Am I a fool to sell my flat in London for 10k less than what I bought it for in 2017?

[Ellax]

Will be losing about 70k including the stamp duty and renovations I did to the place but it’s not really suitable for us any more with the stairs and buggy. Should I wait for things to improve or do you think the market will stay crappy for years to come?

TIA !!

We were one of the FTBs that moved out of London and a few of our friends are looking to do the same. The demand for a flat in London is likely to decrease given the current climate as well as flexibility around remote working in the future. I'd let it go now if I could afford a 1.4% hit.

Hi

Just wondering what happened with this?

We are in nearly identical situation and the stress is unbelievable- we have a 9 month old, and can’t move until we sell. Even selling at a loss would be fine but we are struggling to get any viewings. I am biased but it is honestly a gorgeous flat, in a brilliant area. We have had almost no viewings and those that have come have not been serious buyers just people looking to do something during lockdown ( including one awful mum who let her kid touch everything that I then had to sanitise).

Renting is not an option - tax impacts alone make it not worth it.

Please tel me you had some luck?

Forgot to say: we’ve only had it up 3 months but am worried the longer it’s up the more stale it looks and that deters people from even coming to take a look.... if we take it down we have to wait 14 weeks to relist again or go with another agent who has to start all over eight photos - with a baby it’s such hard work.

@Anonymous111

Gosh it’s tough isn’t. We accepted the offer and so are just dealing with all the paper work etc but I know nothing is set in stone until we exchange. People pull out all the time. all in all im losing about 80k once stamp you include the tax and agency fees etc.

Had hardly any viewings as well and trying to keep the te flat looking spotless with a baby is tough!!

Has your estate agent not given any feedback? I guess one thing which would guarantee interest would be perhaps reducing the price? Have a look on Zoopla for flats going on your area and including a n your search ones which are under offer because you’ll be able to Guage what’s successful and what’s not.

Good luck!! Xx

I think from my experience of buying and selling over the years (I'm in my 50s now) that it doesn't matter if you sell low as long as you are moving up the property ladder.

In fact it's beneficial as it means you will also be buying low on a more expensive property. We have a gorgeous house now but on 2 occasions we lost money by selling in a depressed market.

Hi all

We’ve decided to rent our flat out and rent somewhere bigger.

Once we decided to do this I realised within days from talking to letting agents how mad the market is. Flats are not selling and are renting for far less than they were a year ago ( in London) but rents and house prices on houses or flats with space / garden are booming. So the market is totally fragmented. We will struggle to find a place to rent ( we should be able to but will need to really pounce and offer over asking).

Good luck everyone

In our area of SW London property prices have been completely flat for the past 5 or so years.
All the local estate agents repeatedly say that the market is booming. And yes family houses especially (flats less so though they are also selling) do seem to be selling well -just at the same price as 5 years ago.
I can’t see how prices could rise in the short to medium term as so many people especially Europeans are leaving London - that has surely got to reduce demand.
If you have a decent offer that’s not substantially below what you paid I would sell now unless you were happy to hold on to your property for at least another 5 years or so

@Twiglets1

I think from my experience of buying and selling over the years (I'm in my 50s now) that it doesn't matter if you sell low as long as you are moving up the property ladder.

In fact it's beneficial as it means you will also be buying low on a more expensive property. We have a gorgeous house now but on 2 occasions we lost money by selling in a depressed market.

It doesn’t make any sense, the ladder concept is based on price going up so asset holder builds equity sitting in their sofa while embarking on more debt in a ever decreasing interest rate. By selling low, one effectively end up with less equity than one that would have left his cash on a bank account, so who’s going to be offering most on the next ring of the ladder?

But agree on the fact that a house price reduction is beneficial for every household apart from the ones exiting the market (I.e. retirees flying off to Périgord) as it means less borrowing needed for the next house wherever you are in the housing food chain.

Following as we may be in a similar position.

Tbh if you need to move you need to move, and in your circumstances at least the surrounding circs (relative’s house) etc are beneficial for you. I get it - we agree to pay mad prices for London properties because we expect that down the line someone else will pay an even madder price and we’ll benefit - but that’s not where the market is just now.

I’m in se London. The only people I know who’ve sold recently bought a decade ago so obviously still made quite a bit when they sold for a “low” amount.

We are also looking to sell (SE London). Just finishing repainting the flat before we call EA in. We do have a large garden and balcony but I have no idea what sort of interest we are likely to get.

If we had to rent it out, I don't think we'd get enough to pay rent somewhere we do want to live. We bought at the peak in 2016 so god knows what sort of figure we are going to be given.

Same here in SE London - expected to sell this flat for £25k more than we bought it for in 2016, have had to settle for £25k (~8%) less! Have just accepted the loss now - we need the space and peace of somewhere else and can't wait for prices to recover.

I'd take the money and run.

For those in SE London - which agents did you use?

To be honest, what you paid for it a few years ago is irrelevant to what it's worth now. Market conditions change and property is only ever worth what people will pay. Sometimes that's a massive increase and sometimes a big drop.

Often, people don't need to sell and can wait it out if the price they will gain will give them negative equity or mean moving up isn't really possible. Some people wait it out through a sense their property is 'worth more' than the market will pay. To be honest that's a bit daft, because it's only ever worth what peoole will pay at a given time.

It's often true that if yours has dropped,mothers have too and if you're moving up, it can actually make the jump to next stage easier. That's a key thing to consider.

Forget thinking if it in terms of what you paid 4 years ago. Think of it in terms of now and what you will realistically get and what you will realistically need to buy elsewhere and what you can borrow etc. These latter frigates are the ones that count for decision making.

If you want to sell you have to find a price you and buyers can agree. If that means you have to come down in order to sell, if you really want to sell, you just have to swallow it. But it is up to you. If you don't want to take the price the market will pay now, you can sit tight and just not sell. Depends what matters to you most.

Bear in mind prices might fall over next 2 years....it's pretty likely.

Is it a new (or new-ish) build so in the depreciation age rather than appreciation age? In that case then just take the hit and move.

If you need to move anyway then perhaps look at it as costs avoided? i.e. if you are in a family place then selling earlier will save "x" months mortgage payments / interest on the flat. And if you are chain free it might give you a better bargaining position when buying your next place.

Buy OUCH to losing capital and having spent money on renovations. Sadly it does happen.

@Twiglets1

I think from my experience of buying and selling over the years (I'm in my 50s now) that it doesn't matter if you sell low as long as you are moving up the property ladder.

In fact it's beneficial as it means you will also be buying low on a more expensive property. We have a gorgeous house now but on 2 occasions we lost money by selling in a depressed market.

But this only works if you are buying in the same sort of market. It doesn’t work when you’re selling in London and buying within a hours commute of London, where the market is absolutely booming.

We’re ten mins from a 54 min train into London and our house (bought at the same price we sold our flat for) is now worth more than the flat we sold in SW1 in 2010. We never ever saw that coming. And we don’t even live in a super desirable area.

I feel like houses are still selling. Those under £1.0m anyway. A jump up the ladder doesn't feel very possible at the moment.

In your position, I'd rent it out.

Similar situation only it's my mum's flat I'm trying to sell not mine. We accepted a lot less than asking but we're also buying a new place for her, near us, at a lower price. Not ideal but it's dragged on so long already, we just needed to get her moved just praying it goes ahead now because it's taken SO much time and there have been all sorts of false starts. best of luck whatever you decide. We thought about renting and renting somewhere for DM but the managing of it all just felt like too much faff plus being responsible for repairs in the place rented out. When we looked at the figures after agency commission it wouldn't have left her with what she needed to rent somewhere comparable elsewhere.

If you are moving up the ladder in the same market lower prices can make it easier to move up, a lot of people don't understand this though. Rising prices mean you are paying more cash wise for the next property.

I would take the hit as I can't see things improving.

If I was a young person buying now I would very likely skip the flat stage if in an expensive market. It's very hard to build equity in the last few yrs on flats & stamp duty/costs make moving expensive so you need to stay put for a long time.

@mars2

If I was a young person buying now I would very likely skip the flat stage if in an expensive market. It's very hard to build equity in the last few yrs on flats & stamp duty/costs make moving expensive so you need to stay put for a long time.

I can't see how you can skip the flat buying stage in London. In my area, you're looking at £700k for a house of any kind and those are very few and far between. £800-900k is more realistic.

I would live in a cheaper part of London/outer zones. There are plenty of places in London where 700k will get you a house in my area of SW London this gets you a flat. We will be moving further out soon, we have a healthy budget & good equity but I'm just not prepared to pay 1.2m plus for a terrace with tiny garden.