Selling in London at the moment

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Namechanged for this as it’s potentially identifiable.

DP and I have recently split up. It’s amicable but we are both keen to move on with our lives (no children). We own a nice Victorian terraced house in NE London (Leytonstone) that is in overall decent nick but needs a new kitchen and bathroom.

A quick look on rightmove suggests that very little around us is selling right now - that it’s been like that for months, and it seems unlikely to change for the foreseeable future. Loads of places listed last summer and yet still not shifting, even after multiple reductions. That said, many sellers seem to be living in a fantasy land and demanding ridiculous prices.

We’re going to wait until it’s clear what’s happening with Brexit (if that ever happens..) before putting the house on the market, but can anyone give me some reassurance - or a reality check - about the current situation for sellers in London? I dread the thought of us being stuck here in limbo.

Hi

A couple of my neighbours (here in south E11) have sold in the last six months. Both properties shifted within a week of being listed. I don't know if it's a factor but both houses were immaculate with high-spec kitchens and have roof extensions. I have half an eye on the market because we may be moving in a couple of years, but properties in the surrounding streets don't seem to hang around that long either. Prices do seem to have come down a bit from the absolutely insanity of 3 or so years ago.

That’s interesting, thanks. Our kitchen is most definitely not high-spec (kitchen and bathroom were still on the to-do list...) but equally it’s clean and functional. We’ve been here for a bit over 5 years so it was queues out the door at open days and sealed bids when we bought this place... in contrast, we really couldn’t be choosing a worse time to sell. Ho hum.

You never know. I’m looking at flats in Leyton/Leytonstone and things seem to be picking up.
Queues out the door yesterday but as per the poster above that was a high spec property that I expect will go for near asking or possibly above if people get into a bidding war

I can assure you as long as it's priced realistically it WILL sell relatively quickly and easily. ALL houses will sell for the right price.

You've already answered your own question... it's only the overpriced properties with greedy, stubborn, deluded vendors that aren't selling.

(This applies to the whole of the UK, not just London)

Marking my spot

My brother owns an independent agency in South Woodford and he said it is tough at the moment and price is key, people are weary of paying over inflated prices.

He has also had a few sales fall through at the last minute where people are panicking and want to wait till after Brexit, I live a bit further from you near Upminster and it's the same here, houses in prime roads seem to sell very quickly and others have been up forever, our neighbours took nearly a year and a £50k price drop before they sold.

One of the houses I mentioned sold in less than a week for (I think) 640k. A lot of money, but possibly a relative bargain for anyone priced out of Hackney. The owner was an architect and you could see where the money had gone. This was one of the bog-standard small victorian terraces of which there are many thousands in London. They'd added 2 extra bedrooms in the loft and a garden room.

Realistically priced, nice places seem to be selling well in Leyton and Leytonstone. The ones that have been hanging around are overpriced and a bit crappy in the main.

On my road three properties went on for the exact same price at the same time about 3/4 months ago.

Two of them have had a side return extension and a loft extension, both done differently but well. One had a better layout but the other was done in a more trendy way.

The third has no side return extension and no loft ext, is not decorated nicely and the kitchen and bathroom are 'acceptable' at best. Only a downstairs bathroom off the back of the kitchen as well.

Guess which two have sold (within a week) and guess which is still on the market months later? Its a WAY shitter house (and 2 bed not 3) in every way, the vendors are having a giraffe. They might have got away with it in 2015 but not now.

If you have been in Leytonstone for just over 5 years, you had at least 3 years of massive equity growth. So it isn't like you're in trouble with prices and can price realistically.

Could you rent it out for a year to see what happens to the market, or would that just prolong the pain?

Prices have def softened form 2016, but I don't think that is a bad thing. Despite personally buying at the peak

Walthamstow here. Things are selling, but definitely at less than previous years. Four bed round the corner sold for 710, but it was in good nick.

I'm in a similar-iah position OP, except we're not sure whether to wait to put our one-bed on the market (we're hopefully upgrading to a 3 bed) until the summer. We also bought 5 years ago and the flat we live in now went for way above the asking price and we queued to see so many flats! It seems a bit stagnant atm but could also be the time of the year?
On the plus side- mortgage rates are really low!

Oh and I'm in SE London so a bit of a different market maybe.

I think things will pick up a bit once the Brexit fiasco is over one way or the other, but I also think pricing will still need to be realistic if people really want to sell.
Sellers who are still stubbornly hanging on to what it was 'worth' at the 2016 peak will have a long and disappointing wait IMO.

A family house near us (outer SW London) has been on the market over 2 years now. Originally overpriced because they 'needed' that amount, but since nobody was willing to pay it, it's been reduced in little nibbles and still no takers.

I really hope London prices don't take off into the stratosphere again, since they had become ludicrous and unaffordable for so many. It was really coming to something when nice enough but nothing-special 2 bed flats in Tooting were being priced close to £600k - when back in 2010/11 it was more like £250-280k depending on condition.
They've mostly come down a fair bit now, and about time too IMO.

Thanks all, this is helpful, even if it’s not what I really want to hear. I guess there’s no way of knowing until we try, but I suspect our house is going to fall into the less popular category. I’m sure we can sell, but I suspect we won’t recoup what we’ve spent on it. We have done a lovely - but v expensive- loft conversion, but the main bathroom in the house is still downstairs bathroom still, so a buyer would have the cost of moving that upstairs. Moral of the story: don’t split up midway through a renovation job!

I agree that London prices plateauing is a good thing. No desire to make a profit on a home.

In Epsom prices dropped. We sold, but then our chain collapsed and when we put it back on the market the estate agent suggested a 10% lower price.

Do RM sold prices show an actual reduction in achieved prices since 2016 - or just a flattening?

Agree near me good houses appropriately priced are selling quickly. These are family houses in a good school / transport area where families will stay for the duration of their children’s education (15 years). Peoples lives haven’t stopped because of Brexit - children need to go to primary school, be in the right area for secondary etc at specific times. All the basic “Ds”of house sales still continue (Death, Divorce, Debt, Downsizing).

I don’t think anyone thinks that the London property market will take off in double digit growth after the 29 March. More likely that those who have sat on their hands for 3 years will flood the market.....

I certainly hope the market is flooded with buyers after March 29th. Good points about schools and life changes encouraging people to move in spite of the uncertainty. My only concern is to sell as quickly as possible (and with minimal loss - accepting we’ll need to price sensibly).

I bought a 3 bed house in Leyton this year for £470k... it had been reduced from £520k though after being on the market a while.

Selling my parents house in SW London at the moment. Onto our 3rd buyer now as two have offered, done paperwork and disappeared at the last minute. Brexit cold feet is my best guess

@HotChoc10 Do you mind me asking what condition it was in? Ours is 3 bed (was 2 before we did the loft).

@Alonglongway I’m really sorry to hear that - it must be making things even more stressful for you. I think you’re right about Brexit - and to be fair who would buy right now if you don’t have to?

It was old fashioned (woodchip wallpaper all over the place!) but not in need of any major repairs or anything like that. It has a loft which we might convert a few years down the line. We're enjoying putting our own stamp on it for now!

Zone 4 NW London and while prices are marginally down from their 2016 peak, all reasonably priced houses are selling within a week here, sometimes even sooner. If the price reflects current condition, I can't see you having a problem. Unfortunately, as you already said, you won't recoup the investment in doing the loft conversion.

Main properties struggling to sell and being reduced in price where I am are those at the top end of the market (£1m++)