Unlock your potential….
We are looking to strengthen our experienced and amazing sales department in the Bury St Edmunds office. We are looking to speak with dynamic and enthusiastic individuals in order to establish the ‘perfect fit’ for our already established and well-regarded team. A positive mind-set and creative thinking is our main prerequisite over industry experience, however, if you have decades of …
Racing at Ampton this Sunday
We are pleased to once again sponsor this Sunday’s Point-to-Point at Ampton. Forecast looks perfect. We very much look forward to seeing you there.
Unlock your potential….
We are looking to strengthen our experienced and amazing sales department in the Bury St Edmunds office. We are looking to speak with dynamic and enthusiastic individuals in order to establish the ‘perfect fit’ for our already established and well-regarded team. A positive mind-set and creative thinking is our main prerequisite over industry experience, however, if you have decades of …
It’s life…but not as we know it!
Ben Marchbank explores how sci-fi can help a large group of house sellers replace starry-eyed ambition with more earthly logic. Many of those old enough to remember the original Star Trek TV series may now be considering making a most important move – leaving their starship and downsizing. With no need for lots of space, which is expensive to …
Yes Minister!
One of the many witty maxims to have come from the scripts of ‘Yes Minister’ is the assertion that “a cynic is only a term used by an idealist to describe a realist.” So, as the fine detail of the government’s Budget is announced, we cast a realist’s eye over the content and assess its likely impact on the property …
“A house without books is like a room without windows.” Horace Mann
We are pleased to once again support the Bury St Edmunds Literary Festival 2024, so do join us this autumn to celebrate books and writing in the heart of East Anglia with a host of presentations, talks and discussions with some of the most exciting authors in literature. Starts Friday 11th to Sunday 13th October.
Hidden Gardens of Bury
We are very pleased once again to support the #hiddengardensofbury @stnicholashospicecare this Sunday between 11am and 5pm. Look forward to seeing you all in the delightful gardens.
Happy Hunting
This Easter, as well as being on the lookout for chocolate treats, we will be on the hunt for the very best buyers for our clients’ houses. If you are considering a sale this spring, do get in touch.
Suffolk Hunt Point-to-Point Ampton – 3rd March 2024
We are pleased to sponsor the point-to-point at Ampton this Sunday – 3rd March. Pony racing starts at 12 noon, and main races start at 1pm.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2024
2023 was a year to forget in the property market. Rising interest rates and inflationary pressures on household budgets resulted in fewer houses being bought and prices falling somewhere between 5 and 10 percent from their peak in the late summer of 2022. So, what should one expect of 2024? Well, we are looking forward to the year and expect …
Out of the mouths of babes
When a building goes up in flames, the media reports a fire: what it doesn’t do is report the smoke beforehand. Similarly, no one at the moment is headlining the marked increase in property activity witnessed by estate agents in the lead-up to Christmas. In fact, far from a seasonal slowdown, there were more viewings in November than in September. …
Spot the Difference
Ben Marchbank compares a new BBC TV series on estate agency with real life. The BBC will broadcast a new reality show called Crazy Rich Agents on BBC2 at 9pm, Sunday 6th August. The series is designed to focus on high-end estate agency in the UK. The producers aim to showcase a more American way of selling and buying properties …
Ditch the Compass
Ben Marchbank points the right way through the new year property market maze. There are areas of the British Isles, such as loftier parts of the Isle of Skye, where a compass doesn’t work. This anomaly is due to the local geology – a hard, abrasive, magnetic rock called gabbro. Not being able to trust one’s compass is always unnerving …
If Wishes Were Sales
Emmerson Dutton looks at what it takes to make things happen in the property market this New Year, because wishing is no longer enough. This time last year Russia hadn’t set foot on Ukrainian soil, the chickens were still to come home to roost for Boris Johnson, we had hardly heard of Liz Truss and were barely out from Covid …
The human side of selling a home
In the days before technology invaded the estate agency industry – flooding it with helpful and not so helpful ‘proptech’ – estate agents kept buyers’ details written on index cards that were stored in plastic boxes. These were called hot boxes in the trade and all estate agents had them. Depending on how long buyers had been looking for a …
EVENTS
Emmerson Dutton of Bedfords takes a look at what’s important in a confusing property market. Asked what he thought would define his premiership, Prime Minister Harold McMillan famously replied, “Events, dear boy, events”. It is much the same with the property market. Events largely control turnover and turnover affects prices – up or down. There have been major global events …
Bury St Edmunds Hidden Gardens
Bedfords are proud to sponsor Bury St Edmunds Hidden Gardens – Sunday 3rd July – 11am to 5pm, in aid of St Nicholas Hospice. Bury St Edmunds has many fine and historic buildings, but Hidden Gardens gives people the chance to discover the secret patios, lawns, borders, vegetable gardens, greenhouses and other features behind their facades and high walls. All …
Building Back, Better
Ben Marchbank of our Burnham Market office reflects upon the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations and considers what we have and have not learnt over seventy years of the property market. Last weekend, we celebrated the Queen’s platinum jubilee. There were parties in streets which didn’t even exist when the Queen came to the throne along with those in the many …
We are hiring…
The Bury St Edmunds office is looking to strengthen its sales and administration team. We are interested in hearing from talented individuals already in the industry or looking to start a new career. Do DM us or call 01284 769 999 and speak to Emmerson or email your CV in confidence to [email protected]
SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS
Paul Bedford advises prospective sellers and buyers not to wait until the property market gets back to ‘normal’. Who remembers the boom and bust property markets of the early 1970s or the late 1980s? Who remembers the MIRAS debacle in 1988 and 15% mortgage interest rates? More people will remember recent mini booms and busts, general elections, Black Wednesday, the …
“…Spring is the time of plans and projects…”
The selling season is upon us, and due to the low levels of property available, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the large number of buyers looking for a home in Norfolk and Suffolk. If you are considering your property plans or projects, now is a good time to get in touch with us to book your …
THE START OF SOMETHING NEW?
PROPERTIES WANTED! We are building up a large database of buyers looking for property in both country, coastal and town locations within Norfolk and Suffolk. If you are entertaining the idea of selling this year, do get in touch to arrange your free market appraisal.
Whiz, Bang or Psst?
Whilst we are known throughout the region for our comprehensive marketing at a local, regional and national level, we also have the ability to dip into our extensive network of contacts and have a quiet word with motivated buyers – perfect for sellers who don’t relish the glare of a full open-market campaign. If you are considering your options and …
October is no longer a symphony of permanence and change
Emmerson Dutton, one of the Partners based in Bury St Edmunds, reflects upon the year to date and wonders what the future holds for the property market. The Stamp Duty holiday is now over and it has been an extraordinary period for the housing market, with exceptional demand met by a good supply of houses in post-lockdown 2020 and exceptional …
Remember September!
A sense of normality has returned as the children go back to school after the long summer break. Whilst the market remains very strong, one cannot help believe that a sector of the market was hampered during the summer by childcare challenges or simply because they enjoyed a well-earned break somewhere in the UK. Now that we are in September, …
FULL-TIME OFFICE ASSISTANT REQUIRED – BURNHAM MARKET
Our Burnham Market office is looking for a full-time office assistant. Computer literacy, a pleasant telephone manner and excellent organisational skills are required, as is the ability to work efficiently within a small team. Please send a CV and covering letter to Bedfords, The Bower House, 25 Market Place, Burnham Market PE31 8HF or via email to [email protected]
Hidden Gardens of Bury
We are proud to once again be sponsors for the Hidden Gardens event. Bury St Edmunds has many fine and historic buildings, but Hidden Gardens gives people the chance to discover the secret patios, lawns, borders, vegetable gardens, greenhouses and other features behind their facades and high walls. All the gardens are in the town centre and within walking distance …
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
Ben Marchbank looks to a genius to make some sense of a property market, the like of which we haven’t seen since the 1980s. What Isaac Newton, who formulated the laws of gravity in the middle of the 17th century, would have made of the current gravity-defying property market is anyone’s guess. But no doubt, like most people, he would …
Spring…a surprise!
The daffodils are standing tall, the clocks have gone forward, lambs are gamboling playfully in the fields and the Easter Bunny is eagerly anticipated across the land. It is fair to say that spring has sprung! But one traditional seasonal event has failed to come to pass this year; the Easter Parade of new instructions at which spring buyers keenly …
“Winter Is Coming” or “Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent?”
In advance of the Budget, there has been much speculation as to what measures the Chancellor might introduce and of course, our concern has been how they might impact the housing market. The speculation has largely occupied two schools of thought; those who thought that further positive measures might be announced before, inevitably, tax rises are implemented (the ‘Winter Is …
