Trying to buy a house in this area is near impossible

[StraferJack]

Eh? Tax? In the previous (this ^) post??

[SteveUK1978]

I'd suggest this has been valued above the 'reserve' price. Handy location for the Sea Cow and the Chicken Shop

[edited - sorry link not working. Search 3br on Frogley Road on Rightmove for a ?925k shock!]

[fazer71]

StraferJack Wrote:

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

> Eh? Tax? In the previous (this ^) post??

Oh yea sorry don't know how that happened I must have been on an earlier page.

Hey Ho

:)

[StraferJack]

I think what it is, is when you go to a thread you haven't been to for a while, it might take you to page 13 of 25 or whatever - BUT you still get the box at the bottom to type a message. So if you do that without reading the other pages, it can look like a real disconnect

Usually harmless but if the last real post was someone saying "I'm all in favour of heathrow expansion" and your comment is "THIS!!! ^", it could be awkward! ;-)

[miga]

.

[worldwiser]

SteveUK1978 - wow. That house on Frogley at 925 is a proper shock. That's a tiny house - on Worlingham (a much nicer street) you can have a house twice the size for 950. Clearly it's a mistake. The 2 bed house on Crawthew at 720 is hilarious too.

[SteveUK1978]

It's got to be....

If not, then maybe it is time to sell up! Be interested to see what these places went for in a few months when the data hits the land registry.

[aileking]

Nothing would surprise me anymore. Check out Malyons Road in Ladywell. Between May and Sep 2013, 4 houses were sold for between ?330-382K. By Dec 2013 one had sold for ?445,000. One month later another sold for ?500,000. So in 6 months sold prices increased by ?100-?150,000. Now one is on for ?565,000 (which was bought for ?250K 7 years ago). It will be interesting to see what that ends up selling for. I think it's a vicious circle, people need to pay about ?30-50K more than asking price to get a property, so the estate agents value the next property at ?50K more and people still add ?50K on to secure it and prices just continually increase. I also had a friend who was looking at a new build. She got there within 2 hours of the sales launch and 75% had already been sold. She asked how that was possible and was told "we launched these flats in the far east last month and we're selling what is left".

[AnotherEDer]

It's disgusting.

I overheard an estate agent admitting that they deliberately over value properties, then some more, for contingency. In other words, the price that you see in May is not what it's worth at that time, but the agent is giving its expected October value. Of course, this system doesn't help buyers because they don't know the price is forward-shot. So they *still* go over asking price.

But this won't change unless buyer behaviour changes. As long as people keep panicking and buying at these rampant prices, the cycle will not stop, instead of asking 'hang on a second, is this place really worth it?'

Right now, estate agents are exploiting buyers' panic so much.

[StraferJack]

it's almost as if some sort of regulation were needed

imagine the outcry tho'

[Earl Aelfheah]

Yes, something crazy like a maximum loan to value (gasp). But instead we have 90% mortgages underwritten by the taxpayer.

StraferJack Wrote:

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

> it's almost as if some sort of regulation were

> needed

>

> imagine the outcry tho'

[lane lover]

Markets shouldnt need caps: a free market is the best way a market should run. Any constraints will only serve to harm it in the long-term.

What is needed is a way to reduce gazumping, and the dodgy practices by real estates. There are no standards or regulations in the real estate industry. There needs to be wholesale changes to this industry as a whole.

In the end, you would have ethical, educated and well qualified professionals working as real estate agents.

The current agents would all be out of a job.

[Jeremy]

Mortgage Market Review (MMR) changes are coming in next month. Mortgage applications will have to be stress-tested for things like rising interest rates and potential future childcare costs. Of course all lenders should already be doing these things though...

[Earl Aelfheah]

An unregulated free market is an oxymoron. Markets left to their own devices will always move towards monopoly / oligopoly.

[????]

rahrahrah Wrote:

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

> Yes, something crazy like a maximum loan to value

> (gasp). But instead we have 90% mortgages

> underwritten by the taxpayer.

>

> StraferJack Wrote:

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

> -----

> > it's almost as if some sort of regulation were

> > needed

> >

> > imagine the outcry tho'

Er....isn't that Govt interfereing with the Freemarket?

[Earl Aelfheah]

I don't think it would be considered regulation, but certainly interference, yes.

[StraferJack]

God forbid

[Earl Aelfheah]

I'm in favour of 'interference' (???s term not mine) by the way.

[miga]

.

[aileking]

I'm just frustrated that being sensible is getting me nowhere. I'm trying not to get pulled into mad prices. I saved for years to get a 20% deposit. My maximum budget is ?100,000 less than the mortgage company is willing to give me as I personally don't think I can afford that amount when interest rates go up. All I'm achieving is watching properties become more and more unaffordable as I continue to line my landlords pockets. Being sensible may prevent you losing your house if the interest rates increase and having a reasonable deposit could prevent negative equity, but it's a bit of a waste of time if you can't get on to the market to start with....

[worldwiser]

Blame estate agents for all kinds of things if you want (and I do.) But surely don't blame them for crazy prices, that can only ever be the buyers' fault.

[miga]

.

[Crissy]

The buying frenzy isn?t just located in SE22. We have the same thing going on in SE25, but of course the house prices are lower (hence the frenzy). For example, late last year 2 beds were going for under ?240 now they?ve gone up to ?270k, which I think is ridiculous for the area, but not for London as a whole. I understand that a lot of investors are buying down here, which I think is really unfair ( I know life is unfair), as I know a few first time buyers and second steppers trying to buy and are getting outbidded by investors/cash buyers. No doubt, I?m some of the SE22ers could by a home down here from their equity accrued after a couple of months of buying!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27475932.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43671284.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40771156.html

[DaveR]

Whether you call it interference, regulation, or whatever, govts shouldn't try to control or eliminate market forces (because they can't) but they should avoid doing things that make markets work badly, and they should certainly have the ability to intervene to achieve particular outcomes. On the supply side there are lots of things govt can and probably should do to encourage brownfield development, discourage land banking (and house banking), get more stock into low cost housing etc. On the demand side, funding for lending is just obviously stupid as a policy, and discouraging vacant housing will push some demand away, but mortgage rates will soon start creeping up and that should have the desired effect.

Going back to the title of the thread (27 pages on), it may seem trite and unhelpful, but, even when the current frenzy cools, buying a house in this area is going to continue to be near impossible if you don't have enough money. That's what happens in gentrified neighbourhoods in big successful cities.

[worldwiser]

There literally is only one thing you could to arrest property prices: stop international buyers from buying in London. Unless you're prepared to do that (and I doubt anyone is) you could build skyscrapers of flats on every square foot of available land in zones 1-6, 24 hours a day for the next 25 years and still make no appreciable dent in demand. Trying to grapple with prices in a territory where there is insatiable demand for property is a waste of time - you'd be far better off finding another city to live in.