Foxtons Share Discussion Threads

[dt1010] 28/10/2015 18:58

I agree NY that the prime end is DEAD. And you know what, I'm glad it is. Take ASCOT for instance. Totally DEAD. The Russians have disappeared, as have the Chinese. But Virginia Water? Booming apparently (I know this for a fact in terms of transaction numbers). So yes, its dead in pockets, but not everywhere.

I agree that Knightsbridge, Belgravia etc, those areas, yes they are in slump territory at the moment. Too expensive. Buyers have dried up.

I agree Foxtons will "suffer". The shares will fall. But it will continue to expand. Turnover will grow. But at a slower rate - and lets face it the market is increasingly 60% lettings.

Keep buying up freehold in the East End - East Ham, Plaistow, Barking. These are the areas where the market is booming. There are streets of Victorian terraces that let so well. Newham is up 22% in the last year. Of course that too will slow but its a fact that you throw a stone in a pond and it ripples out. Its flat in the middle now and in Newham for instance, really booming.

Price growth I feel confident will be seen within commuter distance of London over the next 5 years.

Foxtons are in Stratford (and buying instructions in Plaistow and East Ham by over valuing property (flattering sellers) but locking them into 2% sole agency for 12 weeks, then dropping the price until they sell.

Same old tricks die hard.

[ny boy] 28/10/2015 09:57

DT1010

I am talking prime top end, the market is dead above £2M foreign buyers have been hit hard and virtually disappeared. The market simply got way too pricey, the smart money has left the scene.

I am bring offered deals on houses and apartments in Knightsbridge/Belgravia/Chelsea with 15/25% off asks. There are very few buyers and the ones that have cash are just sitting back and waiting for much lower prices over the winter. Forget the thousands of unsold flats on Battersea/Vauxhall riverside, already being discounted heavily, stock levels are huge and much more stock is due to hit the markets over the next 6-18 months.

Foxtons will suffer badly going forward.

[dros1] 28/10/2015 09:52

hxxp://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2015/10/26/leigh-day-and-the-foxtons-case/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheLandlordLawBlog+%28The+Landlord+Law+Blog%29

[dt1010] 26/10/2015 19:04

Ny boy: amazing, your powers of clairvoyance.

Rate rises keep being postponed time and time again.

Even when they start rising it will be minuscule, 1.5% max by 2020 Carney says.

There is no correction in prices going on. Only a drop in transaction levels.

Fact is London always bounces back. This time will be no different. Expect the bounce to come when mad money printing starts up again to stave off deflationary collapse.

[ny boy] 25/10/2015 23:04

Ie. Going down!

Sub 100p next year, when the downturn really starts biting

[spatula spatula] 25/10/2015 14:16

Questor share tip: Avoid Foxtons as shares look overvalued
The estate agent is suffering from slow sales activity in the centre of London and sluggish letting activity, says Questor

[napoleon 14th] 25/10/2015 14:13

Published after I had sold mine for much the same reasons:

[ny boy] 24/10/2015 21:49

There are no suckers left to buy and over inflated prices, the days of funny money and zero rate money is over, central London has been rocked by the falls, foreign buyers have virtually disappeared, mostly as currencies in their own Countries have fallen sharply against the £ making London property hugely expensive.

The market will correct for several years

[dt1010] 23/10/2015 19:58

One thing true about Foxtons is that vendors don't mind paying higher fees if they achieve a higher selling price. Foxtons are good to sell through but bloody awful to buy through, take my word for it.

[ny boy] 23/10/2015 10:19

Read....




prime Central London and outer prime is dead in the water over £2M

Smart money has already left the arena, better asset classes to play elsewhere.

[ayl30] 23/10/2015 09:56

DT - interesting views. Just one point - "Foxtons is no easy fix hence the panic to open offices away from the prime areas" - dont think this is accurate. They have been telling the city for some time about diversifying away from the centre and plans have been laid for some time. Nth London and outer area is currently a gap they are starting to fill. so no panic and diversification strategy working and need proven by current slow down in very centre of London.

[dt1010] 23/10/2015 05:05

It will go way back under200p as hedge funds are targeting it.

I would hesitate before writing off London's property market for 5 years though NYBoy.

Yes the prime market now is on its knees in terms of transactional levels. It is a v hard market (no pity for the agents mind you). But london will remain a very robust market. Predicting a crash is what capital economics have been doing for years and they have got it so wrong. London may dip but it always bounces back. Rates cannot be raised at anything more than a tiny amount without crippling the economy as it is so leveraged and growth rates are so derisory.

People are just not selling. Stamp duty is now rudiculous. Far too high. So they hold on and their property goes up. But they also hold on as they resent the high moving costs. Not enough stock means they know they're onto a winner long term, hence why on earth sell?

Qe4 and 5 will come from the BOE and Fed and Bank of Japan. It's all governments have left, their printing presses. They fear deflation more than inflation. They will just INFLATE away their debts. Yes it's madness but it means property is only going one way long term.

Does this means Foxt is a good investment? No. Not for the time being, perhaps not ever. The worm will turn against the company. It's not moving with the times. The rental market is so competative. Their fees are far too high. Sales fees will drop in real terms as stock continues to dry up. Other agents charge far less but get the same results. The company culture is brash and aggressive- not good. Most of the staff are kids in suits pretending to know what they're doing. And the real rod for the company's back? It's rate of growth. Too fast for its own good.

This should double bottom at 150p now I think. I am not short and I do believe property will continue to thrive in London as an asset class. But right now with a flat difficult London prime market (Newham, Barking and Dagenham etc are not prime, these outlying areas will continue to thrive). Foxtons is no easy fix hence the panic to open offices away from the prime areas. 'Quick, the areas we've been raping for so many years are failing us now, let's move into the outlying areas less affected by stupid prices and no international buyers'.

Watch the hedgies short this down!!

Target 150p

[ny boy] 22/10/2015 21:45

Going down, the party is well and truly over!

[aishah] 22/10/2015 21:37

200p knocking

[ny boy] 22/10/2015 17:23

100p price target, lower if the slump in prime property worsens next year.

[ny boy] 22/10/2015 11:07

No they will get terrible, the slump in prime property has only just started, will probably last 2-5 years before massive price adjustments,

100B of cash supporting the prime London market via secret offshore structures which the police are starting to investigate how much has been dodgy money stolen from global Countries, much from Africa. Lots of foreigners are trying to get out in a falling market, disaster in the making.

The Chinese got sucked in to places like Battersea and Vauxhall riverside paying well over the top prices that are totally out of sync with the local area.

These areas will probably experience 50%+ falls as there is an ever increasing supply of apartments.

[aishah] 22/10/2015 09:45

Not too bad considering the state of the market. CityAM:

Upmarket estate agents Foxtons have said strong price growth and stamp duty charges mean London property transactions remain at "historically low levels" as it increasingly focuses on outer London areas.

"We are in a strong position to capitalise on market growth currently being seen in outer London areas through the organic expansion of our branch network," Nic Budden, chief executive, said.

Foxtons has opened seven new branches in the last year, most recently in high growth, outer London areas. The company said it remains on track with its plan to open between five to 10 branches each year, with a pipeline of new sites secured for the next 18 months.

Chancellor George Osborne cut stamp duty on most home purchases in December. But the amount paid by those buying the most expensive homes, including many of the pricier properties in central London, rose.

Revenue rose 8.8 per cent to £43.5m annually for the third quarter ended September 30.

Property sales commissions rose 12.8 per cent to £18.5m, as residential lettings rose 3.3 per cent to £22.6m.

"Although we expect any recovery of the property sales market to be slow due to low current levels of stock, we enter the fourth quarter with a £1bn sales pipeline which is well above the same point last year and based on current market conditions, we remain broadly on track to meet full year expectations," Budden added.

[ny boy] 20/10/2015 21:01

Foxtons is all about the prime central London market, where the bubble has burst, lots of highly leveraged owners trying to get out in a market where buyers, mostly foreign have run back to their own Country realizing the London market is just one giant con, mostly fueled by zero rates which has come to an abrupt end, the party is over.

[ny boy] 19/10/2015 14:55

The slump could continue for years as a ridiculous bubble was built up on the back of cheap money, much of it dodgy, piling into London from all parts of the globe, that is well and truly over.

[ny boy] 19/10/2015 14:53

Priced for a collapse, central London property got into a bubble,which has now started bursting, the slump will spread out from the prime areas like the Black Death, plague II

[aishah] 14/10/2015 16:09

#989. Will be soon there imo. dyor