A matter of choice

In the fifth of a series of regular articles, estate agent Trevor Cooper takes a closer look at the decisions on offer for house-hunters.

For a relatively small island, Guernsey has a wonderful diversity of buildings.

That is reflected in our housing markets, which offer a varied choice of properties for us to live in.

Yet many house-hunters will say the choice is limited, although the figures suggest otherwise as the local market constantly averages more than 150 properties for sale with regularly between 50 and 75 sales every month continually being replaced by other properties coming onto the market.

For the analysts among you, this is from within a total of approximately 18,000 local market residential properties in Guernsey.

Of course, price is a key factor when determining choice and property prices on the local market range from £200,000 and just below to £2m. and quite a bit above.

Countless numbers of house-hunters over the years have said how easy it would be to find a house to buy if only they had been able to afford 10% more than their budget allowed.

The perception is that the real choice remains just out of reach, almost irrespective of the price range.

Narrowing one's choice further is what best suits our requirements and lifestyles.

The number of bedrooms and the size of the garden are not as crucial for most first-time buyers as they are totally necessary for those needing to accommodate a large family.

Yet, those basic factors will become less important and possibly even a liability for those people as the dynamics of a family change.

And all this before we even think about our choice for a modern or traditional style property, walk-in condition or a project to work on and where in Guernsey we would like to live.

It is usually necessary - and difficult at the same time - for house-hunters to compromise on their wish lists.

No house is perfect, notwithstanding price, and buyers would regularly like to blend parts of one house into another.

Most often, however, the deciding factor will be that instinct, almost an intuition, that a property is right, which is impossible to put into words on a shortlist of priorities.

A property may be sold to the first person who walks inside or it might take several viewings to find a buyer.

Selling a property can be unpredictable simply because different people will not have the same feelings for the same property. This can be disappointing for owners of apparently faultless homes they themselves deeply cherish.

It is not unknown, of course, for some people to stay in the property they grew up in but that is becoming less common and the majority will move house for a variety of reasons, be it a change in their personal circumstances or due to other influences.

So, what choice is there on the market at the moment?

It is a popular belief that estate agents retain a selection of properties that never hit the market - under-the-counter instructions divulged to only certain or even favoured buyers.

If, and emphatically if, this ever does happen, then in reality it is extremely rare.

Those properties included on the House & Home list of sales for the previous month that were not seen in any of the estate agents' adverts will probably have been a private sale, that is, someone who sells a property without using an estate agent, or an arrangement between friends or within a family.

Every estate agent will promote confidential listings often where owners hope to attract only genuinely interested buyers, but most people having decided the sell a property want their estate agent to publicise it as much as possible.

Flat 2, 11, Vauvert is currently on the market with Sarnia Estates and is an example of a property that needs to be viewed inside to be fully appreciated.

This one-bedroom flat is actually termed a maisonette, being over the top two floors with the large double bedroom uppermost.

Once through the front door the flat appears to be well presented, light, bright and spacious and competitively priced at £189,000.

Not far away, in Allez Street, is a modern, terraced town house called Fairview with two double bedrooms and the distinct advantage of an allocated car parking space, presently on the market with Lovell & Partners for £375,000.

There is a choice of two extremely neat two-bedroom bungalows each priced at £525,000.

Goldridge Estates are sole agents for one on Highland Clos at the top of the valley leading down to Le Gouffre, Forest, whilst the other is on Clos de Coin, a small clos within walking distance of Cobo and Grandes Rocques, listed as new to the market with Morris & Co as sole agent.

A particularly charming and totally renovated farmhouse is currently offered for sale at £610,000 with more than one estate agency. One, Old Farm Drive is part of a development where a cottage and barns attached to the three-bedroom main house have also been thoroughly modernised or converted within the grounds of a former farm - not out in the country parishes but conveniently located for Town in Upper St Jacques.

Two bungalows for sale with All Island Properties each have a one-bedroom wing suitable for dependent relatives.

One is at Les Salines near Capelles for £639,000 and the other is a confidential instruction in Castel available at £625,000, with the option of a rental income from the self-contained wing.

Also listed on a confidential basis but this time with Chateaux Estates is a builder free plot in St Martin's for £600,000 with fully approved plans for the purchaser to demolish the existing building and construct a spacious, four/five bedroom chalet bungalow with integral double garage and a total floor area in excess of 3,000sq. ft.

Building plots are sometimes sold builder-tied, whereby the purchaser is contracted to a specified builder to have the new dwelling built.

Builder-free allows the purchasers to employ a builder or sub-contractors of their choice.

This is a small selection of the many and diverse properties currently available on the local market. A list of Guernsey estate agents can be found on www.thisisguernsey.com/property.