Whatever next?

TO QUOTE Rudyard Kipling: ''If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…. '' vendors and purchasers have needed strong nerves with all the uncertainty hanging over the Brexit negotiations which at the time of writing this piece, still remain at a very delicate stage.

The net result - uncertainty, is not conducive to decision making, especially when for most people buying a home, is the single most important personal financial decision they will ever make.

Therefore, in the current market there is no doubt that to achieve sales on behalf of their clients, agents are having to raise their game and come up with new and imaginative ways of stimulating purchaser's interest.

One of these is the use of social media, issuing alerts for properties shortly before they become fully available, which we at Murrays have pioneered with great success.

We have even arranged viewings of a client's property, within five minutes of it going live!

Crucial to this however is having a dedicated in-house marketing team, who have the creative skills to make these posts varied and interesting so as to build up an ever expanding following, to 'Like' and spread the word, such as Murrays have developed

More recently Murrays have launched a campaign 'Love Stroud' (to promote the fact the town itself has a rich and varied stock of properties to suit all ages and lifestyles) and are working with other organisations including the town's avant-garde theatre (The Playhouse), to raise Stroud's profile in this respect.

Richard and James Murray believe this to be particularly pertinent at the present time, when much of the 'froth' has been stripped away from the market and purchasers are concentrating far more on purchasing homes that represent genuine value for money, such as the housing stock in and around Stroud, with the additional attraction of a plethora of good schools, excellent road and rail links and stable levels of employment.

While in good times the better known parts of the Cotswolds will outperform some other areas, for steady capital growth based on sound fundamentals for home ownership - Stroud and the surrounding valley represent an excellent choice, especially in these uncertain times.

Richard and James Murray

Murrays Estate Agents