FROM an era of buy-two-get-one-free to the shortages of today, when it comes to looking back at how the Tendring housing market has changed over the years, look no further than Mike and Chris Vincent.

Their family firm Mike Vincent and Son recently celebrated 25 years in the real estate business, though 71-year-old Mike actually started out in 1962.

Clacton-born-and-bred, Mike attended London Road Primary, now White Hall Academy, and Clacton Secondary Modern for Boys. Wife Lynn, who is also a partner in the business, went to the secondary modern for girls.

Mike left school in 1960 aged 15 and became an apprentice for David Paxton’s in Colchester. The company made diesel engines and he spent six months at Colchester technical college, but it soon became apparent he was not destined to be a grease monkey!

Aged 16-17, Mike then joined John V Storey estate agency as a trainee, where he spent 18-20 months.

At the time, a semi-detached house in Aylesbury Drive, Holland-on-Sea, could be had for just £1,850, or a new bungalow for a £5 deposit. But in those days a milkman would earn ten pounds a week and many would dream of earning £1,000 a year, Mike recalled.

Local councils also offered fixed-rate mortgages at an interest rate of 4 per cent a year.

In 1963, Mike joined Abbotts estate agency as a junior sales negotiator and worked his way up the ladder, which saw him open the firm’s Clacton office in 1967, with it eventually became the most successful office within the company.

During the 1970s, Mike became Clacton manager, then Great Clacton manager and eventually regional director, when Abbotts was taken over by Hambros, the merchant bank.

The takeover meant every three months Mike had to go to the City for meetings, which he said was “quite an experience for a Clacton boy.”

However, the 1980s boom turned to bust, with Mike seeking his own future in 1991.

“The embryo was there. It looked like the best way was in life was to peddle your own canoe,” he said.

Early growth and survival is credited to a Raymond Raymond-a property developer from Brightlingsea.

Mr Raymond built two blocks of flats in Parklands Court, Clacton, and they sat unsold.

“He thought I was the man to sell in those recessional times. Things were so bad during 1992-94 we ended up selling the flats buy-two-get-one-free,” Mike recalled.

At the time the flats were £22,000 each, a quarter of the price they fetch today.

During the early 1990s, mortgage rates reached an all-time high of 12-13 per cent. The building societies paid savers similar amounts. Thus, with mortgages so expensive, people were reluctant to shell out on the price of homes, with them having already fallen due to the recession.

The buy-to-let market was also tiny compared with today, and with the building societies offering such good rates, why take the risk by investing in property?

However, by the time son Christopher joined as a teenager in 1997, the former County High School pupil brought “new blood and new thinking.”

“In the early 2000s, Chris promoted the lettings department, which was really fortuitous. The big change since then is rental,” Mike said.

Indeed, 37-year-old Chris says he cannot get enough rental property today and those he has on his books are practically 100 per cent occupied.

“We are desperate for new instructions on rentals. We have a waiting list of tenants,” he said.

As part of his role, Chris works with landlords on maximising their income, and also dealing with disputes between tenants and landlord.

Despite, or because of the growth of rental, house sales still remain buoyant, with Chris seeking more listings, having sold so many homes recently.

“It’s a good time to be looking to move. Mortgages are doable, interest rates are good, the market is buoyant with no concerns over Brexit,” he said.

A healthy housing market is helping the wider economy, he explains, as when people move, they want new furniture and other things, which means sales in the shops and jobs for tradespeople.

Looking ahead, Chris sees further growth, saying Tendring Council’s Local Plan should help bring some larger businesses to Clacton, with jobs and prosperity with it. But like many, he fears there may not be enough roads, schools, health services and other infrastructure to cope with such growth.

Mike Vincent and Son also has room for younger family members. Chris’s sister Shelley Cole is part of the team and several years ago, they were joined by her 20-year-old daughter Charlotte Cole.

Chris’s own six-year-old daughter Chloe has expressing interest in the firm, adding to the three generations.

“I deal with one client, whose dad dealt with my dad and their dad’s dad. I am dealing with the third generation. We are doing it the family way, which I think is lovely,” Chris explained.

Reflecting today’s online age, Chris still talks about his dad, though retired since 2010, as one of its enduring and major assets.

“He’s like our own version of Google here in Clacton. When I go down and do a valuation, he will say who the developer was and when he sold it in and for what. He’s a phenomenal resource. I will look back to his original sales book and check it and go ‘wow!’”