The state of the Housing Market

[CoronaIsWatching]

What's it doing near you?

Where I'm looking houses that would have been snapped up within 2 or 3 days 3 months ago, are now staying on Rightmove for a couple of weeks at least. More reduced properties, and more large detached houses coming on the market.

I'm in Central Scotland, a very desirable place, excellent schools. Up until about a week ago, everything was going under offer in less than a week. It was crazy.

I follow the new ones coming on and it looks like it's drying up a bit.

I’m in SE London - 3 bed family houses with decent gardens that are in good order, ie nice kitchens and bathrooms, extended until loft space, kitchen/diner with sky lights, etc between £550-575k are going on the market and snapped up in days.

Randomly, houses and flats at the much cheaper end of the market are staying on the market for ages, especially those between £400-500k (I guess because so many first time buyers now can’t get mortgages or have ‘only’ 10% deposit).

Houses over the £600k mark (including mine 😔) are also staying on the market ages.

My EA says that everything is stalling because the banks are so cautious to lend.
A friend of mine had an 800k DEPOSIT and was still turned down for her mortgage!!!!

We live in an very popular village in north Essex where houses are usually snapped up but I am noticing less and less sold signs and many more houses in the £400-800k price range coming in the market and just sitting there.

We had a mortgage in principal which then changed as it was three weeks waiting for an appointment to actually get the mortgage.

Mip is really just a ‘promise’ not an actual agreement.

In that three weeks they retracted the 10% deposit mortgages and we had to find 6k. I imagine that is happening to a lot of people due to the sheer timescales of getting paperwork done. The guy doing our mortgage application had come off furlough that day, we had waited 4 weeks after getting the MIP and putting an offer in to then having the appointment with HSBC.

@CatAndHisKit I saw the house i viewed and got straight to point with the seller. I told them I was going to put an offer in to EA on way home from viewing. I told them I had no chain and had a solicitor ready plus a mortgage offer. I said I wanted a fast move I also told the vendor if they accept my offer it comes of the market no more viewings. When I put offer in with EA within the hour, I told them I dont play games I wont gazump and my offer is made on the condition that there is no more viewings or any offers. To be honest I was quite blunt as I was annoyed that I was gazumped by people who did not have the money on other properties. The EA said that three sales had fell through that week with other properties. My offer was accepted and I got all paperwork to the EA they needed and my solicitor and Mortgage adviser were all involved within 24 hours. My solicitor contacted their conveyancing solicitor within 48 hours. Fingers crossed nothing happens.
My advice is have everything ready to close a deal. When you make an offer make it on condition if they accept no more viewings.
A house I offered on the vendor was greedy its still on market. If someone gazumped you walk away.

Houses over the £600k mark (including mine 😔) are also staying on the market ages.

I know somebody who put their circa £900k 3bed property up for sale in SE London and it was sold STC 4 days later. Perhaps yours is too expensive.

@tigerbear

I’m in SE London - 3 bed family houses with decent gardens that are in good order, ie nice kitchens and bathrooms, extended until loft space, kitchen/diner with sky lights, etc between £550-575k are going on the market and snapped up in days.

Randomly, houses and flats at the much cheaper end of the market are staying on the market for ages, especially those between £400-500k (I guess because so many first time buyers now can’t get mortgages or have ‘only’ 10% deposit).

Houses over the £600k mark (including mine 😔) are also staying on the market ages.

My EA says that everything is stalling because the banks are so cautious to lend.
A friend of mine had an 800k DEPOSIT and was still turned down for her mortgage!!!!

Is that a typo or did they really have an 800k deposit

All I can see where I am looking in East London is that desirable and well presented properties that are reasonably priced are going quickly. The ones that linger are the ones that are not value for money - overpriced.

Demand for well-presented and maintained properties in great locations will not stay on the market. They are in short supply and the demand for them is high. It is that simple.

@BentBastard yes, they really did have an 800k deposit. They’d offered approx £1.1M on a place, and turned down due to both being self employed.

@Dawnlassie tbh, I think mine is reasonably priced for where it is (centre of Greenwich). It was on for 675k originally, had an offer at 655k, but our buyer couldn’t get a mortgage.
We’ve had another offer at 646k, but they need to sell theirs (a one bed flat in Kings Cross, which no-one seems to want right now). Ours is now reduced to £650k for a 3 bed house with off street parking, garden and garage in Zone 2, which I think is pretty decent.

In my Hertfordshire town, there are loads of 300k 3-beds on the market (the likes of which I have sold!) but barely anything in the next step level of say 400-500k. If you want an upgrade (solid semi in centre of town or new build detached on outside), they're going to crazy prices (for here) now. Hardly anything on the market. V depressing position as a buyer but then again we are lucky to have sold with the competition at our level in the market!

3 bed terrace, wear Yorkshire, nice garden, local school, lots of green space. It's been on a week (almost 2) and had 6 viewings. 1 cash offer for severely below asking (and it's on under market value because we wanted to sell quickly)

We have cash deposit, MIP, solicitor ready to go. Can't find anything in our desired area or anywhere close and when they do come on they are either wayyyy overpriced or they're snapped up (think house that needed complete re-wiring and modernising on for 5k over market value). Yeah, that influx over summer has well and truly gone.

Our house just sold in a little over a week, at valuation. Cash buyer. Feels like things are slowing down here though. In north Scotland, rural property in 600k plus category so I feel we did ok

Sitdown yes, good advice - need to be to the point, precise in your conditions, and all ready to go - but did you have to offer asking price?
I struggle with doing that as prices are overinflated atm, compared with anything (even better) sold in witer 2020 or late last year.

@CatAndHisKit No I didn't offer the full price as I agree houses are overvalued. I got it it in the end for 15k less.

We've just gone on market 2 weeks ago at £650k in zone 5 London borders (house with small garden). Here houses in very good condition (updated throughout) with larger gardens are selling fast in our price range, within 2 weeks. Houses with smaller gardens in very good condition like ours its more mixed - at £700k they are sticking on market, at £650 its variable, at £600k they are selling. Flats look like they are really struggling. Gardens seem to have gone up in value since lockdown / wfh. We've had 7 viewers in 2 weeks which is reasonable, feedback from 6/7 and 5/7 rejected on garden. Though first week it was the one thing we hadn't finished when 4/7 went round and this week now done 1 rejected, one will view second time, one to hear.

House opposite us with no garden has reduced from £725k (overpriced) to £625k, other houses that are sticking are coming down in price. Very little coming on market needing any work at all, the odd one coming on as complete renovation job and variable if they sell or need to reduce a lot.

Will be interesting to see if the weather turning will reduce the garden effect. We were told almost no cash buyers in our area in our price range but quite a few just needing mortgages. EA said this week was quieter than last but not sure why and may just be a blip though we had 3 viewers so not a bad week for us.

Ooh that's great, Sitdown - did they take time to decide, I wonder? Maybe I should be brave and offer less despite te 'offers over' hint - it's more expensive than any other 2-bed in tha area but the owners overpaid for whatever reason 3 yrs ago and I doubt they'll take the same.

Sales slowing down here. Not many nice houses coming on at the lower end. In fact all are pretty awful as well as overpriced.

Market is pretty hot near me. I accepted an offer on a flat to first viewer a couple weeks ago. Just had a 'very keen' viewer on my house and it's not on the open market yet. I rang my solicitor to give him the heads up and he said he is so busy he may not be able to take it on - and I've used him about six times in the last few years so we have a long standing relationship!
I think it will start to slow as it usually does as we get closer to Christmas.

In my area on Suffolk/Essex border there were a few larger houses with gardens which were on the market for a while before lockdown , several have sold signs, although the one that has been on the market for about a year has just changed agent.
I think the key round here is older houses, decent gardens, catchment for popular schools, and easy access to mainline station.
Local agents are saying market is hot , and a couple have leafleted wanting properties to sell.

@Sitdowncupoftea - We followed exactly the same process you did. We were quick to act, to the point and delivered all our paperwork the same day it was requested. We still got gazumped by someone who offered 10% of the value again above our asking price offer!

Even the EA told me the vendors had been very greedy and there is a good chance the sale will fall through or proceed at a lower sale price. I'm still incredibly angry!

Fingers crossed for you!

Really interesting observations here. My own flat on the South Coast has been under offer since the start of July and after a variety of hold ups, will complete next month, I hope. I have completely unable to find somewhere to live in a neighbouring town even with a mortgage to top up the equity from my sale, and I'm now looking at park homes, which I don't really want to do. I'm also wondering whether to use some of my equity to rent for a few months and hope that prices drop a bit and I can buy something I really like. It's a really difficult time for everyone and oh to have a crystal ball :)

There was a property we were gazumped on just over three months ago. We had offered basically the asking price and were in a strong position of FTB, decent deposit and sol ready. Someone offered a bit more, sounds like it was around 5k more (they didn't have this available when we bid and their max was less than ours until our offer was accepted - first red flag!). EA advised the vendors to stick with us as thought we were the stronger buyers in a better position but the extra couple of grand was wanted by the owners.

Had a call from the agent last week - surprise, surprise, it's fallen through. Bank wanted a massive increase in deposit (over 50% of the value of the property) as they were self employed and banks are generally more nervous with lending to self employed people atm.

In this area, Estate Agents won’t let you view a property unless you already have an offer on your own property.

Buzyizzy would a park home be really better than your existing flat? or are you very keen to move for location?

@CatAndHisKit

Buzyizzy would a park home be really better than your existing flat? or are you very keen to move for location?

I definitely need to move, the atmosphere in the town is toxic and even the PO I spoke to about my second incident admitted that they have noticed a significant increase in aggressive crime since lockdown was eased. My neighbours below and next door but one completely understand and one I think is going to be next to go. I am on my own and hate it here :(