An estate agent specialising in high-value sales has opened up about her past and touched on the massive changes in the industry impacting one of the region's most affluent suburbs.
Karen Parks has had a long and colourful career; she's lived abroad and even worked for the English National Opera in London for eight years. She returned to Formby in 2000 after starting a family, telling the ECHO: "It's a safe place and a nice place for kids to grow up."
She initially got into property sales when her son started nursery and she was "looking for something to do", eventually setting up Karen Parks Sales and Lettings with a business partner. They parted ways in 2020 and Karen joined the Formby office of Berkeley Shaw in February 2022 as head of residential sales for the group.
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Karen has sold a range of properties in the area over the years, the most expensive of which was listed for £2.2m, and has worked with a number of famous faces. Formby is renowned as the home of footballing royalty from the red and blue sides of Liverpool, including Duncan Ferguson and Jurgen Klopp.
Some have made unusual requests when it comes to finding a home to settle in the area, including the installation of a wine cellar.
While it seems like a normal request for high-end clients, it's a little known fact that cellars are actually a scarcity in Formby. Karen said: "The water tables are so high it would have meant it would have needed to be tanked in the ground which would have cost a huge amount."
Other homes have included quirky features sought by the rich and famous, such as cinema rooms, home spas and even one with mirrors on the ceiling. Karen also once sold a prestigious house fully furnished.
Karen has continued to represent Merseyside's millionaires in her role at Berkeley Shaw; the firm recently listed a mansion for sale on Formby's Victoria Road, just a stone's throw from Freshfield Train Station and the beach, for £1.45m.
While new build developments are closing in on the town, Karen doesn't think Formby's reputation is likely to change any time soon: "The 'old' Formby is isn't really affected, the new builds are usually on the outskirts. But it will have an impact on the village, the amount of people coming in.
"There should be more focus on infrastructure from a development side. The village isn't growing, schools aren't growing."
Although house prices are soaring, when the market 'slows', Formby's prices 'tend to remain high', according to Karen, but she does think the market is set to plateau as interest rates rise: "All the bills are going up, as well as interest rates," she added. "If you're a first time buyer, can you afford now what you could have afforded two years ago?
"It's having a big effect on the market, people are a lot more wary of things. We don't know what's going to happen this time next year so people are being cautious."
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