Houses over a million - stagnant market

[Needadognow]

I live in Surrey and have been looking at houses between 1-3 million for the past year or so. These houses just don't seem to sell quickly at all.

How long should you realistically give yourself if you had a house worth £1.5m in a rural(ish) area? (Surrey)

That's all property categories for greater London averaged out at £31k drop for December

needadognow, Take the money and run. One bird in the hand is worth many birds in the bushes

Knock a chunk big enough for it to stand out from similar.
Also get a dog they keep you fit walking them, and I would not could not imagine not having one

How could prices in London not have restabilise to a degree? Seriously..weren't they just totally insane? The question in my mind is why on earth they got so super inflated and who on earth was paying such outrageous prices. Wasn't it just a brief lunatic period?

roneik, thought you weren't coming back until after the crash?

In other news, lots of Russians buying million pound plus houses in London now as rouble falls ...

I am ruled financially - my income drastically decreases in just over a years time.

Do I cut my losses and try and sell now or wait? My fear is that I think I'm sitting on a great investment when in fact I'm sitting on what will eventually be a millstone around my neck.

whats as you are thinking of selling too in the next few years can you let me know your advice on upkeep - ie the only room I havent refurbed is the kitchen - do I bother? Same with the garden etc. how much money do I spend on a property I'm ultimately going to sell??

Also I'm downscaling and I'm unsure whether to go for a period property (I currently live in one) or a newer less hassle property. My period property is currently a money pit.

roneik do you have recent experience in buying or selling recently? Why are you so sure??

roneik you answered my question whilst I was dithering around typing out the last response!

The thing is, what we think of as 'silly prices' now could well be the norm in years to come. Property should be seen as a viable long term investment. Property values have increased steadily in the long term, with various blips along the way, as we all know. But the trend is upwards.

It isn't surprising that there are month on month reductions now, the market was mad in the Summer and so it'll stabilise for the next few months. On the other hand, interest rates are at an all-time low and mortgages are available...

I sold a 1-bed flat for £60k in the 80's. I would never have believed it could ever have sold for more than £100k sometime in the future. I would have said those were 'silly prices'. (I bought it for £20k.) And, incidentally, the house I'm selling now at over £500k was bought by my father for £3k.

It depends on the area. And I mean precise roads, as well as towns/wider areas.

I am in Surrey too.

In my road alone, 3 houses sold,last year, all well above £1m, and all within 3 months of being on the market (I say 3 months as a threshold, some sld much quicker than that). We toyed with moving last year, and had the house on the market. We had multiple viewings a day, every day. We ultimately didn't sell, but that was because the house we wanted sold faster than ours did (ours needs a lot of work) and so the reason for moving was negated for us.

Yet, despite this apparent buoyancy, there are houses in my town which have been on the market for more thana year. Seems odd, but then look closer, and they are the ones right next to the railway, or the ones on the road which always floods, or ones which are quite simply overpriced. There is always a reason why they haven't sold.

The nice houses, in the desirable roads are still selling fast.

OP, I think you could be me!!

Period property - tick; downsizing - tick; refurbing - tick (ongoing project tho'); money pit - tick.

When my DC have flown (checks watch), I'll be thinking about downsizing, at the moment I have a lodger to help with costs. It's worked well for me for several years. I think a kitchen could be refurbed relatively inexpensively, but it depends what it's like now and what needs doing - mine is ageing but I won't spend a lot on doing it up - perhaps painting and retiling the floor. Of course you could spend a small fortune on something fancy, but I don't think that's wise if you're leaving.

Same with the garden, fortunately mine is basically well-designed (thanks to previous owner) so won't need much to get it sorted. If you're in a large, Victorian family home, a well-tended garden is a selling point, but I don't thinking spending bundles on tarting it up is really worth it.

To a large extent, Victorian houses sell themselves - the features, space, light etc do a lot of the selling for you.

Re practicalities - it would be sensible to move to somewhere modern with it's insulation, double-glazing etc, but I doubt if I will. I'll probably find a Victorian house split into apartments where the work's been done already.

whats kindred spirits?!

I'm tempted to leave the kitchen, as just to re- tile would be expensive -the floor area is large. I was interested to see if it's something you'd invested in.

As lovely as my house is - is it weird that I'm actually looking forward to downscaling? I feel slightly lonely and my drive to want a nice big show house has dwindled over the years.

A Victorian flat conversion sounds lovely however moving somewhere fresh clean and new with no age old wIring and plumbing problems is like music to my ears!

A lodger is an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of. Unfortunately it probably still wouldn't cover the income that will be missing so I would still have a time limit on when I need to sell. I feel like I have a ticking clock over my head.

I think it does depend on the area. Four houses in my road all sold in under 4 weeks in 2014, two of those on the first viewing. Two other houses in local roads sold before the boards even went up.

If you are coming up to retirement you don't want the hassle or expense of maintaining an old property.I have a house less than thirty years old ,they are warmer and have less problems IMO. I did renew the kitchen and bathroom and upgraded windows and doors though. Kept costs low as did most myself. I would try and sell quick before the market deteriorates .

People keep saying their area ok , all it needs is one or two distressed sales and that's the new price in that street. The contagion ,like a virus overtakes you.

It's over

What area paddington?

Don't make the mistake of using last year to influence your decision.
4 months property has dropped and the monthly drops are getting to be larger than a years UK average salary

It has become a trend and it is developing into a full blown crash

It's over

I think interest only mortgage might be the problem here. sell while you can

Sorry but had to say it. Get out while you can

There is a nursery rhyme about the old lady that lived in a shoe

It's over

Interest only mortgage might be the problem where?

I can only speak from my experience, but we have moved a lot (both rented and buying). Late last summer (yes,yes, I know, last year) we sold our old house (had to move at short notice a few years back, so rented it out) - it was a particularly tricky property to sell: modern in an area where period is sought after; just out of walking distance to local town ( how things change - when we bought it 8 years ago, it was within walking distance!); rural (ie out of town) but not rural enough to be all fields around. Even our estate agent agreed we'd be waiting for the right buyer (as we knew - we bought it for a specific set of circumstances, and knew it wouldn't suit a lot of people). We sold that in under 4 months.

Coupled with what I see around my town - I keep an eye on what's for sale, as our current house will not be where we stay forever - and I just don't agree. Property is moving,and moving fast here. From big, 5+ bedroom £1.5m upwards properties to more modest 2 bedroom flats. Nothing hangs around unless, as I mentioned earlier, there is a reason for it to - too close to the motorway, or the wrong side of town. Anything half decent is snapped up.

I think two principal things are affecting sales at that level - first, the proposed mansion tax is having a major impact on houses over £1.7mish, and second, the election - until people know who is going be in charge of property taxes and what they may be, buyers are nervous.

Also, the tighter lending criteria are having an impact - there is an article in the Telegraph from yesterday about people being refused mortgages on really spurious grounds, even though they have no problems with affordability.

Well I have just read a post on another forum

SE4. Went on for £875k 6/12/14 and yesterday changed to £600k

It's from the unmentionable site, and they do also mention we are only 4 day's into the new year

It's over

No, I won't be selling this year. I'll be doing more work on the house and selling when things pick up again, which they will, sooner or later. People selling in a panic isn't the way forward. That's just sensationalism.

There's also a tale about a boy who cried wolf.

Captain here, all passengers to put on their belts
Crash test dummy mode warp 1 crash imminent
Those wearing false teeth wallace & grommit style should remove

No smoking is allowed as this is getting to be flammable situation

Do you honestly believe with the state of the economy ,debt & incomes , it will pick up in the next decade. You are foolish if you do or blinkered
Sell while you can

It's over

Panic is now, stampede is April/june

Roneik - are you very bored?

No I am eating a sandwich and just a moment ago I scratched my left ear