To think current home sellers are living in a fantasy world?

[CanStopWillStop]

We are looking for a new home (out of necessity unfortunately!) so I am now deeply buried in Rightmove.

The most significant pattern I'm noticing is that dozens of sellers, who according to Land Registry bought their properties in 2019/2020, are listing their homes at £100-200k more than they paid two years ago.

Considering the current dire outlook for mortgages &cost of living etc, AIBU to think that this is absolutely ludicrous money they are chasing?

I understand some people may have remortgaged or are looking to upgrade but a £100,000 mark up on a 3-bed bungalow you've lived in for a couple of years is mind-blowing to me. What's happening here? Greed? Desperation? Do they really think people can actually get mortgages on overvalued properties? AIBU?

I'm off to watch Bambi. I can't cope with this anymore.

DON'T LOOK UP!!!

@aboutanidiot what is it you're wanting to get across exactly? I know, I know I'm stupid, ignorant, naive whatever else, but put simply, what is your problem?

35% of all UK homes are owner occupied with no mortgage.

28% of UK homes are owner occupied and are mortgaged. 7% are on variable rate mortgages and 21% on fixed rate mortgages.

@aboutanidiot what is it that you are trying to say?

Are you advising people not to buy a house at the moment?

The upcoming interest rate rises will, depending on your point of view, bring some reality to the market 😔😔

Blip. I think it's clear what I've said. I haven't been 'trying to say' anything. I don't believe that your question was a genuine one but for people who might be reading, I will reply.

I would urge extreme caution. I would speak to reputable long-established estate agents if you genuinely do wish to buy now and need to buy now. I would not personally buy right now as I believe we're almost at the peak of house values, so in the next 5-7 years your underlying asset is highly likely to depreciate. If you're a cash buyer and can absorb the depreciation in the short to medium term, knock yourself out. Other than that I would ensure I had infallible life assurance in the event of the loss of a job and I would not over-extend myself in terms of % of income I exposed myself to.

I think the next 3-6 months will show a trend. We're in a volatile position right now so it's hard to gauge with precision yet.

I hope that I'm way off the mark as, the victims of these crashes are often people simply trying to secure a roof over their heads.

Something just reminded me of this "expert" who squandered
zillions on junk derivatives just before the derivatives market crashed.

He was the treasurer in charge of investing public funds of some mega town (or a whole US state, can't remember exactly) and was in the habit of dismissing anyone questioning his financial wisdom with "don't make a fool of yourself, I'm the expert"

It's hard to know which side to believe sometimes but if someone calls you a fool for your opinions, they're usually on the wrong side.

Prices are sticky. Market has been rising for 12 years and some people still think it is still going up. It will take time for them to adjust if there is a new normal.

I am keeping my powder dry atm. A few reductions seem to be filtering through
in my local area but nothing huge yet. I suspect what's coming in the MPC meetings on 3rd Nov and 15th Dec will focus the minds. I doubt whether serious reductions (if there are any) will be here until Jan.

We're in a shared ownership property and as such, we have to get an independent valuation of our property which was spot on what the estate agent valued it at. If the properties around you are ALL valued that much over 2019 valuations then I'd say they're probably fair. That said, a lot around our way seen to be gradually reducing prices so if you can hang on a bit then do, but remember if you're selling, yours is going down too

I'm in popular town in the south east where prices have risen an eye watering rate. Up until 6 months ago there were bidding wars on properties and literally everything was going over asking. Some by £150- £200k over asking!!!!

There are definitely properties now being relisted and reduced on rightmove.

I feel like some people who have paid after a bidding war have over paid but I guess as long as they don't need to sell they are ok.

I can only think that the people who are going ahead at the moment have their mortgage secured at a low rate and don't want to lose that deal.

I think people should seize the day and buy as there is never a perfect time and you might as well get on with it.

I have some sympathy for that approach. What a lot of (single) people don't realise is how effing hard it is to actually find a place that ticks all the boxes. By the time I've found something that is ok for both partners work, has the design I want, garden for the pet, rooms for the kids, is right for the schools, does not have poor parking (I could go on), then I'm pretty much happy to pay the price and get the whole miserable ordeal over with.

I think if I was careful about not stretching myself on the mortgage and willing to stay in the place for a long time (20+ years) then if I had the the kind of baggage described above then I might well go for it.

If I was a singly/FTB waiting to get in the market atm and looking to maybe move on soon I would be a hell of a lot more cautious. I would use my flexibility to my advantage.

In my area for example, it took approx. 10 years from 2007 to 2017 for prices to recover to their 2007 peak value. Some places in the country I guess never recovered it. Worth thinking about.

True although most people prefer to own even if it is just a first starter place for 5 years to have stability whilst they save up (where they can) and get promotions to enable their second purchase with their spouse. Stamp duty has completely changed things in the SE however as u nlike in many areaws it is so expensive - 12% compared with 2% I paid in 1996 for example for this family house because it is in London you could spend the price of a small house if you buy one house and move to another just on the stamp duty land tax alone whereas if if you are in cheap bits of the country that is totally different as you may pay no stamp duty on the first place at all and not too much on the second particularly after the very recent changes in England which are one of the few tax cuts the Government is keeping.

Agree with this. When I first bought many (many) years ago during an economic crisis everyone was telling me stuff like on this thread but I bought anyway, and thank god I did .

It's not the sellers who are living in a fantasy world, it's the buyers who are paying the high prices. 🤷‍♀️

It's not that simple.

Some areas become more attractive, other less. Not all segments of the market evolve in the same way - dramatic fall in prices for huge mansions is not going to help you much if you're looking for a terraced house, and so on.

Factors that are important for one buyer might go in the opposite direction from "the average", so even if "it evens out" for the whole market, each individual buyer/seller is still a different case.