the housing market - curious!

[HelBel65]

Hi all. I'm renting in ED with plans to buy here. Looking for a 2 bed with garden. I'm chain free with a mortgage ready to go so have the luxury of waiting for the right place. Currently what I'm seeing is the right kind of place coming onto the market with the 'national' agents (you know who I mean) priced a good 10% above what I can afford. The agents concerned are aggressively telling me my budget is too low. The same properties are dropping by 10% within a month or 2. Part of me is reassured by this - clearly the market is telling these agents the price is too high. Should I offer the full 10% less at the outset? Is that realistic or does it depend on the agent? Am I being too honest about my budget? Should I be more confident about my buying power and less intimidated by the BS I'm getting from these agents? Anyone got any thoughts or inside info on this section of the market - I'm in the ?300k bracket.

Thanks! (tu)

Best

Helen

[Mick Mac]

I'd guess that a 2 bed with garden would be achievable at 300 but you would be compromising on the quality of the flat or location.

Otherwise its possibly more than 300 for good location or modern flat.

Yours - ED Agent...

[ratty]

I will be putting my 2 bed house with garden on the market in the v near future! Similar price bracket! PM if you are interested in finding out more!

[womanofdulwich]

if you ever watch location location it is a good way to see how people can offer. if you are in a good position - chain free, mortgage available, then yes try 10% off. but i know a house very close to me which is on at 20% more than its worth, so really you have to do your research. Some vendors are greedy and will fly a kite to begin with to see if they get an uninformed purchaser. at the end of the day ,if you are applying for a mortgage then the valuer will probabaly pick up if its overpriced. but scrutanise the land registry sale prices- mouseprices web site etc. Good luck.

[Brendan]

Where I live (not ED but an area which had pretty similar property prices a few years back) at the moment I know people who have had a very desirable 2 bed on for 7 months now. They started asking 350 for it and have dropped that steadily over the months. It is now at 300 and they still have little interest. Not very nice for them as they have a lot of their future plans tied up in that house but if it is a sign of the general market you're in a good position. I?d say stick to your guns and don?t take any BS from agents.

[Magpie]

Agree with Brenden here - there is a real disparity in asking prices and what things are being sold for, and hence sales volumes are low - as homeowners are holding on for a recovery rather than selling for what the market will actually pay. Some of the older ED agents will be more honest in their valuations - some newer pushier agents give high valuations to get sellers on their books, and then just reduce the asking price. Stick to you guns, and make some a few cheeky offers, and see what happens.

[????]

In general, I reckon

Flats going down - little realistic demand or finance availability from FTB

Decent houses holding their own (for now) trickle down from foreighn buyers at higher end pushing price ripples out to suburbs and gentrification and terrible commutes pushing families back into inner London suburbs.

[trizza]

Having bought in ED last year my perception is that asking prices have gone up (I have pondered whether this could be due to a certain agent opening an office on Lordship Lane). For example, we were seeing 3 bed houses for around ?500K, but many seem to be on the market for about ?50 - 75K more now.

However, there is so much publicly (and free) available data on sold prices (yes there is a lag of about 2 months on the data but it's not like prices are shooting up by 5% each month...) that you can take an informed view on what a property is actually worth. Zoopla is good because for a lot of the properties it stores the original particulars and you can see these along with the price the property actually sold for.

Don't believe the agents' hype! The raw data, taken with the fact you are in a good position (FTB etc.) should mean you are able to make a reasonable offers where you can justify why you have offered the price you have to the agent/seller.

My perception (and this is largely based on what has sold on my road/neighbourhood) is that properly priced properties are shifting (with minimal reductions) for around the same price as those that are listed for a higher price (with the buyers getting around an 8/10% reduction in those cases off asking prices).

I think ?300K should get you a nice 2 bed garden flat in ED.

[twofourseven]

Great debate this.

My experience is: there are some good estate agents in ED - you have to find them though; many of the national chains are overpricing the properties they represent (I wonder if this is because they need to hit their targets by keeping the price high as fewer people are buying at the bottom of the market); as other people have said, there is plenty of data highlighting that the price of flats is dropping - fewer people able to get mortgages.

What I'd do if I was in your position: view as many properties as possible; barter hard and be patient - unrealistic prices will drop if there are few offers near the asking price; consider flats that need work - think of it as a project.

Sure you'll get a place in ED. Good luck!

[HelBel65]

Thanks for the replies - all confirming what I have been seeing, and particularly agree about the impact of Foxtons & KFH. Luckily I can bide my time and wait for the right place.

Not sure why my this thread got moved to The Lounge though! (?)

Cheers

Helen

[matthew123]

I think you should widen your viewing to say -10%/+20%, of your budget, to help recognise fair value to when it comes to making a discounted offer, or not, of 300K. Just because you tell your agent your budget is say 350K does not mean you cannot offer 300K for a flat if you believe that is what it is worth. Also, explaining why your discounted offer is a fair offer is less likely to burn down bridges with an agent (in regard hot new flats coming onto mkt) than being perceived to just taking a punt.

[aspidistra]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'd guess that a 2 bed with garden would be

> achievable at 300 but you would be compromising on

> the quality of the flat or location.

>

> Otherwise its possibly more than 300 for good

> location or modern flat.

>

> Yours - ED Agent...

Quite. You'll get something or other at that price, but not a nice place.

Why not check out Crystal Palace? Excellent transport (now: ELL) and cheaper prices. Your money will go further.