Location, Location, Location - Thurs 5th Sept - East Dulwich

[PN33]

> At the moment there is almost nothing on

> Rightmove. Same story all over London. The main

> reason for this is extremely low mortgage rates,

> which means very few people who are financially

> stretched need to sell. In a normal market there

> are always a fair few "forced sellers", e.g.

> overstretched landlords who can't cover the

> mortgage with rent or people made redundant etc.

> and find they need to downsize in a hurry. When

> the BoE cut rates to near zero all the forced

> sellers disappeared, supply dried up, and prices

> shot up. This isn't normal and won't continue

> indefinitely.

Thanks, I understand that. I guess we feel a sense of urgency because of this help to buy scheme which currently doesn't affect us as it's only applicable to new-builds (we're not looking at them at all, we want a period-coversion with a garden). But as of next year this scheme is going to be opened up to existing buildings which will mean a large number of renters can all of a sudden afford a period conversion, meaning demand is likely to shoot up even more. So we've set ourselves a target of Xmas.

Just out of interest, if August is the worst time to look, when are the good times? I'm hoping you say Winter!

[Earl Aelfheah]

Lot's of activity in the new year usually.

[PN33]

Cool, thank you. Hopefully something might come up before then too

[LondonMix]

Spring is the busiest period unfortunately. The holidays are fairly quiet as you can imagine.

[LuLu Too]

AcedOut Wrote:

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> Look at places for sale on Rightmove, bypass the

> agent and drop a letter though the door to arrange

> a private viewing. If they sell to you, they save

> the estate agent fees.

In my current experience of both selling & buying in the local area, most properties appearing on Rightmove will already have viewings booked. I had 25 viewings booked prior to my property being uploaded to Rightmove and I sold on Open Day at tens of thousands over asking price.

However I am also buying at over asking price.

I am aware of properties in SE23 going for significantly over guide price at the moment.

This is very disheartening for anyone trying to get on the first or even second rung of the property ladder.

[Blackcurrant]

PN33 Wrote:

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

> > At the moment there is almost nothing on

> > Rightmove. Same story all over London. The main

> > reason for this is extremely low mortgage

> rates,

> > which means very few people who are financially

> > stretched need to sell. In a normal market

> there

> > are always a fair few "forced sellers", e.g.

> > overstretched landlords who can't cover the

> > mortgage with rent or people made redundant

> etc.

> > and find they need to downsize in a hurry. When

> > the BoE cut rates to near zero all the forced

> > sellers disappeared, supply dried up, and

> prices

> > shot up. This isn't normal and won't continue

> > indefinitely.

>

> Thanks, I understand that. I guess we feel a sense

> of urgency because of this help to buy scheme

> which currently doesn't affect us as it's only

> applicable to new-builds (we're not looking at

> them at all, we want a period-coversion with a

> garden). But as of next year this scheme is going

> to be opened up to existing buildings which will

> mean a large number of renters can all of a sudden

> afford a period conversion, meaning demand is

> likely to shoot up even more. So we've set

> ourselves a target of Xmas.

>

> Just out of interest, if August is the worst time

> to look, when are the good times? I'm hoping you

> say Winter!

November to December is the best time to pick up bargains. The dark evenings make everything look less appealing and people are distracted by Christmas, so demand is lower and prices are a touch softer, usually.

I think the second phase of help to buy will be watered down until it becomes irrelevant, as it's a totally stupid idea. But Osborne can't do a U-turn at the moment without looking daft, so don't expect any announcement. Same situation applies to the governor of the Bank of England who has set himself up to look like an idiot over forward guidance.

Mortgage rates might creep up next year. Even so, London keeps pulling people in and not enough is being built, so prices here are never going to be cheap.

If SE London gets too expensive, have a look at the ends of Crossrail, e.g. from Acton to Reading/Maidenhead. The commute from those areas to the City will drop substantially, which should push up prices faster than the rest of London.

[Townleygreen]

davidh said "disappointing programme. east dulwich got barely a mention plus a few shots of lordship lane, majoring on the a-board outside the defunct sewing shop. beats me how forest hill is preferable to us."

HaHa!!!

[????]

They showed my gaff...woooohooooo

[????]

Sod getting friendly with them just offer an individual estate agent a small er.....'commission' and you'll get a nod before others....they'll all deny it of course but just mention ?100 or so and that'll do the trick

[Girl82]

Blackcurrant Wrote:

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

> Try Nunhead. The 250K stamp duty barrier is still

> holding back the price of a lot of flats in places

> like Ivydale Road. You can find large victorian 2

> bedroom flats, but under 250k will need a little

> work. Once refurbed they are worth nearer 300.

>

> The north end of Ivydale is an easy walk to

> Brockley for the east london line.

Where are these magical two bedroom flats on Ivydale Road? Because I've not seen one like that on my year-long search for a place under ?250k. They're more like ?300k there (and still with work to do!!) PN33 I totally feel your pain. Have you tried looking at the Queens Road area? That used to offer slightly better value?

[Blackcurrant]

Girl82 Wrote:

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

> Blackcurrant Wrote:

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

> -----

>

> > Try Nunhead. The 250K stamp duty barrier is

> still

> > holding back the price of a lot of flats in

> places

> > like Ivydale Road. You can find large victorian

> 2

> > bedroom flats, but under 250k will need a

> little

> > work. Once refurbed they are worth nearer 300.

> >

> > The north end of Ivydale is an easy walk to

> > Brockley for the east london line.

>

> Where are these magical two bedroom flats on

> Ivydale Road? Because I've not seen one like that

> on my year-long search for a place under ?250k.

> They're more like ?300k there (and still with work

> to do!!) PN33 I totally feel your pain. Have you

> tried looking at the Queens Road area? That used

> to offer slightly better value?

You're probably right - prices have gone up since I looked at Ivydale. The Ludlow Thompson flat asking 260 is a 1 bed but could be used as a 2 bed. Obviously will sell under stamp duty. Has been on and off the market a lot so must have issues.

[simonethebeaver]

Nunhead prices have gone insane. When we were looking about 16 months ago ceiling price for a standard layout terrace house was 500k. Now it seems to be heading for 650k.

[Blackcurrant]

simonethebeaver Wrote:

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> Nunhead prices have gone insane. When we were

> looking about 16 months ago ceiling price for a

> standard layout terrace house was 500k. Now it

> seems to be heading for 650k.

It's the same across a lot of London. The number of properties listed on Rightmove has fallen by over 50% in the last three years. When supply falls, prices rise. The worst thing about London is not how high prices are but how volatile they are. They shouldn't shoot up and down at the rate they have done since 2007 - it isn't a normal market.

[Countrlass22]

yay such fun

Off to watch it via Bbc I player..........missed the filming part which of course would have been last year seen 1 where they bought in Brockley and Catford.

also when they went to Peckham some years ago

love the show

[simonethebeaver]

I just had a quick look on Rightmove and am staggered at the prices. A house we looked at last February that was on for 600k but wasn't selling, and was overpriced in our opinion, is about to come back on the market at 750k. This sort of thing is lunacy and does make me feel pretty scared about where we're all heading.

[midivydale]

Nunhead prices on houses are crazy but I have been told that flats are hard to sell. We were advised to hold on to ours or rent it out (a victorian flat on ivydale road in great condition but no garden). Our neighbours were told the same thing by their agents.

I have started to look at other areas now as we would like something bigger. Catford, Sydenham, Penge, Beckenham etc.

Its a hard one - I love where I live but the space just doesnt work for us anymore- for alot of reasons.

[Girl82]

midivydale Wrote:

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

> Nunhead prices on houses are crazy but I have been

> told that flats are hard to sell. We were advised

> to hold on to ours or rent it out (a victorian

> flat on ivydale road in great condition but no

> garden). Our neighbours were told the same thing

> by their agents.

>

> I have started to look at other areas now as we

> would like something bigger. Catford, Sydenham,

> Penge, Beckenham etc.

> Its a hard one - I love where I live but the space

> just doesnt work for us anymore- for alot of

> reasons.

Hi midivydale, who told you flats are hard to sell? In my experience looking for properties, any half-decent flat that came onto the market was snapped up in days - sometimes hours! The market is crazy right now.

[elloriac]

Speaking of Rightmove & insane prices, has anyone seen this shed for sale on Forest Hill Road?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42812591.html

It's on the corner of Forest Hill Road & Brenchley Gardens - attached is 2 photos of what it looks like from the street. ?350K, one bed 'mini house'

[dimples]

Nooooo I can't believe that !

[tomskip]

Omg at the shed! Am speechless. Just ... words fail ...

[Louisa]

Surely that isn't real? Is it?

Louisa.

[mark88]

What went wrong - I went to sleep in early Sept and appear to have woken up on April 1st.....

[Nunhead S]

2 flats sold just now within 1-2 weeks of signs going up on Athenlay Road

[NewWave]

I have to say there are lots of lovely little Pockets in Forest Hill on the Western side of the station, lots of greenery nice houses, and superb transport links.

We all know property prices are going up, and for those not already on the ladder its tough. I grew up in Bayswater, my entire life was in west london,friends work (it still is in the west end) EVERYTHING-but in order to get on the property ladder in my late '30's I had to more South of the river.

There is no point in becoming bitter and twisted about the cost of property in the city, look at Tokyo,Paris and New York, most people have to rent cos they can't afford to buy.

[Blackcurrant]

NewWave Wrote:

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

> I have to say there are lots of lovely little

> Pockets in Forest Hill on the Western side of the

> station, lots of greenery nice houses, and superb

> transport links.

> We all know property prices are going up, and for

> those not already on the ladder its tough. I grew

> up in Bayswater, my entire life was in west

> london,friends work (it still is in the west end)

> EVERYTHING-but in order to get on the property

> ladder in my late '30's I had to more South of the

> river.

> There is no point in becoming bitter and twisted

> about the cost of property in the city, look at

> Tokyo,Paris and New York, most people have to rent

> cos they can't afford to buy.

Yes London is on a par with those cities now, so prices are going to stay high. That's not to say they won't ease off or fall again. The panic buying that's going on at the moment reminds me of the MIRAS fiasco and the noughties credit bubble. You shouldn't need to be a multinational CEO to be able to buy a flat in Nunhead.