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When will it become a "buyer's market"?!?

57 replies

PropertyProblems · 08/02/2022 15:55

I am looking to buy my first house.

But seriously, every house I like the look of seems to be bought by psychic househunters 5 minutes after going on sale.

Why are there so many people buying at the moment? Is this market likely to change soon?

OP posts:
Mildura · 08/02/2022 16:17

I think it's actually a case of fewer sellers rather than more buyers, not that particularly helps your situation.

Predicting the residential property market is virtually impossible, but the thing that tends to govern the housing market more than anything else is the cost and availability of mortgages. Whilst they remain so cheap there is unlikely to be a significant change.

What effect the current levels of inflation have will need to be seen, and could dampen activity a bit.

vickyc90 · 08/02/2022 16:27

Sign up with estate agents they will give you the heads up of what's coming on the market. Prepare to offer without viewing (look at similar house types), I don't see it changing any time soon.

Chakraleaf · 08/02/2022 16:36

Same. Its making me a nervous wreck. Every house seems to have over 20+ offers. One we looked at went 60k over asking. :(

RedToothBrush · 08/02/2022 16:44

There are no houses on sale atm. It usually picks up around here around Easter, but tbh i thought id see more houses start going on about now and thatd not happening.

The big issue is people just aren't moving. I think lots of people who live in what would be first time buyer homes are more financially exposed and stretched so are less willing to move with the uncertainty atm. Perhaps more so than in previous years.

If there is a cost of living crunch there may be a lot of people who start to default on mortgages and buy to lets. At that point you might start to see more homes coming on the market.

But for now, i dont think we will see much of a buyers market any time soon.

Kikospeedo · 08/02/2022 16:45

It’s horrendous isn’t it.. we have lost out on numerous houses. You have to be glued to Rightmove, in with the Estate agents, in rented, cash buyer, no chain, also offer over asking. Not a nice market at all.

Chakraleaf · 08/02/2022 16:46

@Kikospeedo

It’s horrendous isn’t it.. we have lost out on numerous houses. You have to be glued to Rightmove, in with the Estate agents, in rented, cash buyer, no chain, also offer over asking. Not a nice market at all.
It's a really horrible place right now
Didyousaysomethingdarling · 08/02/2022 16:51

Apparently there are more buyers, especially foreign buyers...

Skipton International has seen a significant increase in UK mortgage completions from 2020 to 2021, with the largest rise coming from EU residents, increasing by 97% from £13.5m to £26.7m.

bestadvice.co.uk/skipton-reports-97-rise-in-eu-residents-buying-uk-rental-property/

Zilla1 · 08/02/2022 16:54

The % of mortgage holders already under severe financial distress before interest rises, energy and food price rises occur is significant which would normally lead to market price reductions in aggregate, as would the effects on wider employment from the reduction in disposable income. With QE and the wealthy buying multiple properties, it seems difficult to call whether or when there will be a downturn.

Mildura · 08/02/2022 16:55

Whilst a large percentage, that's a pretty small sum of money, relatively speaking.

Be interesting to see if that trend were replicated amongst the larger lenders.

MidnightMeltdown · 08/02/2022 16:57

I find it astonishing that this is still going on. I bought my house in summer of 2020 after the first lockdown, and before the stamp duty holiday. The market was insane then, with multiple offers on everything I viewed, and houses being snapped up well above asking. I thought that it was temporary due to the market being shutdown during lockdown, and that it would calm down by early 2021. In fact I contemplated waiting 6 months for things to calm down, as it was just so stressful. I'm now really glad that I didn't! I really have no idea how or why this has continued so long.

Mildura · 08/02/2022 17:07

I really have no idea how or why this has continued so long

Cheap mortgages.

Cattenberg · 08/02/2022 17:08

Demand is massively outstripping supply and I don’t know when that will change. The UK birth rate has been declining year on year, but it’ll be a few years before that has much effect on house prices. It could also be offset by immigration.

The really depressing thought is that climate change could reduce the area of habitable land in the UK over the coming decades.

Cattenberg · 08/02/2022 17:11

@Mildura

I really have no idea how or why this has continued so long

Cheap mortgages.

I didn’t even think of that. Oh well, interest rates are rising.
stairway · 08/02/2022 17:16

There is a theory that more family homes will start to become available once the baby boomer generation start to die off or go into care so maybe in 10 years time. I don’t think it will change in the short term as the cost of building material is on the rise too.

MidnightMeltdown · 08/02/2022 17:19

@Mildura

I really have no idea how or why this has continued so long

Cheap mortgages.

True, but I think that they were pretty cheap before covid(?), and the market wasn't like this.

2bazookas · 08/02/2022 17:21

@vickyc90

Sign up with estate agents they will give you the heads up of what's coming on the market. Prepare to offer without viewing (look at similar house types), I don't see it changing any time soon.
"offer without viewing" is terrible advice, please never do this.

As a seller I would not even entertain an offer from someone who hadn't viewed the property or met my estate agent to discuss their

own market status (house to sell , no house to sell, cash buyer, mortgage applicant, local/not local buyer, moving for new job; ).

Sign up with plenty of local agents and tell them exactly what kind of property you want and can afford. Mention any must-haves and deal -breakers. This is an opportunity to build a relationship and suss out the better agents, that can be really useful.

Get your finances and your lawyer lined up. Then if you find the right place you're ready to move fast and look like a convincing competent contender.

There is an art to effective househunting. Drive (or better still, get someone else to drive) around your target area in daylight with an open local streetmap, and mark on it which streets are more attractive to you ( are you looking for plenty of parking, or bus routes, close to schools or noisy pubs, ; are there parks, trees, drunks and junkies, tiny but well kept gardens; does one street look cared for or run down). Use google maps a lot to explore the area online. Use Rightmove (free) to check previous selling prices along that road; and how often they change hands. . At a viewing, take binoculars. After you've seen inside ask to wander round outside and have a good look (binocs) at the roof, chimneys, gutters, stains or cracks on walls. And the properties either side .

MidnightMeltdown · 08/02/2022 17:24

@Cattenberg

Demand is massively outstripping supply and I don’t know when that will change. The UK birth rate has been declining year on year, but it’ll be a few years before that has much effect on house prices. It could also be offset by immigration.

The really depressing thought is that climate change could reduce the area of habitable land in the UK over the coming decades.

What about the baby boom in the naughties? These kids will be coming of age now and surely that will put more pressure on housing?

2bazookas · 08/02/2022 17:26

@stairway

There is a theory that more family homes will start to become available once the baby boomer generation start to die off or go into care so maybe in 10 years time. I don’t think it will change in the short term as the cost of building material is on the rise too.
Local agents (north Scotland) report the biggest sales demand now is for detached bungalows. That tells me the boomers are already on the move, downsizing out of more expensive family homes to smaller more age-friendly property.
WulyJmpr · 08/02/2022 19:02

Apparently the new trend is for old folks to install lifts in their big detached houses so they never have to move Confused

vickyc90 · 08/02/2022 19:43

@WulyJmpr

Apparently the new trend is for old folks to install lifts in their big detached houses so they never have to move Confused
I can believe it my parents wanted a bungalow the same size as their house...150k premium
rubytubeytubes · 08/02/2022 19:49

I feel your pain! We have been looking for over a year and not been able to buy the next house up, trying to buy again now and sold our own house within 4 days.
Told we have to be under offer though to buy the next one so feel like we can’t win… we are either under offer with no house to buy or not under offer and no one will accept our offer…..ahhhhh!

JamieNotJames · 08/02/2022 19:54

@rubytubeytubes

I feel your pain! We have been looking for over a year and not been able to buy the next house up, trying to buy again now and sold our own house within 4 days. Told we have to be under offer though to buy the next one so feel like we can’t win… we are either under offer with no house to buy or not under offer and no one will accept our offer…..ahhhhh!
I could have written your post word for word! We've had our poor buyers hanging on since last summer with no where for us to go. Every house we've shown any interest in has either had an offer before we get to view, or has accepted an offer from a cash buyer despite our offer being the highest!!

It's so disheartening at the moment when we only want a slightly bigger living space!

Chakraleaf · 08/02/2022 21:55

So we bid slightly over on a property that ended up going for nearly 50k over. Wtf

MidnightMeltdown · 08/02/2022 22:57

I can believe it my parents wanted a bungalow the same size as their house...150k premium

Not really a surprise if it's using double the land. Anyway, it doesn't really help families if older people are looking to move into another property the same size.

Sorbustree123 · 09/02/2022 06:21

[quote Didyousaysomethingdarling]Apparently there are more buyers, especially foreign buyers...

Skipton International has seen a significant increase in UK mortgage completions from 2020 to 2021, with the largest rise coming from EU residents, increasing by 97% from £13.5m to £26.7m.

bestadvice.co.uk/skipton-reports-97-rise-in-eu-residents-buying-uk-rental-property/[/quote]
I guess the stronger euro/weaker pound since Brexit means foreign buyer are getting good value for money over here?

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