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Original poster

House price bores this way, please...

258 replies

southutsire · 13/09/2007 16:51

If you would like to discuss and pointlessly speculate about the housing market, please post here, so that I don't ruin dinner parties and every conversation I have in RL by boring everyone to death on the subject.

What do you think will happen in the next months and why?

OP posts:
hippipotami · 14/09/2007 14:16

UD, that is the case here. We are in the catchment area for an outstanding award winning infant school, a very good junior school and a very good secondary school. Hence the tiniest 3 bed houses are being snapped up at ridiculous prices by families wanting to be within the catchment.

katwith3kittens · 14/09/2007 14:18

Oooh... I'm lovin this propertysnake site. I'd never heard of it before !

We are in the process of buying a second home and according to the site one we looked at previously has been reduced by 27% ..

mind you it was overprices at £485 for a 2 bed cottage.

Feeling a bit nervous now about the one we are buying

UnquietDad · 14/09/2007 14:38

hippipotami - in our city what you tend to find is that it's not because the schools are outstanding but because they are the only ones the middle classes deem to be decent.

crayon · 14/09/2007 16:15

Definitely on the way down. My DH is obsessed with this topic - we are even considering selling up and renting for a bit to get more for our money. Think it will be a very big crash this tim.

crayon · 14/09/2007 16:19

'big crash this time '

Blu · 14/09/2007 16:44

Does propertysnake show that prices are dropping, though - as in money paid for houses - or that estate Agents and vendors are being unraslitically greedy and having to be more sensible when the house doesn't sell?

Wouldn't a better indicator be that site that shows what was paid for properties?

bossykate · 14/09/2007 16:45

blu, agree with you that SW2 has gone bonkers. i can't believe how fast prices have gone up over the past year.

bossykate · 14/09/2007 16:45

also agree that there are "pockets" which don't necessary reflect wider trends.

Blu · 14/09/2007 16:48

Have you seen the prices for the flats in my old house???

bossykate · 14/09/2007 16:48

no - how much?

bossykate · 14/09/2007 16:49

mind you, i don't think they've sold yet and have been on the market a while.

Original poster
southutsire · 14/09/2007 17:46

I agree Blu, propertysnake doesn't prove anything about the general trend of house prices... though there are significantly more houses dropping in price on there than there were when we started looking (and dropping further), which would be one indication.

I see that the stock market has today been betting against house builders.

These would only be early indicators in any crash - the actual sold prices are more the proof when it's been happening for a while, as that information doesn't filter out immediately. One of the indices that will be interesting from now on is mortgage approvals.

OP posts:
morningglory · 14/09/2007 18:20

Prices are definitely going to decrease. The markets are extremely unstable due to the credit crunch, and there is little liquidity out there. Mortgage lenders are tightening their requirements, and increasing rates. City bonuses are at risk this year, which will have an impact here in London on prices.

ellehcim · 14/09/2007 20:17

I'm afraid I agree. Everything on the finance programmes today has indicated that the Northern Rock situation will lead to increased mortgage rates and an unwillingness of the banks to lend high multiples of salary or 100 per cent mortgages in the future. The commentary said this can only lead to a significant drop in house prices in the imminent future. Really annoying for me having spent the past three months persuading my husband that we should stretch ourselves and move to a better area. Now there's no way we can risk stretching ourselves. At least we hadn't done so already I guess.

Rytzy · 14/09/2007 20:45

We bought a property in SE London in Sept 2005. In 2 years it has gone up 42%!

1dilemma · 14/09/2007 20:54

ellehcim, hopefully you are just about to be very happy your dh took so much convincing!
Agree blu propertysnake just shows asking prices but the fact that ea can no longer just think of a number, double it and expect someone to pay up is significant. I think increasngly there are houses fallinf through, sticking, not selling etc I can think of several that to all intents and purposes to the casual observer have sold for new highs in this area, however the true obsessive can tell you that neither looks like actually completing any time soon. That in itself is unusual, I have posted on here before that the market round here is 'stuck' lots for sale at new highs but land registry reveals that none of it is ever registered with a new buyer.
Was v. interested to hear about Northern Rock in the wee small hours this morning!
Kat &3 don't know whether to say I'd love a home for 485 pounds or to say second house £485 with 2 beds !!
southutsire there is one on there near us with no photo and no details which seems v low priced and I'm curious to know what it is or whether they have mislabelled a flat as a house but no more details available will have to have another look.
Of course what is significant is that

  1. we are having this discussion
  2. propertysnake actually exists
  3. by all accounts what the BOE does to interest rates can no longer be relied on to control mortgage rates!!!!!!!! (anyone else see food being removed from the inflation rate calcs soon?)
shreddies · 14/09/2007 21:00

Rytzy, it has only gone up by 42% when you sell up and get your money in the bank. Otherwise it's just speculation in a toppy market

ellehcim · 14/09/2007 21:09

DH says the only way we can move now with things looking this bad is by selling and moving into rented until the crash happens. Mind you we have friends who did that in 2000 thinking prices would drop and they're still in rented now having used up all of the equity they had and having been completely priced out of the market due to the massive rises.

Rytzy · 14/09/2007 21:18

I am so happy here! Not moving anywhere for a while!

shreddies · 14/09/2007 21:21

Good! Wish we didn't need more space as I love it where I am too.

1dilemma · 14/09/2007 23:15

If you put house price crash into you tube and look at the Kirsty and Phil one it is very funny!!! (I honestly don't use you tube a lot!...)

WideWebWitch · 15/09/2007 09:12

No, agree, property snake just shows decreased asking prices but nethouseprices shows paid prices from land reg data.

Northern Rock situation v interesting, may start a sep thread. And Abbey have just increased their tracker rate.

noddyholder · 15/09/2007 09:18

I think the boom is over now and prices will fall steadily over the next 3 years to a manageable level.Prices do always eventually rise but the ridiculous rises of the last few years and all the cheap and easy credit are over.I have been buying and selling and renovating for 8 years and for the first time ever there is no market for this and several local agents have told me that we have done the right thing by selling up.We moved into rented 3 weeks ago and it is like a breath of fresh air not having to feel responsiblefor/attached to a house! I plan to buy next summer when things have cooled down a bit as Northern Rock have proved loose lending is about to come back to bite our bums!Although good news for savers as interest rates will rise

smallwhitecat · 15/09/2007 09:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

noddyholder · 15/09/2007 09:32

I just 'feel' it is over but could be wrong!