So what is a Prime Waterfront and Country House Department?

It is a department specialising in premium properties in the South Hams area. Marchand Petit wanted to create something unique. There are many national and international estate agents competing in the premium housing market sector but none has a specialist, in depth knowledge. In fact most of them don’t even have offices in the area. Hence the creation of a dynamic new department covering the complete spectrum of estate agency services from valuing your property to conducting viewings, selling and servicing. One central point! A continuous gold class service as standard.

Of course Marchand Petit have specialists within each of their six offices with their well trained and service orientated staff, but the new Prime Waterfront and Country House Department means bringing together all that knowledge in a central point so offering a higher service to buyers and sellers alike in the heart of Devon. Often people looking to move to the area search over a wide geographical area and it is my role within the Prime Waterfront and Country House Department to have a broad over-all view of everything on offer.

As well as creating this specialist knowledge base Marchand Petit also wanted to create a Search and Selection element to their business – a bit like a ‘Kirsty & Phil’ service. Besides the very strong local market there are a large percentage of purchasers who either relocate or purchase second homes in the area. Many of these potential buyers have a limited knowledge of the vast options and various locations available to them in the South Hams – so was born our own search agency service.

The service is a massive benefit to all parties. The idea is that a strong personal relationship is formed with buyers and together we establish buyer’s requirements and find them their dream homes. In this way purchasers are introduced to areas they might never have considered. But obviously to vendors the benefit is that more prospective buyers are introduced to their properties – a win-win situation for all!!

The service is unique to Marchand Petit - we are the premium specialists in the South Hams property market.

So who runs the Prime Waterfront and Country House department?

My name is Prunella Martin. I have spent the majority of my working career in general management working for a variety of national and international companies, as well as obtaining a Masters in Marketing from Bristol University. I moved into estate agency 15 years ago and realised from my life in the corporate world there were a lot of skills I could bring to the world of Estate Agency. My career has taken me to various locations throughout the UK, managing Estate Agency businesses for companies in Wales, Cheltenham and a National & International agency in Gerrards Cross.

Service, honesty and putting my client’s needs first are my sole aim!

Enough about me, what has the market been doing?  It’s been an interesting 6 months of the year with I am pleased to report a positive start for Marchand Petit’s Prime Waterfront and Country House. 2011 was always predicted to be a year of uncertainty with several firms predicting growth and others being more pessimistic.  Generally at Marchand Petit we have seen a steady stream of sales of Prime Waterfront and Country House property coming through since January. Earlier in the year many of the committed buyers looking over a £1,000,000 were keen to avoid the extra 1% stamp duty payable after the 4^th April.  Now, that all seems just a distant memory.

However the economic climate has remained unsettled but I am glad to report that we are still seeing positive sales of properties which are finished to a high standard and valued accurately. As always if the product is good and the price is right, a sale follows. However the continuing challenge is with those compromised properties where values need to be competitive in the hope of creating competition amongst buyers who in most instances feel that time is on their side.

And finally if you are reading this article and have a property which has been on the market for several weeks with little interest or if you are someone looking for a particular type of property and just can’t seem to find it, please, do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to helping you.

Prunella Martin

Prime Waterfront and Country House

Tel: 01548 857588