Trying to buy a house in this area is near impossible

[Grotty]

Just wondered if anyone else is experiencing ridiculous things whilst in the process of trying to buy a house around here. We can afford very little in this area, so have decided to try and find a wreck to do up. Seems like we're not the only ones. A run-down house that appears to need everything doing to it came onto the market on Saturday. Yesterday (Monday) I rang up to book a viewing to be told there had already been 40 viewings, 12 offers and the highest offer so far was already way past ?50,000 above asking price. Nothing seems to be coming on and those properties that do disappear almost immediately at prices above asking price. Grrr...

[northlondoner]

Agreed. It's gone utterly bonkers.

Which road was that , out of interest ?

[????]

I did just look on rightmove and it's pretty mad

[muffins78]

Oh my god, I just went on Zoopla, and googled my own postcode - a 1 bed flat is over 250K? Three years ago it wasn't like that! That's just way too much, no matter what the spec is!

[Loz]

muffins78 Wrote:

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

> Oh my god, I just went on Zoopla, and googled my

> own postcode - a 1 bed flat is over 250K? Three

> years ago it wasn't like that! That's just way

> too much, no matter what the spec is!

Three years, no. But in 2007, yes.

[Grotty]

Hindmans Road - standard 3 bed terrace, which needs total renovation and apparently a new roof. Has an amazing garden, but needs a huge amount of work just to bring it up to a normal liveable in 3-bed terrace standard. It was on for ?650,000 and offers have already gone over ?700,000 (when we first saw it we assumed it was overpriced and would go in with a much lower offer than the asking price - Ha!)

[Jeremy]

800K seems to be the norm for run-of-the-mill 3 bed terraces now, so I guess 700K for a fixer-upper would be about right. Unfortunately.

[KidKruger]

interest rates are low. when rates rise in 18 months or so people will be able to borrow less and those with big mortgages will be crucified. that should settle the increase in prices for a while, we may even see a drop - else people may not be able to buy. IMO

Hindmans - jeez that's expensive for the ghetto side of ED.

[dv1]

KidKruger - thanks for the economic outlook on interest rates. Any insight on what this is based upon - how much do you think they will rise in 18 months for example? Will they continue to rise, go down, stay flat after 18 months? Any stock tips?

[KidKruger]

well I'm not an expert but common sense surely says we can't have rates so low for ever, they've not in my experience been so low before - when I bouyght it was 15.4%. Imagine that now. Imagine 10%. Image 5% even. do your calcs.

Over time rates ain't going down, they're can ONLY GO up.

Even when the rates are rock bottom the banks add 2-3% so they can make from lending to you. When rate go to 5%, you think they won't stil add 2-3% for themselves ?

There'll be a lot of broken-hearted people who are stretching themselves now and have no chance in a couple of years, lambs to the slaughter.

That's why I think it's disingenuous of Govt to help people purchase now, it's easy now (interest rate rise), bet they won't help those people when their mortgage bill triples.

[KidKruger]

stock tips - do your research. I didn't and lost 3x fortunes. don't gamble what you can't afford to lose.

[JohnL]

As interest rates go up - that's when interest only will rise it's (ugly) head again and other

financial tools to keep the boom on for a few years.

I pay 6% on my shared ownership property - time to buy more percent and pay a bit less if I can.

[lane lover]

Its UK-wide, and London in particular; Its not a SE22-specific issue. Do you read the papers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/houseprices/10379821/UK-house-prices-hit-all-time-high-of-247000.html

[JohnL]

just noticed the 'paired' thread to this about rents.

higher rental income will push prices up as well.

[gm99]

In our corner of SE5 asking prices for family homes are up something like 25-30% on last year and seem to have risen dramatically during the summer. E.g. one that was bought for ?600k in 2012 back on the market at ?875k and now under offer, without any significant alterations. Makes me wonder what surveyors doing valuations for the mortgage cos are going to say... I would imagine the latter are going to want to see some very large deposits.

Don't know if anyone flicks through the estate agents'/private schools'/divorce solicitors' ad rag Living South before recycling it, but there was an interesting comment from a local estate agent recently about how much of their business used to be people living locally moving up the ladder, but few can now afford to do so and most [implication: house] sales are to people moving to the area for the first time.

DV1: according to the financial press, the money markets have priced in a first interest rate rise in 2015-16 (the latter considered more likely).

[JohnL]

The new Governor has linked interest rates to unemployment

Will unemployment get below 7% ??

gm99 Wrote:

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

> In our corner of SE5 asking prices for family

> homes are up something like 25-30% on last year

> and seem to have risen dramatically during the

> summer. E.g. one that was bought for ?600k in 2012

> back on the market at ?875k and now under offer,

> without any significant alterations. Makes me

> wonder what surveyors doing valuations for the

> mortgage cos are going to say... I would imagine

> the latter are going to want to see some very

> large deposits.

>

> Don't know if anyone flicks through the estate

> agents'/private schools'/divorce solicitors' ad

> rag Living South before recycling it, but there

> was an interesting comment from a local estate

> agent recently about how much of their business

> used to be people living locally moving up the

> ladder, but few can now afford to do so and most

> sales are to people moving to the area for the

> first time.

>

> DV1: according to the financial press, the money

> markets have priced in a first interest rate rise

> in 2015-16 (the latter considered more likely).

[Earl Aelfheah]

Rates will have to go up eventually. I get the sense that there are a lot of people stretching themselves financially just to afford a mortgage at 2-3%. When rates do rise there may be some significant problems. The ?help to buy? scheme (taxpayers underwriting mortgages with to those with only a 5% deposit) is madness. Of course, by the time the chickens come home to roost on that little wheeze, the elections will have passed.

[JohnL]

True - we've been here before as well - but lots of people just

out to make a fast buck in the boom before the next bust and that

will drive prices for now.

rahrahrah Wrote:

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

> Rates will have to go up eventually. I get the

> sense that there are a lot of people stretching

> themselves financially just to afford a mortgage

> at 2-3%. When rates do rise there may be some

> significant problems. The ?help to buy? scheme

> (taxpayers underwriting mortgages with to those

> with only a 5% deposit) is madness. Of course, by

> the time the chickens come home to roost on that

> little wheeze, the elections will have passed.

[giggirl]

Oh bless, I just Zooplad my SE22 postcode and my house is worth less than ?500,000, as are all my neighbours' houses. The last time a house changed hands in my neck of the woods was in 1997 So Zoopla has no intelligence for my postcode. My immediate neighbour bought in 1960 for less than ?2k. Zoopla only tracks properties that change hands, so it isn't 100% reliable. So you could get a bargain in my street (not really though).

[reddulwich]

trying to find a place to rent in this area is pretty bonkers too. An estate agent told me "there are loads of people looking but hardly any supply"

[Mick Mac]

There is no chance at buying a house in ED at Zoopla's valuation, its a waste of time.

Not directly referring to the OP (Grotty) as don't know the age or whether he has owned before - but as for young people bemoaning the ability to buy their first property in ED - I rented in Clapham before I bought my first place and I knew I could not afford to buy there, so I just bit the bullet and bought where i could afford to.

It happended to be Hither Green near Lewisham, a considerable step down in terms of buzz and excitement but there you go, it was a 2 up 2 down and it was our first home.

[LondonMix]

The interest rates on help to buy mortgages are very, very high already. I don't agree with the help to buy scheme but I think the London property market is harder to understand than a lot of people think. The perception that people are massively stretching themselves I think is a myth.

The market in this part of London has moved more than London as a whole which is telling. This has happened before help to buy / ultra-low deposits were available and most mortgages above 500k (which is what you need to buy a house that is 750k+) require a 15% to 20% deposit.

Moreover, between 2011 and 2012 the price to earnings ratio in London actually fell despite a 7% increase in prices in London! London has one of the most complicated housing markets in the world due to a mix of shortage of supply, foreign buyers, the very active buy to let market and a large social housing sector. http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/package/ratio-house-prices-earnings-borough

Like Mick Mack, my first place was a step down (ED back then wasn't exactly an upmarket move). You just buy where you can comfortably afford and see where the chips fall. Trying to predict what will happen in the market is impossible.

[StraferJack]

"It happended to be Hither Green near Lewisham, a considerable step down in terms of buzz and excitement but there you go, it was a 2 up 2 down and it was our first home."

It's a well worn path Mick but as others have pointed out, moving up the ladders has become less do-able in the last couple of years

I suspect most of the people saying "it is what it is, not really a problem " are well ensconsed in current homes and won't realise how things have changed unless they try and move

[Otta]

It's mental. End of.

And what gets me is that people are so desperate to live in ED they're willing to pay these prices. I mean ED is cool, and I love it as home, but if I had ?800k, there is no way I'd spend it on a terrace in ED.

[Otta]

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30332945?search_identifier=3d99201d49070385cfa98320488a59e1

?890k for one of these houses on Whateley.

MENTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!