Page 20 - The House Library

In conversation with ...
Matthew Morton-Smith
You have worked across prime central London for 20 years; how does the state of this market compare to the others you have experienced?
This market feels pretty like how things were when I first came to London in 2004; there was no real urgency in the market at all, and
I remember the first house I sold, in Markham Street, had been in the market for two years and had seen 114 viewings! There was no issue with the price or the house, it was simply a need to be patient until the right buyer came about. Advice that is definitely relevant today.
This market has always been fuelled by confidence and positive anticipation and there are many who feel that these key elements are lacking currently. However, I can’t help but feel that we are now seeing possibly the most stable environment we have seen for some time.
The likelihood of serious price growth or decline is minimal; mortgage rates are uncomfortable in comparison to the most recent history but are not unrealistic or at risk of major change in the coming months; the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of any general election since 2010 has had an enormous impact on sentiment, yet it is hard to see that the next one will have any such bearing, whatever the result.
If confidence is so important to decision making, if you are a buyer or a seller, it is hard to see that now isn’t the time that offers the most stable set of circumstances to base a decision on we have seen in years.
Your background in agency was very corporate; what are the differences you are enjoying most about the independence we enjoy at Tedworth?
Without hesitation the freedom and flexibility to be able to serve
our client’s best interests. The pressure to secure turnover and market share in big companies is massive, but to be able to give meaningful advice to a client that serves their best interests and has no connection to the demands of a ‘KPI spreadsheet’ is so refreshing and makes a huge difference to the trust and rapport we can build to ensure we achieve the best result.
Selling houses successfully is 100% about rapport and relationships; networks and scale are becoming increasingly less valuable, and I think this is exactly why so many of the best agents of the last two decades are now independent brokers.
If you weren’t selling houses in London, where would you go?
I once heard of a colleague in Cornwall who permanently had a surfboard strapped to the roof of his car so he could ‘catch some waves’ on his way home; we were assured he wasn’t doing it between viewings! I think selling exceptional properties with a sea view anywhere in the world is probably quite hard to beat.
What do you do when not at work?
Teenage children and
two dogs keep us busy
at any time, but weekends for most of the year are dominated by rugby
(my son plays) and food -
I love to cook and entertain at home. I am also desperately trying to
be a better runner.
Two marathons completed, and numerous half marathons, but I am still a long way (and a couple of stone) off feeling like I can call myself a ‘runner’.
What do you enjoy most about the houses you sell?
I have had the privilege of seeing some extraordinary homes in London over the last 20 years, some that have been famous, or even notorious, for one reason or another; some that have been hugely expensive, and some that have been surprisingly anonymous but still spectacular.
For a short period of time as agents we get to step into the very private spaces and worlds of some fascinating people. To see the art, the photographs, the furniture and to contemplate some of the history that lives behind the front doors, that so many people pass without noticing, is incredible.
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