Pimlico Estate Agent Douglas Gordon has sparked controversy, and gone viral with a controversial video about estate agents which has featured in the Daily Mail. It is a grossly unflattering film that shows estate agents as their many detractors would imagine them – as obnoxious, sleazy, unprincipled louts.
Douglas Gordon are one of the top agents in London, so the film is unlikely to damage their reputation, nevertheless the reaction to the film hasn’t been to recognise it’s intention – as a spoof – but to recognise the stereotyped characteristics as being a genuine documentary. Who knows how this will play? Nevertheless the Property Industry should be alarmed at the number of people who look at what is intended to be a spoof & say “that’s just like my agent!”.
I avidly follow Property Journalist Graham Norwood (click picture for his blog) and yesterday he examined what it would take for the London Property Bubble to burst. I thought that I would take his premise and apply it to Pimlico.
The top end of the housing market is where it is currently at with developers & agents vying to beat the benchmark £6000/sq ft set by Candy & Candy. Pimlico has never been in that market – for reasons unknown. Pimlico’s location is second to none – as close or closer to any Central London destination as Mayfair, Chelsea, Kensington Pimlico only suffers from having a film about it by Ealing Studios instead of Julia Roberts. The properties tend to be Victorian terraces rather than Georgian or pre-war Mansion Blocks but the fact is that Pimlico is a secret bargain hidden from the Savills’ ”ubiquitous billionaires”. Knight Frank’s Private View magazine, described by the firm on Twitter as “full of the best properties available worldwide” actually has details of 32 London homes on sale…and only 24 from the entire rest of the planet, and none from Pimlico ………. Yay!
But what – in the darkest hours of the night when they might find themselves awake – do agents, developers and analysts fear might just possibly cause London to go belly-up? Graham Norwood asked 20 individuals from international and UK sales and letting agencies, what if…just what if…something was to happen.
The industry’s worries are simple, and three fold – Graham reports:
Euro Crisis: “Frankly no one’s worried about Greece defaulting. But if that happens and leads to Italy and then Spain, that’s Armageddon. British exposure is so great, no one from overseas will want to invest here, and no one from here will be able to afford to invest” says one UK sales agency;
Another 9/11: “So much of the London rental market is dependent on American corporate executives, a lot of harm would be done if they stopped flying” says one leading London lettings agency;
More Civil Unrest: “I was in the US when pictures were shown of the London riots. Suddenly the UK became a no-go zone. If that happens again, on a larger scale, where is central London’s buyers and investors?” is the question of a leading developer.
Now looking at these points from a purely Pimlico perspective …….
Euro Crisis:Well – Pimlico is occupied by insiders – people who know London, and know where to live. Top politicians, Judges, the Establishment, they all either house their mistress here or have a family home. Pimlico is the understated home of the establishment and a Euro Crisis won’t rock any boats
Another 9/11: The hotels and boarding houses of Pimlico tend to offer value rather than luxury. If Americans stop flying, everyone will feel the pain, but Pimlico will be the least hurt of all London locations. One of the benefits of being the insiders’ preference.
More Civil Unrest: Well Pimlico’s chavs did indeed go on a rampage in Sloane Square – but regardless of what goes on in the rest of London – the fact is that Pimlico is a haven of peace and quiet in Central London.
So actually my view is that whilst Pimlico may be missing the drama of a London Housing Boom, we are also immune from most of the risks.
Both landlords and tenants are at risk from lettings agents and estate agents who disappear with rent and deposit money. A kitemark-style scheme has been launched to reassure tenants and landlords worried about losing money handed over.
The scheme is backed by organisations including housing charity Shelter, the NUS, the Trading Standards Institute, the Residential Landlords Association and the British Property Federation.
In practice landlords are more at risk from rogue agents than tenants – tenants need to ensure their money goes to the genuine owner of the property that they are going to live in, Landlords need to ensure that the business handling their money is protecting it in a client account rather than using it to fund their own activities.
