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Original poster

Crazy South East property market! Can anyone relate?

28 replies

augustusbloom · 06/10/2021 18:49

Wowzaroony the property market atm in South East (commutable distance to London is i-n-s-a-n-e).

This is more of a ramble to see if anyone else can relate - what are your experiences? - versus a request for advice, but if you guys have any then please do impart your wisdom!

We are FTBs with a healthy 15% deposit and have already missed out on one property that ended up going for 10% over asking which we just couldn't match (it was a total doerupper).

We are looking at some new properties on Sunday which are near the top end of our budget, and I already feel like I've lost out tbh.

We have the option of reducing our deposit to 10% if we need to increase an offer on a property, but then we're concerned about the increase in our monthly mortgage payments - we could afford it, but would rather have the disposable income for cosmetic work, etc (wouldn't we all...)

Fundamentally, we want to stay in the property we purchase for at least 7-10 years ideally so are looking at properties we can grow into. We are in our early 30s and so envisage this being our family home, and so we are trying to swallow the fact that property prices are sky high at the moment with the reasoning that we don't plan a quick turnaround sale anyway so any immediate dips in the market wouldn't really effect us (we hope). We're renting atm, and also have thought that if we stopped looking now in the hope that prices would go down, in the next year or so, the amount we would be spending annually in rent (nearly £18k a year) may negate any property price dip...

We're also aware that renovation work at the moment is more expensive than normal - in the South East, does anyone have any idea for how more pricey in % terms things are than previous years?

Stories welcome....

x

OP posts:
Embracelife · 06/10/2021 21:32

Buy a smaller house?
You can extend later?

languagelover96 · 07/10/2021 09:17

Yes. Get a tiny house for now you can relocate in the spring next year if you hate it.

Namechangeforthis88 · 07/10/2021 09:22

Try Edinburgh. We paid about 25% over. There was very little on the market to choose from. It is insane, and very unfair on FTBs. You just have to see what you can compromise on. On the other hand, we know people who offered the asking price on a lower ground on one of the loveliest streets, in a great catchment, very desirable area. They just wanted to see what it went for and they got it. Riddled with damp, which no doubt put everyone off but they have a survey that says that can be fixed for less than £5k.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 07/10/2021 09:25

The market is really odd right now - I have friends trying to buy, and properties keep going "sale agreed", but then the sale falls through, but then the house comes back on at a higher price... I feel there is some greed and lack of realism going on among sellers.

However at the end of the day the market is always right. If you can't buy what you want for the budget you have, then you either need to reassess what to buy, or increase your budget, or look elsewhere, or wait and see if the market cools.

I'm honestly not sure what I would do in this market.

KineticSand · 07/10/2021 09:35

Same in my "naice" town in North Yorkshire. Hardly any houses for sale and they sell immediately for huge prices. Ours we bought 4 years ago has shot up in equity (but we still can't afford a new kitchen). Also in other Yorkshire price hikes- a young colleague just paid almost £300k for a 3 bed semi in Sheffield. Prices almost doubled in last 6 years or so.

BIoodyStupidJohnson · 07/10/2021 09:46

@Namechangeforthis88

Try Edinburgh. We paid about 25% over. There was very little on the market to choose from. It is insane, and very unfair on FTBs. You just have to see what you can compromise on. On the other hand, we know people who offered the asking price on a lower ground on one of the loveliest streets, in a great catchment, very desirable area. They just wanted to see what it went for and they got it. Riddled with damp, which no doubt put everyone off but they have a survey that says that can be fixed for less than £5k.
Oh I hear you.

The other issue with Edinburgh, especially in the centre where we're looking, is 'investors' buying up flats and turning them into AirBnBs. There are over 9,000 in the city now, it's slowly being hollowed out. Not to mention driving the prices up.

And it has other knock-on effects. The blocks/buildings with AirBnBs in often have problems with antisocial guests, rubbish being left to rot, mice Edinburgh mice are plentiful and hard as fuck, famously so and security.

dubyalass · 07/10/2021 09:47

The market is really odd right now - I have friends trying to buy, and properties keep going "sale agreed", but then the sale falls through, but then the house comes back on at a higher price... I feel there is some greed and lack of realism going on among sellers.

Not south east, but this is definitely the case near me in the south west. Quite a few sales falling through and relisted for more money. I just ignore them, it's pure greed. Lots of 'offers over' too, which I hate - this isn't Scotland!

beguilingeyes · 07/10/2021 09:54

I'm in East London and the schtick round here is 'guide price'.
The agents will hold an open day at the house and then it pretty much goes to the highest bidder.
We're in the middle of a sell/buy right now. We were incredibly lucky in that I think we were the only offer on the house we're buying. The kitchen and bathroom are tiny, but there's room to extend. I couldn't bear the thought of joining in a bidding war.
I'm just praying to all that's holy that nothing goes wrong.

MidnightMeltdown · 07/10/2021 11:45

I'm in a popular area of West Yorkshire and it's the same here. There are few houses on the market, and viewings get booked up rapidly. There seems to be lots of flats lingering though.

CoronaPeroni · 07/10/2021 12:19

I'm just about to go on the market in the SE and open day is 23rd. It's sensibly priced and hopefully will get asking price. Similar properties are hanging around though! There seems to be quick sales for 3 bed semis c. 400-450k but our market (4/5 detached c.600-650k) it's not so fast moving. I suppose it's because they are not aimed at FTBs.

Original poster
augustusbloom · 07/10/2021 13:38

Thanks all for your comments so far.

For those who've commented about starting smaller - we have considered that but we WFH and are in a small 3-bed rental currently and don't want to live any smaller than this (we moved out of London for this exact reason). Plus, we have a budget that can afford a 3 bed which we could see ourselves being happy in for up to 10 years, or even more if we could extend etc. We don't fancy buying something with the view that 'oh well we'll sell in a couple of years if we hate it' as we have lots of friends who have done that and they've lost out financially as well as emotionally, and spent years living somewhere they weren't completely happy with! (e.g. they've paid two lots of stamp duty in a matter of years, experienced the stress of it all, and in one case they sold their place because of the pressures of the chain in circumstances where the house they were going to buy was then taken off the market, leaving them renting again in some kind of nomadland for months. Noooo thanks).

@beguilingeyes "guide price" is the thing around here as well, likewise with houses going on for more money @dubyalass. One was on for £595k in July 2021 (almost identical properties sold for £510k and £536k respectively in January and March 2021), which was nuts. It apparently went for £635k after a mental bidding war, and a couple of months down the line the buyer pulled out (unsurprisingly, the house simply wasn't worth that much by any stretch). It's been back on the market for 2 weeks.

We're crossing our fingers for this weekend's two viewings (us and the rest of the town we imagine!) and hoping our good-to-go FTB position may give us a leg up next time (the property we lost was a probate run by a trust and they accepted the highest offer even though that was in a chain etc.)

Good luck everyone who is also searching/selling!

OP posts:
TallTrees78 · 07/10/2021 13:45

Central Scotland - lost out on a recent house as it went £80k+ over the asking price. Staying put in my too small house for now as can't compete with offers like that, (everything still going within days of coming to market here).

Littlecaf · 08/10/2021 16:58

Yup SE England here and it’s gone bonkers. Doesn’t help our “village” (small town) was recently featured in the top 10 commuter towns from London type feature in lots of newspapers. We tried upsizing last year and there was very little in our budget of £600k. Now those properties are back on the market at £650k - it’s ridiculous. Greed mostly. We went for the extension option instead!

Lightsabre · 09/10/2021 07:52

Where are you looking in the SE. Bromley and Bexley Boroughs might be worth a look. Easy to get to town and more chi chi areas but also green, good schools etc

supercalifragilistic123 · 09/10/2021 08:07

It's crazy at the moment. My brother was trying to buy his first place and they've just given up after losing another house as the mortgage valuation came back 15k under their offer and the vendors refused to budge.

There's not a lot available, and what is seems to be vastly overpriced with bidding wars on top.

Surely with the massive economic slump coming, things are bound to settle.

Doubleraspberry · 09/10/2021 13:14

I can only assume that the mortgage valuations (or bad surveys) are the reason for stuff going under offer and reappearing. Our system is so stupid.

I viewed a house that had just come back on the market and the agent told me the previous buyers had had young children, were FTB, and had panicked at some of the straightforward survey stuff. All fairly believable until I met a friend for coffee shortly afterwards who WAS that buyer. Not at all a FTB (although in this area she is), they were buying for cash, only got the surveyor in to offer views on the renovation they had planned, and he casually mentioned it was lucky they were cash buyers as the house wasn’t mortgageable! Something about non-standard wall construction. So I can only assume, as the agent wasn’t being clear about that, that those owners now face repeated collapses of sale at survey stage.

shedofdread · 09/10/2021 13:33

It's mental.

If I was in my thirties now and looking for a home I would want to leave this country. It seems we don't want young people to get on anymore.

The town I grew up in about 35 miles from London was always "posh", but at least there were some normal people there. Not any more.

FleasInMyKnees · 09/10/2021 13:41

What's your budget

FuckYouCorona · 09/10/2021 15:58

Agree its nuts. I was mortgage free before moving to an expensive commuter town. We have a nice 5 bed detached worth around 700k. Could buy a street in some parts of Wales for that! Lunacy! Confused Can't wait till we can move somewhere cheaper.

AnneElliott · 09/10/2021 16:01

It's completely nuts. We have estate agents knocking all the time to ask if we want to sell (we're south east in a London borough) as apparently they have hundreds of buyers on the books.

Surely the prices cannot keep going up?

NCForthisxox · 09/10/2021 16:05

We are going to wait we want to upside market is semi settling down here in the north west much more supply anything overpriced is sitting on the market seen some reductions of 25k some sellers are trying it on though . With inflation coming and economic trouble I really don't think this crazy market is going to last much longer unless there's another lock down which I really don't think there is going to be.

earsup · 09/10/2021 22:54

All quiet now here in trendy east london...nothing on the market in my road...last year about 12 houses for sale..most sold in days...a few kept popping up again as buyers couldnt get finances in place but then sold again fast.

Tealightsandd · 09/10/2021 23:11

Surely the prices cannot keep going up

Much as some won't like it, the only solution is a long overdue interest rate increase.

What's happening now is the (negative) consequences of bad government several decades of an economy built on debt.

We don't want a crash but we do need a stagnation and even a slight call in prices. (It's what is needed but whether it happens is another matter.)

Tealightsandd · 09/10/2021 23:12

fall

MidnightMeltdown · 09/10/2021 23:55

It will be really interesting to see what happens. I think that we should place bets and check back next year to see who was right! Grin

My prediction is that prices will be around 8% higher next year, but whether that actually happens is anybody's guess.

There's also the issue of whether they go up in real terms or in monetary terms. We are entering a period of inflation where wages are beginning to rise and money is being devalued, so prices may not rise in real terms, even if they look higher on paper.