Property news
Local agent gets into swing of things for charity
Keen golfers at award-winning estate agency Fox & Sons took advantage of the fantastic July weather in Sussex to host a regional golf day in aid of CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading charity for children and young people with cancer.
Drew Bailey, Sales Manager at Fox & Sons in Brighton, organised the 4 July event and was part of the winning team which included colleagues Peter Wolter and Ray Murphy, and Haywards Heath’s mortgage consultant James Stallard. Staff from branches across Sussex competed at Pyecombe Golf Course, and almost £500 was raised on the day from donations, competitions and a raffle.
Commenting on its success, Drew says: “The golf day was great fun and to raise this money for CLIC Sargent is a wonderful achievement. The generosity of the competitors, sponsors and supporters was outstanding and we would like to thank everyone who took part and made the event such a success.”
Fox & Sons, part of the Sequence Group which has a network of 300 estate agency branches across the UK, has supported CLIC Sargent as its chosen charity for over a decade and has raised close to £400,000 since 2001.
Drew continues: “CLIC Sargent relies heavily on voluntary donations to continue supporting children and young people with cancer every step of the way, and we are delighted at being able to contribute to this worthy cause.”
Fox & Sons, 117-118 Western Road, Brighton, 01273 777000
Leaders Brighton & Hove 30th anniversary
Leaders have raised more than £15,700 for Make-A-Wish Foundation with their birthday celebrations. To commemorate their 30th anniversary, each of Leaders’ branches across the country hosted a special celebration on 21 June, to which landlords, tenants, local businesses and the general public were invited.
As part of the festivities, Leaders set out to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, the charity that grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions.
All Leaders branches in Brighton & Hove celebrated in style, dressing up in 1980s clothing for the day to commemorate Leader’s first branch opening in New Road, Brighton in 1983. There were also fun games, competitions, raffles and cake sales. Between them the teams raised £986 for Make-A-Wish, whilst across Leaders’ branch network, more than £15,700 was raised for the charity on the day, with more donations still to come in.
Leaders’ Brighton & Hove Senior Manager, David Thorne, said: “We are delighted to have raised such a fantastic amount for Make-A-Wish. Thank you so much to everyone who came along to celebrate with us and who supported our fundraising efforts so generously. Thank you also to all our staff for their enthusiasm and hard work in making the day such a success, and to all the local businesses that donated prizes for our raffle.”
Leaders, central Brighton: 01273 720714; Hove: 01273 321721, www.leaders.co.uk
www.make-a-wish.org.uk
Tingley’s staff take the plunge
The staff at Tingley’s Estate Agents have been fundraising for CRASH Charity. CRASH are the construction and property industries charity for the homeless and offer practical support for those with housing issues. Tingley’s senior negotiator, Lucy, volunteered for a tandum skydive which took place on Saturday 13 July. Those that know Lucy will be aware of her fear of heights.
The whole team chose this charity as they feel, working in property, they see too often the struggles people face accessing housing. Lucy commented: “We like CRASH’s practical approach and believe they make a real difference, we just want to give a little something back.” It is also close to home as CRASH are currently funding the refurbishment of a Brighton project, Equinox Supported Housing.
They raised a total of £598 however are still collecting, you can make a donation online at www.justgiving.com/Lucy-Hansford
A big thank you to all our landlords and contractors as well as friends and family that have supported.
Tingleys, 01273 710038, www.tingleys.co.uk
Serious interest returns to the housing market
Housing market confidence returns as sales and house hunters increase. Estate agents have seen monthly house sales increase to levels not seen since 2009, building on wider positive trends emerging from the property market. The latest figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) housing market report revealed another monthly increase in the average number of sales made by NAEA members.
Average sales increased from nine per branch in April to ten in May. This follows a continued rise from the beginning of the year, where in January the number of sales reported by NAEA members was only seven per branch.
The NAEA also revealed a 12 per cent rise in the average number of house hunters compared with last year’s figures – up from an average of 274 per branch in May 2012 to 313 in May 2013. This is in addition to a month-on-month improvement, up from an average of 310 in April 2013 and 286 in March 2013.
Meanwhile, the average number of first time buyers (FTBs) has dropped from 23 per cent in April to 20 percent in May, which suggests more still needs to be done to help this section of the market. The supply of properties also saw a slight decrease from 61 average properties for sale per branch in April to 60 in May, possibly due to the record sales figures in recent months.
Mark Hayward, Managing Director of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “These really are encouraging figures; serious house hunters are continuing to enter the market and are intent on buying. The current low lending rates have created attractive conditions for those with sizeable deposits who are thinking of buying or moving home.
“We are hopeful that this positive trend will continue, with the sunny weather likely to bring even more house hunters to the market; plus if banks continue to compete on rates and offer increasingly attractive deals, savvy homebuyers may find their options in the market increase.”
