Selling

Should I put my house on the market before Christmas?

By Simon Godfrey

We get asked this every year in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This year’s answer might surprise you.

Gold award from our clients

By Alex Davies

Our estate agents team have been awarded Gold for the Best Agent in Ashford by allAgents.co.uk

Should I buy a house in a Conservation Area?

By Greg Wood

There are some wonderful properties in the Conservation Areas in Kent and East Sussex but buyers need to make sure they understand the strict planning rules designed to preserve the character of these locations.

Wye - Kent's Super Village

By Sarah Holgate

So what is it about the village of Wye that creates it’s extraordinary reputation? Unlike many villages in my part of Kent that are equally as pretty and have local facilities, it has a selection […]

Very small ski chalet for sale!

By Sarah Holgate

It's tempting to take snowing photos of your home when selling it. But is this a good idea?

The 50 Most Popular Villages

By Roger Lightfoot

Our website is very busy — every day up to 6,000 people visit our website. Many are researching the ideal location for their next home and spend some time reading about the towns and villages […]

Tips to help you establish a great Wild Garden

By Alex Davies

If you’ve been watching TV nature and gardening programmes lately, you’ll have seen a lot of interest in wild gardens. There are many advantages to wild gardens: they cover the ground in a beautiful mix […]

Five Predictions for the Local Property Market in 2021

By Greg Wood

2020 was a tumultuous year for Hobbs Parker with our estate agency business up by 25% breaking all previous records. Despite the gloomy start to 2021, with further lockdown measures introduced, I anticipate sustained activity […]

Tips for buyers and sellers when dealing with properties from a bygone era

By Alex Davies

The first clue upon arrival is the general look of neglect. Tired net curtains hanging at the windows, peeling paintwork, stains from a leaking gutter, a rusty gate opening on to an entrance path overgrown […]

The 'Race for Space' and house price inflation in 2020

By Alex Davies

Are rising house prices about more than just the normal supply and demand? With so much talk of the Covid crisis, it’s almost possible to forget about the numerous economic hurdles that affect house prices. […]

Why Rishi cannot claim all the credit!

By Alex Davies

What a strange world we live in when sales of houses are going through the roof against a background of a global pandemic. Whilst the Stamp Duty holiday is welcome, this was happening before the […]

Stamp Duty cut has immediate impact!

By Alex Davies

The temporary cut is with immediate effect and therefore reduces the cost of a property purchase straight away saving an average of £4,500 for residential property buyers providing they take advantage of it before the holiday comes […]

Will Netflix and Amazon affect property prices in Ashford?

By Alex Davies

There has been talk of an Ashford metamorphosis for almost as long as I can remember. The opening of the ‘Missing Link’ of the M20 motorway between Ashford and Maidstone in 1991 would surely bring […]

Might Estate Agents open first to help rebuild the economy?

By Alex Davies

A recommendation is reported to have been made in a report written for the Government by Conservative peer Lord Gadhia and Sir Jonathan Symonds, chairman of GlaxoSmithKline. Along with coffee shops and restaurants, Estate Agents […]

Post-Coronavirus property market predictions

By Alex Davies

Savills research team recently offered some interesting analysis of what a UK property market recovery could look like post-Coronavirus predicting transaction volumes could be down by up to 45% for 2020 with the greatest impact […]

Bucking the national property 'downturn'

By Alex Davies

It is true that we agreed 35 sales during October which we think are good results by anyone’s standards but I can tell you it doesn’t come easily and not without a lot of hard […]

Why 2019 is the right time to invest in Ashford

By Sally Randall

“If you have ever wished you’d invested somewhere that has regenerated, you will know that you are already too late.” These are the words of Alex Davies, Managing Director for Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, an […]

How do you get the best price for your house?

By Alex Davies

How do you get the best price for your house? Answer: When you put your house on the market for the first time make sure it is at the correct market value — do not be tempted to ask for […]

The Best Restaurants in Kent and East Sussex

By Sally Randall

The next best thing to eating good food, may be talking about it. Certainly asking in the Hobbs Parker offices about people’s favourite restaurants leads to a mouth-watering conversation about how spoilt for choice we […]

Historic Property Auction Particulars -- Mersham 1878

By Roger Lightfoot

These have been hanging on the wall in our boardroom for as long as I can remember. I recently happened to ‘bump into’ two of the current owners of the cottages when I gave a […]

Listed Buildings Advice

The market for period property is booming and the older the house or cottage, the more likely it is to be listed. By listing a property, it celebrates a building’s special architectural and historic features […]

The best pubs in and around Ashford and Tenterden

By Sally Randall

When I was young going to the pub generally meant me and my siblings sitting in the beer garden squabbling over a pack of Ready Salted whilst my parents nipped in for a pint and […]

Will solar panels increase the value of my home?

By Alex Davies

As the weather gets colder and darker, and the heating and lights stay on longer, there’s one thing I can predict with even more certainty than the Queen’s Speech broadcasting on Christmas Day. The arrival […]

Our recommended golf courses in Kent and East Sussex

By Roger Lightfoot

As a golfing destination, Kent and East Sussex has a huge amount going for it. We’re blessed with a better than average climate (compared with other parts of the UK) which means we enjoy more […]

The best beaches in Kent and East Sussex

By Sally Randall

We explore the best beaches in Kent and East Sussex — for your children, dogs and foodie friends — as we work our way round the South East’s beautiful coastline. It’s a funny thing that […]

Why do kitchens sell houses?

By Alex Davies

The party is in the kitchen! When we have a party at our house my wife and I spend hours making our living room look nice and then most of the evening trying to get […]