How is the housing market actually doing?

[rallytog1]

We've been looking to buy a house for the last 6 weeks or so. Obviously in August we expected there to be not much on the market. However, now we're well into September, there are no new properties in our price range in our reasonably large search area, and all the agents we're registered with say they have nothing new in the pipeline.

We also went to look at a house yesterday, where the owners let slip that we were their first viewing since they put the house on the market in April.

All the agents seem to be able to get us to viewings within a matter of hours of us asking.

It all combines to make me think things are looking very slow and quiet indeed for this time of year. We're in the North West. I just wondered if other buyers are finding the same? I don't know if it means we can make cheeky offers or if sellers are more likely to pull up the drawbridge and decide not to move because they're unlikely to get a sale, even at a lower price.

Alazuli - what's your budget? We are in New Cross ( Telegraph hill) and there's a flat on our road in dire need of some love and attention.

Only up to £230k, which sadly doesn't get me a lot in London!

I'm amazed at how much the market has changed in my area in a relatively short period of time, only 2 years ago it was very much a buyers market with hundreds of properties available, even decent houses for sensible prices would be sat on the market for a year or more and usually have to knock at least 10-15% off their asking price to achieve a sale.

Now it's the complete opposite, hardly any stock available and even crap houses with stupid asking prices will generally sell quite quickly, it's only the REALLY crap houses with REALLY stupid asking prices that are hanging around.

Very slow down here in south-east Cornwall, at least at my budget (and up to £200k) - lots of places aren't selling, but this is usually because as someone said upthread, people bought at the peak back in 2007 and don't want to accept lower than they paid, but prices are still some way below those levels.

Good places are selling but there's very few of them coming on. I used to get one or two alerts a day this time last year when I was looking, but now I probably see one or two a week.

I bought back in January and was concerned when Brexit first happened, but prices don't seem to have dropped much if at all, because there's so little coming on.

sall74 - what area do you live in?

Derbyshire sk13

Lots selling here (west of London) but there seems to be a few reductions.

Mind you, I have seen three houses that were sold within the last 18 months for around £300k, done up and put back on the market for double the price £600k .

I read this the other day re rising house prices and shrinking number of mortgages available to FTBs:

m.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/first-time-buyer-mortgage-options-shrink/?utm_source=content&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=zoopla-20160917&utm_content=mainbody&utm_term=text#CfxpktIr6iT5lMZ7.97

Article today suggesting price increases in September particularly with properties suitable for FTB.

www.telegraph.co.uk/property/house-prices/first-time-buyers-hit-with-steep-price-rises-due-to-stamp-duty-s/

Marmitelover - That doesn't make much sense, a reduction in the availability of credit (mortgages) should result in a fall in house prices... it just shows how irrational and out of whack the property market is (that's if the report is to be believed, coming from a house price ramping, v.i. that is Zoopla)

weirdly enough i'm seeing a few properties that have been hanging around all summer and then reduced now back up in price again. weird.