Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:19am
Looking at your list:
Brexit - one can hardly deny that this has had a major effect even if only looking at a drop of the pound from €1.40 to €1.12. I think you already agree on that one.
Fashion - at my age I have seen countless fashions come and go - don't you remember the round tour brigade!? Round rooms where no normal furniture will fit well. This started with a German fashion and now the properties are shunned to a greater or lesser extent. I didn't say that womens' fashion prevents property sales!!!!
Actually I didn't mention agents' fees which as you know are about 6% with tax. What I said was transaction fees are stupidly high (and that obviously includes the agent's 6%). I know that they have to charge these kind of fees to compensate for the miserable volumes of sales compared to England. You agreed on that point.
Dirty homes! Well we all make throw away comments from time to time! England has become a nation of haves and have nots mainly because of the actions of central bankers and money printing. The current crisis was triggered by irresponsible banks exacerbated by governments using taxpayer funds to bail them out. One sees more about the have nots on TV than others. Many live in deplorable conditions and often crowded conditions thus prompting my comment. England is not alone in this economic malaise. So long as a country spends more than it creates, it will become impoverished. This is a worldwide issue that central banks and governments would rather were not discussed.
White? Read my comments on white boxes again. Perhaps what you say is right on this. Nevertheless I would maintain than many are very poor value for money.
Web sites? Some are better known than others. You agreed that Rightmove was a good one. Some are not so good. The underlying reasons I think lie in the extent of promotion associated with each site and that of course in itself costs money. The design also plays a major part.
Repossessions - well I think we agreed on this one.
Something else? What might that be?