Google looking to buy one or two real estate companies a month

Google is once again making waves about its intentions in online real estate, with an executive of the search giant reportedly saying at a conference last week that they are "actively looking to acquire one to two small real estate companies a month.”

So begins this article from a Seattle based news source.

The conference was the prestigious "Real estate connect" gathering in New York and the speaker who reportedly made the comment was Sam Sebastian who works for Google as a director of their Local & B2B markets in Chicago.

One to two real estate companies a month eh....they don't do things by halves and if it's true then expect to see a global feeding frenzy. 

Stick the kettle on, grab yourself a cup of coffee and some chocolate biscuits, settle back and enjoy the show.

www.cognacproperty.com

Guest blog: Sarah Beeny

My Top Tips – Selling in 2010 – Sarah Beeny – Tepilo.com

Happy New Year!

I was flattered to be asked to write a few tips for selling your property in 2010. Here goes with a few ideas on how to sell in the current market.

• Be realistic on price - As a general rule everything has a price - the chances are if you have not had any viewers or had viewers but no offers, it's probably on for too much money.

• Clean the whole house - If you smoke, stop smoking inside and clean all ashtrays - if you have pets, wash their beds. Pet and cigarette odour are the two smells that come up most often in ‘put off' smells list.

• De-clutter - As if you haven’t heard it before, but use this as the perfect moment to move the piles of stuff you don't use to a charity shop.

• Don’t wait to get your house on the market - Traditionally there are busier and quieter times of the year for house selling. These are based on what much of the population is doing. If now is the right time in your life to sell, get on with it asap. If the market falls lower by the ‘suitable time economically' you will kick yourself.

Best Wishes,


Sarah x

www.cognacproperty.com

France tops quality of life index for 5th year running

International Living magazine have just published their annual "Quality of Life" index. Here's what they say about the number one place in the world to live:

For the fifth year running, France takes first in our annual Quality of Life Index. No surprise. Its tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world's best health care.

France always nets high scores in most categories. But you don't need number-crunchers to tell you its bon vivant lifestyle is special. Step off a plane and you'll experience it first-hand.

They weight their findings in the following way:

• cost of living (15%)
• culture & leisure (10%)
• economy (15%)
• environment (10%)
• freedom (10%)
• health (10%)
• infrastructure (10%)
• safety/risk (10%)
• climate (10%)

So there's no excuse at all for not taking the plunge and making 2010 the year that you buy a house over here and turn your dreams into reality.

www.cognacproperty.com

Property values - a 10 year view

Now here's a brave woman.

Caroline McGhie, writing in the Daily Telegraph with a headline of "Property: The decade ahead".

There's some interesting stuff too, for example Mark Lawson of the buying solution says:

We will also see an increasing tendency to hide big spending rather than boast about it. "I believe more and more properties will be available privately – perhaps as much as 75 per cent compared to 25 per cent on-market, but vendors will want premium prices."

Then Ms McGhie says:

The runaway market of the decade is likely to be down on the farm, where Knight Frank predicts a 100 per cent increase in land values by 2015.

And, according to Bidwells:

We could see a 68 per cent rise in prices by 2018.

It's all absolute twaddle.

Analysts consistently fail to predict 6 months ahead let alone 120.  What we do know is that values will rise, fall,  then rise again with an overall upward tend....as Mark Twain said "buy land because it's the only thing they don't make anymore" (that was before Spangles and Bovril crisps of course).

When I first started my career in property back in the early '80's a very wise (and rich) developer told me that it's just like it says in the bible. You get seven years of famine followed by seven years of feast...the timescale may vary slightly but the general sentiment is spot on.

www.cognacproperty.com

Google to buy US property listing site?

Trulia is to the USA what Rightmove is to the UK.

This article by Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal claims that sources close to Google have confirmed that they are looking to buy Trulia  for $150-250 million.

If this is true, and it happens, then the shake-up in the way owners & agents market their houses for sale will continue apace.  A lot of technology commentators have forecast that 2010 will be the year that online video moves from the "just for fun" sector into the corporate world....expect Google to embrace and push this if/when they do launch a property portal.

I wrote a fair bit about the changing face of estate agency last year and fully expect to be writing more throughout 2010.  The action taken by these huge corporations globally will have a direct effect on the way people buy and sell houses in my hidden (but beautiful) corner of France tomorrow.

Meanwhile let's keep an eye on both Trulia and Ms Swisher's column as she does appear to have some excellent sources in Silicon Valley.

www.cognacproperty.com

10 property "tweeters" to follow in 2010

Here's my list of ten property folk to follow this year on Twitter. 

Apologies as I've just realised it's rather UK centric but hey ho. There are some big, some small but all are worth listening to:

1. @ed_mead  He's a well respected agent with Douglas & Gordon in London

2. @anneashworth Anne is the editor of Bricks & Mortar in The Times

3. @lizmale Liz runs a property related PR consultancy

4. @adders  Adam is head of blogging for Reed Business Information (same stable as Estates Gazette)

5. @tepilo  Sarah Beeny's private sale site

6. @mattdollinger  Describes himself as a "real estate technology & ideas guy"

7. @retribob  Bob Thompson is a researcher, writer & tutor in all things property

8. @buyingagent  Homefinders in London and the South-East of England

9. @kirstiemallsopp  Probably doesn't need any introduction

10. @4homes  Latest property news from the Channel 4 homes team

www.cognacproperty.com

Why isn't my house selling?

Here's a question that is being asked of many agents at the moment, "why isn't my house selling?".

Of course, every case is different but I just love the responses given to this question on the MSN money site here. The article opens with:

Has your lawn grown up around that "For Sale" sign? Have the wasps moved into the lock box on your front door? Did you just receive an invitation to your real estate agent's retirement party?

If so, chances are your home sale fizzled.

Here are the six most-common reasons why homes don't sell and what you can do about it.

It then gives the following reasons:

1. Your home is overpriced

2. Your home doesn’t present well

3. You’re in a bad location

4. You have made a bad choice of estate agent.

5. You are battling market conditions

6. You have ineffective marketing

Two of these are beyond your control (bad location, difficult market) but the other four are absolutely down to you. 

It's not rocket science....make sure the price is absolutely competitive (do your own research don't just rely on the agents valuation), clear the clutter, tidy the drive and entrance (first impressions are everything), employ the best agents (not the cheapest) and make sure they take great photos and market the house in ads, online and in prime position in the shop window.

Get the basics right and 2010 should see you get the sale you've been waiting for.

www.cognacproperty.com