THE VOICE OF PROPERTY

WHILE the property market in general has slowed, some sectors are still seeing very high levels of activity resulting in competitive closing dates and prices exceeding 30 per cent over Home Report Value. A prime example is the flat market in the south side of Glasgow, where young people are struggling to secure a home under highly competitive conditions.

One young couple recently offered £186,000 for a onebedroomed flat with a Home Report Value of £150,000. It went to a closing date with 26 offers and eventually sold for close to £200,000.

ESTATE agency has evolved and adapted markedly in recent years with the growth of online agents, and high-tech marketing initiatives prompted by the pandemic. While online agents represent less than a 10 per cent market share in the UK, traditional high street agents face another potentially more challenging disruptor in ‘hybrid’ estate agents, who do not have a high street presence but offer a local service and point of contact at substantially lower cost.

Interestingly, another version of the hybrid model has emerged which could be a market differentiator. Founded in 2005 as a niche business by two architectural journalists, The Modern House, a Londonbased firm marketing properties throughout the UK, is infiltrating the mainstream inspired by the principles of modernism to represent ‘design-led homes across the UK that pay attention to space, light, materials, nature and decoration’. Clearly only homes of a certain calibre need apply.

Another niche hybrid firm is Mr and Mrs Clarke, founded by the eponymous couple in Leamington Spa eight years ago. It operates as a mix of local agents – tagline ‘discerningly different estate agents’ – backed by industry leading specialists at head office.

Alan Gall, the recently appointed agent for the

Glasgow area, comments: “Our service is founded on one-to-one personal service from start to completion, and marketing that goes above and beyond the norm, including a major focus on social media.”

Previously director of a company selling Rolls Royce cars in Saudi Arabia, Alan’s return to Scotland saw him negotiating properties on behalf of overseas buyers in Saudi.

Alan Gall is Mr and Mrs Clarke’s estate agency’s representative in

Glasgow

BUYERS seeking a home in Edinburgh’s historic New Town now have the opportunity to purchase a dream mews on one of the city’s quaint cobbled streets. Square & Crescent has officially completed works on its two newbuild Georgian-inspired mews homes, nestled in Northumberland Place Lane, at the secluded rear of Abercromby Place.

Located within the city’s World Heritage Site, the high-spec threebedroomed homes nod to the city’s past, providing a modern, high-quality build inspired by the traditional mews style which has become centric to Edinburgh’s built history.

Priced at £995,000 and boasting access to Edinburgh’s Queen Street Gardens, the mews homes are part of

Square & Crescent’s wider Abercromby Place development. For more details visit https:// squareandcrescent.com/

Two mews homes are now for sale in the New Town