Agent slams national house price reports as misleading | Letting Agent News: Industry News | Residential Letting Software | Rentman

Agent slams national house price reports as misleading | Letting Agent News: Industry News | Residential Letting Software | Rentman

Gloomy housing market reports should not be reported without the geographical context being made clear.

That is the view of Eric Walker, boss of London agents Bushells, who takes exception to doom-laden reporting of the housing market, which apparently shows everything heading south, including the south.

This follows the latest RICS report (our favourite!) which is, of course, its usual model of clarity.

The gist of it is that the number of estate agents who say that prices fell exceeded those reporting gains by 44 percentage points.

Nope, we don’t really understand that bit either, so we skipped to the end and found some chartered surveyors lamenting the slow market in places like Liverpool.

But Walker said: “In the areas of London we cover, these claims simply are not accurate. November was a hugely successful month and Bushells’ biggest problem was lack of stock.

“Applicant levels were up year on year. December 8 was a landmark day with more offers received than on any day in 2010.

“One negotiator in Fulham recorded five offers and agreed four sales that happy Wednesday alone. 

“Our figures are entirely at odds with the RICS claims and we are struggling to meet demand. I am not suggesting that the RICS are wrong, I am suggesting that a generalised overview is misleading.”

Walker said: “This is not attack on the RICS as their report will contain more detail. The public, however, are unlikely to read it in full.”

Your views as always will be welcome. You can read the whole of Walker’s blog here


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