Kate Faulkner - Property Market Analyst & Commentator
About Kate Faulkner
Kate Faulkner is one of the UK’s leading property experts. On a monthly basis, Kate summarises what’s happening to property prices and rents, and the impact this has on consumers and indeed the industry, such as estate agents, diy stores and new build sales.
Kate’s business provides consumers with independent up to date an individual advice on how to buy, sell, rent, invest, renovate, maintain or build a property. She does this via a free service called Propertycheckists.co.uk and a paid for advice service, which includes a comprehensive ‘how to’ guide.
To enhance industry engagement with consumers which is typically poor in the property market, Kate works with forward thinking companies and organisations, such as Belvoir Lettings, Direct Line, NALS, Big Yellow and Chesterton Humberts.
Through her consultancy Designsonproperty.co.uk she helps companies to provide better consumer communication through compelling content online, offline and via video. Kate also works alongside the industry to create new products and services, such as the Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon.
Kate has written six property books including four for the consumer organisation Which? - Buy, Sell and Move House; Renting and Letting; Develop your Property and Property Investment Handbook. Kate presents at a seminar almost every week to landlords, investors, first time buyers and is often asked to present at industry conferences and chair debates.
From a media perspective, Kate’s appearances include BBC Breakfast News, Your Money, GMTV, ITV, Radio 4 You and Yours, The Big Questions and 5Live. In the last 12 months, Kate has carried out over 15 TV and radio interviews, has been quoted every month in major newspapers and magazines, as well as being featured in many local newspapers.
Business and Property Background 1989-1999
For the first 10 years of her career, she was working in the FMCG business with Blue Chip companies such as Unilever, Sainsbury’s and Kraft Jacob Suchard. These taught her valuable skills for property as her various sales and marketing roles required excellent business strategy knowledge and negotiating expertise.
Property Experience 1989 to Current
While working full time, Kate built up a personal expertise in property as a consumer. She rented, bought, renovated and sold property during the last recession up to the present day. Kate's first property was bought in the last recession with a friend, as she couldn’t afford to buy by herself. She carefully researched properties and prices as her brother and sister had gone into negative equity and she didn’t want this to happen to her!
Kate's traded up, traded down, lived in many different places from Central London, the Home Counties and now has a base in Reading as well as her main ‘dream’ home in a village near Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Having moved so much, in good and bad markets, Kate has built up a real expertise and knack of knowing:-
1. What properties to buy (flat, 2 bed terrace, old, new, 1930s etc)
2. Analysing areas so she knows where to buy
3. How to make money
4. Mistakes to avoid
5. Great industry contacts across the UK
As Kate loved property so much she took a career break, did a full time MBA for a year, which specialised in Entrepreneurship, so she could work out how and what to do to move into the property market. While doing her MBA, she also did up a flat (and made money!).
Since 1999 Kate's built up a unique skill set in the property industry as a consultant helping to expand property companies. This includes: buying and selling and related services (surveying/legals/removals); corporate relocation; self build and renovation; part exchange and new build; property investment and lettings. As such Kate's been involved in thousands of different people’s property projects and created solutions/new products to help them carry out their projects successfully.
Kate also started to produce area analysis for property investors, which cover the social and economic history of an area and match demographic trends to the need for housing in a local area, thus highlighting areas and property types which are in short supply and are likely to grow in value.
Media Experience
Here is a link to Kate's showreel on YouTube and here are links to the full videos summarised:-
Other media experience includes: Radio 4 You and Yours, 5 Live and BBC1’s The Big Questions, BBC Radio Nottingham, as well as live news stories, such as on ITV. Kate is regularly featured in the Telegraph, Daily Mail, Express and trade journals.
Kate can be contacted on 0845 838 1763 or enquiries@designsonproperty.co.uk
