Press Release

For more information about how runaway house prices blight the market in cycles, please go to:
The Housing Economy as part of the UK Economy, a more detailed analysis of why house prices are currently so high and what should be done to bring supply and demand within the housing sector, back into balance.

Note:

Please inform us if you publish or broadcast information contained either within this press release, or in the detailed analysis.

For more information contact:

Company: Property Match (UK)

Address: 48 Marshall Hill Drive, Mapperley,

NOTTINGHAM, NG3 6FS

Web: http://www.property-match.co.uk/

Contact: Peter Hendry, Advertising Manager

Email: fr.pr@property-match.co.uk

Phone: 0115 840 2982

Mobile: 07792 334547

House prices have been driven well beyond average incomes, once again, and among those who should take some responsibility for this are the sector's front-line sales force, the estate agents.

People investing in buying their own homes ought to take new steps to move away from the volatile boom and bust scenario of the last five decades. Now is the time.

Instead of prices surging, then falling back like a rip tide after a storm, its time a more stable general level of prices materialized. This would suit the majority of owners - and the national economy too.

The way to achieve this is to stop paying estate agents a percentage of whatever they can get. Instead just pay them a flat fee, as is generally done with any other contractors or service providers.

That is our firm conclusion having worked closely in the property sector for the past 30 plus years, but if anyone is in any doubt about it we would advocate a fully independent review of the way estate agents conduct business in the England and Wales.

Until there are brakes, stopping house values from continually surging and then falling-back, house prices shall remain too highly geared and hence far too volatile for most house owners.

Estate agents ought to be happy to adopt this change to the way they collect their fees, if indeed they are genuinely working in their clients' best interests.

A second advantage of adopting a new flat fee structure for estate agents would be that the ones that are less than honest, would effectively be taken out by the new cost-transparent market.

This may also help to improve the existing extremely poor reputation, which estate agents have attracted over the past fifty years.

If the government recently considered slapping a charge on people using the ubiquitous plastic carrier bag, they could stop estate agents from charging percentages? It would be an easy fix.

If any lessons are to be learnt from this year's serious property price slump, changes need to happen; not just in the financial sector but in the estate agency sector too.

Somebody, somewhere simply needs to take the initiative.

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Press Release:

July 2008, Nottingham, UK.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Headline:

HOUSE PRICE FIX

or

HELP OUR HOUSING MARKET