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 !!

[quote BootsScootsAndToots]@kirinm Not Mitcham, and I meant to add zone 3 in SW London.

But you made the point nicely - you think you're too good for somewhere you can actually afford 😂[/quote]
I don’t think Kirin is being snooty, just that £500k houses are concentrated in one area, so less choice of area.

I would like to know where there are £500k house in z3 SW, as that is what I’m looking to buy!

(Mitchum is too far out for me)

Moving areas and having to set up an entirely new social network / schools / nurseries etc isn't jumping up the ladder, it's changing everything.

It's completely normal in London particularly because of schools & prices.

Also moving doesn't mean losing social groups, the vast majority of my friends & DH friends are people we went to school with.

@mars2

Also moving doesn't mean losing social groups, the vast majority of my friends & DH friends are people we went to school with.

I disagree. All of my DD's friends (and their parents) are nearish to where I am now they are an important group of people to us because we have no other support network. Our families do not live anywhere near us.

And your experience is not MY experience. The vast majority of my DP's friends are friends he went to school with but they don't live in London.

Rather than accept the point I made that people will still buy flats because bypassing the "flat" stage is still too expensive, I've been told I am a snob / snooty because the I don't want to move to an area of London I don't know, would add a long time on to my commute, would mean removing my child from childcare that she enjoys and losing the small support network of friends we do have locally.

Ridiculous.

And your experience is not MY experience.

Exactly, you are the one talking as if your experience is the only one & Im simply giving an alternative perspective.

It does make sense as long as you have enough money for a deposit. You lose £10,000 on what you sell (depressed market) but buy your next house for £50,000 less than what it would achieve in a better market.

Some people do have money for a deposit even if they haven't made money on the original property.

Sorry the above message was meant for @Paulina23

Rather than accept the point I made that people will still buy flats because bypassing the "flat" stage is still too expensive

Why does anyone have to accept your point? you disagree with my point that I think less people will be persuaded to pay £££ for London flats as a result of the pandemic, the data is showing this hence the OPs predicament & I don't think it's a short term trend. It's fine to disagree though & no one is dictating as to what you should do with your life. But likewise you can't project onto others.

Do you live in a flat by the way as you seem to be taking this very personally?

mars tbh I think it’s far too soon to say anything other than “right now, there are less buyers than pre-2020 for the typical starter flat”.

There’s the cladding scandal, covid and a year spent at home fresh in people’s minds, a huge economic storm brewing, the effect of wfh and whether or not that’s a blip... when we’re still practically in the middle of it it’s hard to draw conclusions.

I have had one friend among 20 or so over the past few years (interestingly, a single gay man) who “skipped the flat stage” and bought a semi in Bromley. I’d say that for most people though that would be an unusual decision - cities/city centres represent nightlife, friends, transport links, restaurants etc and I don’t think people typically look ahead 5-10 to consider schools, third bedrooms etc. It’s not just about the flat, it’s about the amenities it offers. And paying “just” another £100k or having “just” 20 minutes extra each way to commute might swing it.

Interestingly in my bit of SE London there is suddenly an abundance of school places, which means that pre-covid people with young families were moving out. Maybe this is part of a larger city/suburb cycle.

No one knows whether or not it’s a short-term trend, in sum.

@EssentialHummus your right that no one knows but I was specifically talking about skipping the flat stage in expensive markets. Where I am flats now cost about 600-700k, when I was at the flat stage there were more like 280k. I simply wouldn't pay 600-700k for the flat I used to live in when the prices have stagnated for the last 4-5 yrs & allowing for stamp duty. With that budget I would go for a house.

You need to forget about the stamp duty. That's a tax on properties. It's like the fees of the solicitor and the EA. So forget about it as it's gone and has nothing to do with the property now.

I would also forget about the renovations as you got the use of them whilst there.

So you need to decide if a 10k loss is worth it.

My personal opinion is that it will be difficult selling a flat in London for the foreseeable. People are leaving London in droves as living in flats during a pandemic made people realise that they'd get more bang for their buck with a bigger property and gardens in commuter towns, rather than small flats with no garden or tiny "outside space" in London.

I agree that unfortunately you need to disregard the stamp duty which is tax and fees which are unavoidable. All you can really focus on is the £10k loss. Again what you spent in furnishings, paint etc are also immaterial unless you added value with something like a loft conversion etc. Ok a new kitchen and bathroom would add some value but not loads as many people want to change these anyway.

I can see it’s disappointing but you’ve got an offer and you previously bought when the market had been incredibly high in 2015 early 2016. The market for flats has dropped since then and also you have not been there that long to gain market appreciation.

If you stay longer in the next property and buy a sound proposition going forward it will all balance itself out.

we have just gone sstc for MILs retirement flat she paid £147k 15 years ago and its just gone for 105K estate sale but she had the enjoyment of living there happily till she went into care home and the flat market in London area is flat at the moment

I would sell if I were you. Even before the pandemic, news articles in 2019 were reporting that flat prices were falling while house prices were rising. It's thought that this is partly because people are buying later and want a property that they can live in for longer. Lots of people are happy to rent a flat but wouldn't buy one.