Is the housing market really slow at the mo?

[BreeVDKamp]

Is it because of the election? I don't really understand what effect the election might have on the housing market - surely any changes the new government will make won't come in straight away?

Anyway, we put our flat (zone 3 London) on the market at the start of the month, and viewings have been trickling in very slowly. Just had a call that someone who came for a 2nd viewing last night isn't going to put an offer in (they'd already put one in that we'd rejected for various reasons, perhaps that was stupid), so feeling a bit downhearted!

Realistically we could stay here for another year, but I am desperate to leave London :( DC1 due in May so we naively hoped we could complete roundabout June/July.

Don't worry - give it time - you'll have more of an idea by the end of the week after Easter when everybody settles back to real life again.

It makes no difference (except you save a bomb) whether you use an online or a high street agent ... as long as you are on Rightmove.

No matter what any high street agent tells you... they do not have a bank of ready and waiting buyers... no way.

Think of it this way... do you believe there are buyers out there who are saying to themselves:

'No way am I wasting my time looking up houses on the internet, and setting up instant property alerts and all that fangled rubbish. I'm fed up with all that nonsense, it just takes up too much time.
No, I'm going to spend my weekends walking around all the local agents and speaking to them in person and sitting in their little grubby offices while they laugh at my small budget and struggle to spell my name properly with a chewed biro on the back of some of their mum's Belvedere Bond.'

And then they'll send me on my way telling me to keep checking Rightmove.

The last time I went into an agents in person they looked at me like I was an alien or some sort of goofball from pre-history who hadn't heard of the net.

Give it time, you'll be fine.

Everyone uses Rightmove and if they like the look/price of your house, they won't care which type of agent you use.

I'm with an online agent too and as well as the slow start I am trying to keep the faith it was the right thing. I researched it heavily before we did it spoke to neighbours with for slae signs and TBH if we had gone with a traditional agent and with stamp duty we wouldn't be able to afford to sell.

Also looking at peoples habits when buying most go to right move, zoopla etc and arrange viewings from there. Also there is no loyalty for estate agents - people register with them all. But tbh like many buyers I still check rightmove in case I miss something.

As long as it cools everywhere it will be fine. As a mum of a toddler who is not religious is Easter a big thing...

I am amazed at people being worried because of no viewings in a week or no offers in a month. In the last two housing dips it seemed like it was impossible to sell. I think over the last few years people have just expected prices to go up and up. And they won't indefinitely.

I think over the last few years people have just expected prices to go up and up. And they won't indefinitely.

Thank God!!

yyyuuu Funny! As a buyer I totally agree. Estate agents never really do anything when they take you on viewings, I don't know what their commission actually pays for.

Ahh I am feeling a bit better. Am off to stop worrying now and practise some hypnobirthing.

I think the people only using rightmove these days is correct.

Not everyone has/uses a computer but I would guess 100% of people buying a house do.

I would guess most, if not all, of the buyers in your area are aware of your house coming up for sale. Things move fast these days. If no one's responded within a week then its the price.

I do think the market has slowed down a bit. Beautiful houses stay in the market for longer, and they seem to be priced right. Nowadays it is more common to price as a 'guide price', 'offers in excess of', but it still sells below (noticed 10-15k below, in one case 30k below asking price of 365k - I could have bought if if I had known they accept offers) This is in popular, affordable S.London area.
I would not mind falling prices as it would mean you need less mortgage to buy.

Viviennemary - thanks for your comment it's made me feel a bit better - and proves dp right that I am probably panicking too early.

Also I know a neighbour (whose place ironically sold before i could look at it when I was viewing in the 90's) place was on for a bit more than mine - no garden but parking space and a bit bigger took months to sell with the estate agents at the top of the road. I did get the same ea to value mine and it was a bit less than what we went on at but not a lot.

our price maybe a bit high but I'm going to try and wait it out until after easter and GE - as there are new builds going on the market nearish me with no garden for more than mine is...

Hope you get a buyer soon. It's difficult to know whether or not to accept an offer as nobody seems to know whether the market will go up or down. My feeling was that it might just level of or show a small drop. But perhaps this new first time buyers savings incentive will push up prices though I can't see it make a huge difference to more expensive properties.

We're going on the market shortly and our agent has told us already not to feel dispirited if we don't sell quickly. They said the market (SE London) is more buoyant than it was a month or so ago but people are still hesitant because of the election.

Prices are dropping though - the valuation was quite a bit less than the one we got in December. Not brilliant for us as our equity isn't big, but the previous prices were unsustainable.

Like pp have said, don't worry about changing agent, everyone's checking right move anyway.

There's one where were looking that's been on for about a year and changes agent every month. What they really need to change is to not be next door to a prison..

I thought I'd weigh in here - been watching this thread for a while, but had little time to reply!

I own an agency in Hertfordshire (Harpenden/St Albans area) and it's true that the market is a little 'flat' at the moment - many of my colleagues in other areas (Hatfield, Leighton Buzzard, Milton Keynes, Finchley) are echoing the same sentiment - things are 'ticking over' but there's not a mad rush of available stock, and while there IS huge demand, buyers are being very choosy about what they offer on. The solicitors (conveyancing) and mortgage brokers echo this as they tend to feel the 'wave' of the market a few weeks after the agents.

The whole market at the moment appears to be walking on eggshells, but that's not to say that sales aren't happening and deals aren't completing. The big problem that I see personally is that many agents are sticking to their old ways and not adapting their marketing, their efforts and their presentation of your properties to the marketplace.

For example I see wonky, out of focus or dark pictures, sometimes taken from an awful angle, brief or incomplete descriptions and very little in the way of targeted social media marketing.

Another problem that many buyers are facing is that due to that huge demand spike, there is a call for 'off market' services (in fact we run one ourselves called Prestige) where vendors DON'T want a board or a rightmove advert, and it's easy to find a buyer because there are simply way more buyers than there are properties.

I wouldn't call other agents lazy, but many will be under the whip to get more stock on the books which tends to leave current clients languishing and you end up with the results we've seen above (in some cases) - no viewings, lack of communication, very little in the way of well thought out advice other than "lets reduce the price" - that should be a last resort, there's ALWAYS something that can be done first.

A little thinking outside the box tends to go a long way in my opinion - maybe tweet for an RT from a celebrity, or offer to give a % of the proceeds of the sale to charity and ask the charity to RT/like/share on Facebook - massive exposure with a little social media nous.

I don't intend this to be an advert but....I'd be mad not to say it! - if anyone would like my help and you're stuck with no buyers, let me know.

Oh god anything desirable in St Albans sells in 5 days - there have been 6 houses come on the market around the cathedral under 500k in the last six weeks - all sold incredibly quickly.

And there is very little in Harpenden I like in that bracket apart from that one bedroom flat in the centre (the one pretending to be a 3 bedroom )

I don't bother viewing with online agents. I have had bad service from them previously and there are enough properties in my search area for me to feel I'm not missing out by discounting the handful on with online agents.

People have tried their luck here imo (so mins from st Albans on thameslink)
:still in rented:
And yes of course the election has an impact
The whole system needs to cool imo and estate agents need less training

Sophie - so you wouldn't go and see a fab looking property that met all your needs just because it was on with an online estate agent ?

Alasdair says -

"lets reduce the price" - that should be a last resort, there's ALWAYS something that can be done first.... A little thinking outside the box tends to go a long way in my opinion - maybe tweet for an RT from a celebrity, or offer to give a % of the proceeds of the sale to charity and ask the charity to RT/like/share on Facebook - massive exposure with a little social media nous".

Is this for real?!!

Oh, how I love estate agents!

Yeah I really haven't bothered to view a house nearby because of this. It has been on the market for 2 months vs the 2 weeks for most properties in this area at the moment. So I'm not sure I'm alone in my thinking. I have bought a lot of houses over a relatively short space of time, and understand how instrumental a good agent can be, in making sure a sale goes through smoothly.

We put our flat on the market now as I lost my job so can be home whenever to do viewings and let people in.

When we viewed this flat, the agent did NOTHING, just let us wander around and waffled on about football, so as a seller I don't fancy paying for that. The agent works for the seller after all. I'm really pleased with our online agent so far, the quality of the photos etc is great and their communication is fab.

We have an open day today, but only had 4 viewings set up and 2 have cancelled this morning!!! Not going to panic though. I'm not I'm not! We are fine here for another year. But then people will wonder why the flat hasn't sold for so long.

All the things you mention, plus agents will also push solicitors, suveyors etc to meet deadlines. I've even had them deliver documents between solicitors offices to save the 2 days the post would take. Granted some agents are next to useless. But a good one can make a stressful experience much more manageable.

Must admit every experience I've had with ea whether selling or buying has been rubbish! Hence my online decision- I researched the one I chose well asking others on mumsnet and other forums

Around here - where everyone moves for the schools - there seem to be lots of flats on the market while family houses are like hens' teeth and continue to rocket in price.

andcake I asked on mumsnet too! :) haven't read a single bad review.

We have super good schools around here but I guess people who need the schools don't need a 2 bed flat!

The election will have an impact because a new govt could change policies on all sorts of things that affect housing.