Are houses selling around here at all?

[James]

The agents say "It's not too bad". (They would, wouldn't they?)

My feeling is that Brexit fear means the market is at a virtual standstill.

Our gorgeous house has been on for weeks with barely any interest.

Anyone got any anecdotal evidence of whether things are selling - and if so, for how much less than the asking price?

[L16579]

Our flat too, I can?t believe anything is selling. I?ve seen a number of houses and flats go under offer and then a few weeks later they are back on the market.

[eastdulwichproperty]

Hardly anything is selling, the things that are heavily reduced from a year ago, take off about 20% from the peak, even more in some cases. Never ever trust what an estate agent says

[dbboy]

The market has been slowing down significantly for the last 18+ months, three years ago, the market was buoyant and booming. It took something like two years to sell a house, with a sizable reduction.

Why - Estate Agents over egged the market and pushed prices up, now the chickens are coming home to roost. A lack of certainty in the market with prices dropping, people do not want to buy in case prices drop further, stamp duty is crippling the middle to top end of the market, which in effect is money down the drain, you never get back.

Brexit is the Estate Agents answer to everything, however the last conversation with the Agent after selling went along the lines of, until we leave the EC in less than a year the market will remain slow and potentially prices will drop further, there is no crystal ball.

After that for the following two years it will still remain sluggish until there is certainty about the future and things have settled. So what do the agents do, they increasing their rates to 1.5% to compensate as sellers are requiring multiple viewings to get one sale.

Which ever way you look at it, you have the choice of sitting it out for three years and seeing where the market is then or selling at a lower price knowing where you are buying is probably doing the same thing. Good luck, it was difficult, painful at times, frustrating but eventually relieving. ps. Surveyors and bulders are not helping as they to are taking ful advantage of the situation.

[JohnL]

dbboy Wrote:

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> The market has been slowing down significantly for

> the last 18+ months, three years ago, the market

> was buoyant and booming. It took something like

> two years to sell a house, with a sizable

> reduction.

>

> Why - Estate Agents over egged the market and

> pushed prices up, now the chickens are coming home

> to roost. A lack of certainty in the market with

> prices dropping, people do not want to buy in case

> prices drop further, stamp duty is crippling the

> middle to top end of the market, which in effect

> is money down the drain, you never get back.

>

> Brexit is the Estate Agents answer to everything,

> however the last conversation with the Agent after

> selling went along the lines of, until we leave

> the EC in less than a year the market will remain

> slow and potentially prices will drop further,

> there is no crystal ball.

>

> After that for the following two years it will

> still remain sluggish until there is certainty

> about the future and things have settled. So what

> do the agents do, they increasing their rates to

> 1.5% to compensate as sellers are requiring

> multiple viewings to get one sale.

>

> Which ever way you look at it, you have the choice

> of sitting it out for three years and seeing where

> the market is then or selling at a lower price

> knowing where you are buying is probably doing the

> same thing. Good luck, it was difficult, painful

> at times, frustrating but eventually relieving.

> ps. Surveyors and bulders are not helping as they

> to are taking ful advantage of the situation.

Everything with Brexit is "wait and see" so I can understand the effect. We really don't know whats going to happen.

[char1i3]

Estate agents don't push up prices, buyers do. The higher stamp duty on second properties and expensive houses has massively dented the market. This is not a new phenomenon - last year was bad too. There are far more properties available that are now much less desirable because of the huge stamp duty associated with them. To buy a ?900,000 house requires ?35k in stamp duty. A ?400,000 buy to let costs ?38k in stamp duty. Mortgage rates are so low that owners would rather borrow extra to extend or do the loft.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-5473543/Homes-estate-agents-books-fall-new-record-low-Rics.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/estate-agents-countrywide-and-foxtons-suffer-collapse-of-profits-lzbr99kjc

Conversely commercial property is booming and prices are higher than ever - I reckon up about 30% in a couple of years.

Charlie

[flocker spotter]

all houses will sell if they are priced at a level that people want to pay - if your gaff is not getting any interest, then maybe there is a clue in there somewhere

[Rubik]

Ours has been up since the start of the year, without much interest, and we knocked a fair amount of the price not too long ago to no real effect.

The thing is lower prices are good - less fees, less tax; but it has to be that everyone follows suit. I still see new properties coming in that are very over valued (in my opinion), it makes the market look more expensive than it actually is and therefore more people cling on to the higher prices, creating stagnation.

I expect as interest rates start to finally go up, we'll see a sharper decline in prices.

[JohnL]

Even Zoopla is now saying prices have been falling for 2 years.

That's about how long they fell for IIRC after the crash in 2008. You never see the downturn or upturn come until you've past it though and we've got Brexit.

[JohnL]

Rubik Wrote:

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> The thing is lower prices are good - less fees,

Not if you've got an inherited house to sell in Swansea with two sisters involved LOL :)

[Jules-and-Boo]

To be honest, it's about time housing dropped to realistic levels

[JohnL]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

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> To be honest, it's about time housing dropped to

> realistic levels

At a guess it won't though if it follows previous patterns - it'll pause/fall for a little while then accelerate again.

To fall to realistic levels (I'll say that's 3 x average income) would require a society changing event

[apbremer]

The absurd and punitive levels of stamp duty have killed the market.

[Jules-and-Boo]

and Brexit isn't?

[JohnL]

First time buyers are OK (they get relief up to 500K) - it's 2nd home owners and expensive properties that are hit.

2nd home owners have been hit hard - and the government is looking for money for the NHS this autumn too.

[JohnL]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

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> and Brexit isn't?

LOL - perhaps :)

[Rubik]

JohnL Wrote:

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> Rubik Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > The thing is lower prices are good - less fees,

>

> Not if you've got an inherited house to sell in

> Swansea with two sisters involved LOL :)

Ha, fair point.

[rendelharris]

apbremer Wrote:

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> The absurd and punitive levels of stamp duty have

> killed the market.

Stamp duty is currently ?3,750 more on a million pound house than it was in 2011 (?43,750 against ?40,000). On a half million pound house it's the same as it was in 2011 (?15k). That's neither punitive nor absurd, taxes have to come from somewhere. Just tell the truth, which is that rightwingers don't like taxes of any sort, and particularly ones that are weighted so that the richest pay a bit more. Was the housing market dead in 2011?

[alice]

About 50% of houses on rightmove (se22) between ?650000 and ?125000 are sold/ under offer. But prices are dropping between 10-20%

[James]

Alice, beware looking at websites with 'sold/under offer' properties on them... who knows how long they have been on there? I notice in slow periods agents leave these up for months on end to give the impression things are moving faster than they are.

>>all houses will sell if they are priced at a level that people want to pay - if your gaff is not getting any interest, then maybe there is a clue in there somewhere

And Flocker Spotter, this is an obvious point and not helpful. How would you feel if you were selling and I told you to discount your house heavily as the market was slow? Especially since our house is priced competitively in comparison with other similar properties. It is very unsettling when you do not know what your money will buy. And risk heavily losing out.

[JohnL]

James Wrote:

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> Alice, beware looking at websites with 'sold/under

> offer' properties on them... who knows how long

> they have been on there? I notice in slow periods

> agents leave these up for months on end to give

> the impression things are moving faster than they

> are.

>

> >>all houses will sell if they are priced at a

> level that people want to pay - if your gaff is

> not getting any interest, then maybe there is a

> clue in there somewhere

>

> And Flocker Spotter, this is an obvious point and

> not helpful. How would you feel if you were

> selling and I told you to discount your house

> heavily as the market was slow? Especially since

> our house is priced competitively in comparison

> with other similar properties. It is very

> unsettling when you do not know what your money

> will buy. And risk heavily losing out.

It depends how desperate you are to sell. Those not desperate probably holding at present if they're in your situation I'd think. But you can't put your life on hold for ever I suppose.

[rendelharris]

James Wrote:

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> And Flocker Spotter, this is an obvious point and

> not helpful. How would you feel if you were

> selling and I told you to discount your house

> heavily as the market was slow? Especially since

> our house is priced competitively in comparison

> with other similar properties. It is very

> unsettling when you do not know what your money

> will buy. And risk heavily losing out.

That's FS's specialty I'm afraid, sneering putdowns of others while not offering anything helpful, informative or constructive to debate. S/he obviously enjoys it, it's rather tiresome for everyone else. That comment is a case in point - if you reduced your ?500,000 flat to ?250,000, you'd sell it at once. No, really?

[flocker spotter]

Outliers aside, UK housing broadly moves in the same direction, if you know where you are moving to, then surely it is not massively outrageous to take this into account? if you get less here, then the chances are you will pay less there. Talk of risking losing out heavily - assuming you are in the system and not moving to Chelsea or a sink hole estate in Middlesboro - does not make much sense does it ?

I may be dismissed by the foolish and vindictive poltroons with a grudge, but I am rarely wrong.

[rendelharris]

You do realise that "poltroon" means coward? I just ask as you frequently mangle the English language in the giveaway style of the person somewhat lacking in intelligence, choosing the posh-sounding word over one which actually makes sense. Assuming that, in this instance, you've got it right, you really don't see the irony of a sad little keyboard sniper, who does nothing but put others down, hiding behind a username to try to make him/herself feel superior, calling others cowards? I do feel sorry for you - deeply irritating and faux superior as you are, there's clearly a significant lack in your life that you're desperately, transparently and inadequately trying to fill on here. It's awfully sad.

[Abe_froeman]

You only really need to find cold hard cash to pay stamp duty the first time you buy. From then on it comes out of the equity you have built up in your home.