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Private Notes
Estate agent to the super-rich, Gary Hersham, operates in some of the world's most expensive postcodes. His latest instruction, a multimillion pound townhouse, complete with eight bathrooms, private gym and cinema, is up for grabs in Mayfair W1 - the heart of prime central London. It's a very different world for Lynne Blaney in Spennymoor, County Durham, where houses start at auction for just a pound. Exeter, Devon, one of the UK's most desirable places to live, sees rookie estate agent Lewis Rossiter juggling two deadlines, a pregnant wife and a demanding client who wants her house sold fast. And in Birmingham, veteran agent Dave Simms' dog-eat-dog world, two couples desperate to downsize compete for the same prized bungalow in Birmingham.
From £200,000 two-up two-downs to shoebox-sized flats for a million, this episode focuses on the extremely polarised London property market and the estate agents plying their trade in the cut-throat capital. In exclusive Chelsea, we meet Ed Mead, director of Douglas & Gordon, and negotiator Eileen Neville. Despite press reports of a property boom in central London, Ed and Eileen are experiencing a worrying slowdown. Have prices risen too high, even for the rich? Just a few miles east in Dagenham, London's cheapest borough, homes are flying off the shelves - often selling within 48 hours. With demand fierce and outstripping supply, streetwise agents Darren and Caroline work flat out to beat local rivals and stay afloat. And in one of London's most exclusive streets, agent to the super rich Gary Hersham values a unique Georgian town house for a London socialite. With a unique taste in interior design, her extraordinary home comes complete with a life-sized model elephant.
The property market may be showing signs of improvement in some parts of the UK, but it doesn't mean moving house has got any easier. In Scotland, rural agent Archie Mellville hopes the summer weather holds to help shift his latest instruction - a 970-acre uninhabited island on the Outer Hebrides with tricky 'boat only' access. Hoping to move nearer family down south, his other clients the Marsdens need buyers for their isolated lochside home. In Exeter, recently widowed Mrs Mears is slowly coming to terms with having to sell the family home after 30 years. Trying to deal with the demands and emotions, estate agent Lewis needs another quick sale. And in search of the ultimate mega-rich mansion, estate agent to the fabulously wealthy Gary Hersham is jetting off to Cannes, France. With 12 bedrooms, eight reception rooms, 13 bathrooms, a swimming pool and heli-pad, he thinks he's struck gold for the ultimate des res, perfectly suited to the demands of luxurious modern lifestyles on the Cote D'Azur.
In the quintessentially English country town of Chipping Campden, estate agent Mark Annett is tasked with selling a 300-year-old Cotswold cottage that hasn't been on the market for over a century. But chocolate box houses don't come cheap. Mark's taking the cottage to auction, hoping enough eager buyers turn up to battle it out and push up the price. With an eye for a bargain, London developers are in town. Gary Hersham, agent to the super-rich is hoping his latest instruction will tempt billionaire developers the Candy brothers to expand their empire. The seven-bedroom double-fronted mansion is in the heart of exclusive Kensington, the perfect location. But at £19 million will their representative see its potential value? Further north in Spennymoor, County Durham, with some of the cheapest houses in the UK on her books, Lynne Blaney's got rival developers Wilf and Jeff competing for one of the many homes she is selling. And in Birmingham, veteran agent Dave Simms thinks he's got the perfect buyer on a tricky house sale - but with only one in three offers converting into actual sales Dave smells trouble.
With the numbers of so-called 'property millionaires' (owners of homes over £1 million) soaring, estate agents in the top end of the market are adjusting their patter. In high-end Chelsea, where space the size of a doormat is worth a staggering £2,000 and even garages command five-figure price tags, feisty Eileen Neville is desperate for stock. But she's hoping her latest instruction, a half-built flat on a £1 million street isn't a step too far, even for her rich buyers. Across town in Dagenham, the cheapest London borough, it's not low stock that's the problem, it's the quality of some of the punters. Darren Griffiths shows us the grittier side of estate agency as he attends another eviction and faces a cockroach-infested house. In the rolling hills of the affluent Cotswolds, chocolate box cottages sell for more than £1 million but Mark Annett's challenge is selling a modernised home alongside the period property charmers.
In this last episode of the series it's the end of a demanding year for the estate agents. In Exeter, Lewis is running out of time to find eager buyer Julia a house for her son's 18th birthday and is under pressure to beat the other 33 branches for the much coveted 'Office of the Year' award. But standing in his way is serial winner, experienced estate agent Katherine, who scooped the prize last time round. Working her affluent patch in the nearby sumptuous seaside town of Shaldon, will his biggest rival pip him to the post? Up north in Spennymoor, County Durham, a unique property and an attractive price tag catch the eye of a curious out-of-town buyer and agent Lynne sets her sights on a swanky new car and much needed office makeover. In Mayfair, estate agent to the super rich, Gary, is on the hunt for new business, whilst Birmingham's Dave Simms looks to the future in the shape of new builds with a twist to suit his discerning clientele.
