Ask any of our clients, buyers or sellers, and they'll say we tell it how it is.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you I'm always looking for a positive out of any situation. They'll also tell you I'm not a 'told you so' kind of person.

Well, I'm still ever the optimist, but I did 'tell you so'.

Search engines like Google, Msn and Yahoo are increasingly the preferred method to look for anything on the Internet these days, including property.

It used to be that one large property portal would do in terms of finding a suitable home but with more and more agents leaving sites like Rightmove can you really be sure any one portal has 'everything in one place'.

Portal sites are great for browsing, but if you're really searching for the perfect home try it next time.

For example 'property in Ipswich' or 'property in Kesgrave' will bring up a host of portals and agents ensuring you get the chance to really see what's out there.

The Bank Of England has just announced a 1.5% cut in the base rate to 3%!!

Waahaay!! I hear you cry. (that's if you're a borrower, not a saver)

This could, potentially, be great news for the housing market. I say 'potentially' as apparently over half the country's banks and lenders have yet to pass on the last reduction!

We know lenders are not legally obliged to pass on any reductions at all, but surely 1.5% in one fell swoop looks to me like the BoE saying ''just try not passing on all or some of that''!!!

After all , us good old taxpayers have just bailed out a lot of them, time for a bit of payback I say!!

It will be interesting to see if the govt/us owned Northern Rock lead the way!

Can't wait to see what happens next.

Online conveyancing costs have come of age and with the credit crunch biting sharply, there are some great deals to be had with conveyancing fees greatly reduced.

As you know house sales have pretty much dried up, but if you are in the market right now you can get fabulous deals from online solicitors, who are really pulling out all the stops to get your business

I've been banging on about this for more years than I care to remember but my words have always fallen on deaf ears.

Now, it's not just me.

Estate Agent Today is a site, funnily enough, for the estate agency trade.  A place for us agents to blow off steam once in a while.

An article - Agents pull out of newspaper advertising - tells us what we, the agents have known for a while, papers don't work.  But it's the comments to the article which you really should take a look at.

If you were ever under the illusion that getting your house advertised in the paper was the way to go then these comments will stop you in your tracks.

You'll know - straight from the horses mouth - newspaper advertising was only ever about 1 thing - getting new sellers, not finding buyers.

At last, now maybe you can stop being hoodwinked by the crap the big agents are peddling and realise you're paying higher fees so 'they' can get more sellers.

-End of Rant.

With all the differing opinions and varying 'advice' out there at the moment about the current housing market, it's no wonder it's confusing.

What's really going on?

In my experience the most successful price reductions over the last few weeks ( that have resulted in an agreed sale) have all been , on average, 20% lower than was being asked a year ago!

It's what I'm now calling the 20% rule. That's what it seems to take to sell, some people are just getting there quicker than others.

The implications are twofold. Firstly, if you bought a property within the last 1-2 years and are contemplating selling now, I'd say I wouldn't if I was you!

Secondly, if you reduce sufficiently and manage to pass that reduction on it's actually a good time to get involved, (i.e 20% off £275,000 is more than 20% off £170,000) assuming everyone in a chain follows the same principle.  If they don't, then move on to another one.

So, if you're determined to sell, it can be done!! Do the research if you're buying or selling, or both.

Remember, the 20% rule applies to the house you're buying as much as the one you're selling.

Happy hunting

At last some good news for once.

Whatever the reaction to todays announcement of a year long axing of Stamp Duty upto £175,000, (effective from 03-09-08), there's no denying that with the average UK house price now at just under £170,000 this should go some way to reducing the overall costs of moving for a lot of people.

All we need now is estate agents to do their bit and reduce fees from the ridiculous average of 1.5% - 2.0%. 

Now that would really be Great News, wouldn't it.

I regularly speak people these days that are keen to move home, even in this current climate, but who all make the same mistakes time and time again...

They assume they'll have to pay a certain price for the home they want.

estateagenttoday.co.uk have just put up a survey asking estate agents if they will renew their contracts with Rightmove when their contracts are up. They've called it the 'Rightmove survey', and as of today the figures are pointing heavily agsinst Rightmove with over 75% of respondents stating they'll be using other portals when their contracts are up.

The next question is who the agents will be listing their properties with and right now it seems Globrix are coming out on top with 24% of the vote and then Findaproperty.com on almost 14%.  The survey began on the 28th August and continues until the 28th November 2008.

If you're buying or selling a home, then it may be worthwhile to keep your eye on the survey.

We've been watching the rise and rise of Globrix since earlier this year and we're amazed at the rapid growth of this property search engine. They've now indexed over 800,000 properties in record time and are just a few thousand away from beating Rightmove into second place.

And it's easy to see why. Their search is intuitive and simpler than any search I've used.  You can refine your search in multiple ways:

• Freshness
• Bedrooms
• Bathrooms
• Property Type
• Outside Space
• Keywords
• Nearby Stations
• Nearby Schools

...The list goes on. Globrix is up-to-date and links every property listed to the actual estate agent making enquiries easier than ever before.

But from where I'm sitting the biggest benefit is they understand the internet and instead of being a walled garden like Rightmove all their properties are indexed by Google giving sellers, buyers and agents the ultimate property tool.  Rock on Globrix...

Go and have a play, you'll be amazed at the functionality and ease of use.