab bungalows originally built as temporary homes after World War II, and still going strong, on the other.

Sherborne Avenue brought me to the height of the sought after Northgate Catchment area, a haven for Ipswich estate agents. A property on the market in this area, sensibly priced and all other things being equal, is guaranteed to sell.

Further up Sidegate Lane came Wincanton Close and Cranborne Chase. This sees the most desirable end of the scale of modern new build luxury of the last 20 years. Things have now gone full circle as the character, appearance and details of these lovely homes have all been re-installed in contrast to the 60s and 70s when the fashion was of the opposite end of the scale. To think, 35 years ago my Portakabin classroom and the school tennis course of the then Northgate Grammar School took in the exact spot of a double garage which went with one of these luxury 4 and 5 bedroom detached homes. Next door, the school itself, now un-recognisable from the decaying, draughty and freezing pre-war buildings with the open quadrangles of my day.

I am now cycling at speed, courtesy of the hill going down towards the town centre on Tuddenham Road. In just one short mile I see houses at every conceivable part of the scale of Victorian and Edwardian Ipswich.

Tuddenham Road itself, Gainsborough Road and the likes of Corder Road and Manor Road see grand and opulent bayed houses with sash windows, tiled porches, dado rails and panelled doors. At the more modest end of the scale, but equal in character are the Victorian terraces of Suffolk Road and Norfolk Road with the houses straight onto the road, no front garden and doors straight into the lounge. For a brief moment I try to wonder what Edwardian and Victorian Ipswich must have looked like in its day? How did this eclectic mix come about?

Finally my journey passes Derby Close off Argyle Street where sub standard Victorian Council housing was demolished in the 50s and 60s to make way for the modern flats that now stand there.

My cousin lives in Colchester and over the years we have had many friendly arguments about which town is the nicest architecturally.

His trump card was that Camulodunum was Britain’s oldest town. Fair enough, we might not have many of the grand Tudor and Elizabethan properties that they have in their town centre area but I consider myself very lucky to be an Ipswich estate agent.

Us Ipswich estate agents get to see such a wonderful mix of properties from the different periods in history in the town and every conceivable end of the scale of each of the periods of architecture.

And they call it work!

About Jonathan Waters

Jonathan Waters has lived and worked in estate agency in the Ipswich area for over 25 years.

He is passionate about architecture, property, the history of Ipswich and estate agency generally.

He has worked tirelessly through that time to give the Ipswich estate agency industry a much more professional image in the eyes of the very consumers that use it.

Jonathan Waters Estate Agents Ipswich – contact us now on 01473 721133.

An example of 1950s local authority housing

An good example of 1960s bungalows in Old Kesgrave - always incredibly popular

A typical 1960s Broke Hall semi detached house - Broke Hall continues to be the most popular estate in Ipswich

A good example of 1990s executive detached housing

Hervey Street - full of Victorian character

Classic 1950s double bay semi

1950s executive, detached house