London flat market

[kirinm]

Just wondering if anyone has any current experience of the London flat market? I'm in SE London (Zone 2) and just about to sell my 2-bed victorian conversion with balcony and large garden. Land Registry doesn't seem to be up to date and I have no idea of sale prices. I've seen a few places come back on the market so I'm assuming there are sales falling through.

We've just started looking into downsizing from the NW to London and it's really off-putting that estate agents usually don't include information about the service charges and lease length in their adverts for properties. It just seems like a waste of everyone's time not to provide this important information up front.

Some agents do. Not on Rightmove but on the details posted on their own websites. Or you can ask before arranging any viewings

Victorian conversions with gardens are a completely different market from tower blocks with potential cladding issues, don't worry!
The market is strong round here (West London).

I do think us flat ''owners'' should start making a real noise about an urgent reform of the leasehold system.

Ground rents, lease extension costs and ridiculous service charges are not acceptable. Leasehold is just a relic of feudal times and does not exist in the majority of countries for a very good reason.

That added to the after-effect of the Grenfell tragedy has destroyed the market for flat in many places as people can't sell and of course that means they can't move to new properties and first time buyers are also even less likely to get on the first rung of the ladder.

Government is not addressing this but this housing crisis is just going to grow and grow...

SC can car from year to year and will depend on if there is major redurb to the building, subsidence issues, how it’s run. The agents won’t necessarily know the accurate figure. I’ve seen 2400 listed in adverts for my block, which is inaccurate as it’s currently 8k.

Interesting to find this thread - I put my tiny one-bed Croydon flat (no garden) on the market last August and have had zero offers on it since then. It was removed from the market briefly last November for about 5 weeks and then relisted with a new agent, and while the viewings have come in in dribs and drabs since then, there's been nothing serious.

Since listing it last August, I've knocked 30k off the original asking price and it's now on for 3k less than what I paid for in 2016. 😢Apparently this is normal for these types of flats in the current market, but it's really gauling as I've spent around £12k putting in new kitchen, new bathroom and new carpets. However, that's what the flats around me are going for and I'm under no illusions about the smallness of the flat - I live in it on my own and it really is a flat for one person, not a couple.

The flat is share of freehold (no service charges - we just pay a share of the buildings insurance and fix things as and when they come up) and it has a parking space.

I'm honestly totally unsure what to do with it now. I really don't want to let it out as the idea of being a landlord (even with a managing agent) fills me with dread, and I wanted the sizeable deposit invested in the property to use to buy somewhere bigger outside of London (Bucks area).

I'm going to be brave and put the listing link up on here - if anyone has any ideas or advice, I'd really appreciate it. I don't HAVE to leave my flat, but I'm so done with London (well, mainly Croydon) and the longer I stay here, the higher the prices are going up for houses in the area I want to move to.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118034087

Thanks!

@thefoxandhound what feedback have you had? I can’t see anything obviously wrong. It’s tastefully decorated, looks ready to live into, and is in an attractive building.

Hi @Shitscared123 - thank you for your kind words on my flat. It is nice to hear it, especially when you get repeated rejections from buyers and start questioning yourself! 🙂

The feedback from buyers is really varied. Some people say it's too small (fair enough, not a lot I can do about that), some say it's too far from the train station (it's about 13 min brisk walk, but again nothing I can do to change that either).

One person was put off because although I have share of freehold, there is still a lease on the property which is now at 90 years. Obviously it's easy and not prohibitively expensive to renew that when you're a freeholder, and I would be prepared to extend it for a buyer that was serious (and as long as they didn't go in with a ridiculously low offer).

One was a buy to let person and was concerned that as it's a Victorian building, it would cost too much to sort out the insulation (it's EPC is currently D).

In some cases, buyers have come away saying they like the flat, but they're at the beginning of the viewing process and so still have other properties to see (ie, they don't like it enough to buy it).

I've lived in this flat for nearly six years, so it can't be all bad, but it is demoralising when people just don't seem to want what you're selling 😔 (and particularly when all you hear in the news is how the London/SE property market is still booming and flats are selling in a month!)

That’s disheartening. I don’t know the Croydon market. Is there a lot of competition in the same price range? I imagine Croydon is popular due to transport links.

I don't know the area or prices at all so very hard to comment. The flat itself looks nice. What else is available for that sort of price where you are?

With that little interest, I can only think it's the price. The flat is well presented.

Might be worth adding a note to the listing about your willingness to extend.

I am putting up my 1930s 2 bed flat with communal garden in zone 3 north london on the market. No interest so far, but I am with Strike (so they don't do any marketing). Thinking of switching to another estate agent.

I want to buy another flat which is bigger and which the owner is in a lot of debt which is the only reason why i want to sell.

What is the approximate asking price @onthefencesitter and the service charges please? How long is left on the lease? I hope you don't mind the nosy questions, we are just starting our search for a property in London and trying to get an idea of what we can afford in which neighbourhood.

My asking price is £450k. Service charge is £1750 per annum. The building is residents managed so service charge has been stable. 121 years left on the lease!

It sounds like exactly the kind of place we're looking for! Unfortunately we're not moving for another year, but I imagine it will be very popular. I hope the advert states that it's resident-managed because I think that will be a big selling point. I'd love to find something with those characteristics next year!

"A night with his wife"????????

Flats are selling in a month?

Maybe some are, but it seems a really bad habit for people to try and think that their experience reflects the whole market. I've seen people casually mention 'it's a sellers market', without taking into any consideration what the poster is selling and where.

In reality there are two components, property and price. A real crappy property could be gone in a day at the right price, similarly a really nice one could sit on the market a long time if it was priced wrong.

I am a Croydon-nite and a few issues come to mind (aside from the lease/EPC):

1. Size is small even for 1-bed, thus it'll be in competition with studios, some of which can offer bigger sqft even if the bedroom isn't separate
2. The wrong side of Croydon, the south parts are a little bit nicer
3. Not very suitable for commuters, due to a pretty long walk (by London standards). Selhurst (the closest) is not a great commuting station due to the trains not being stopping ones. I don't know if I would fancy that walk back from East/West Croydon at night.
4. There are several flats on the market already and many more are being built. Many of these are of the shiny and new variety.

Of course there is nothing you can do about these factors. The only thing you can control is price really. What something cost in 2016 is irrrelevant now, the same way that the price the 2012 price was irrelevant when you bought.

So you must look at the comparables, as that is what potential bidders will be doing. To me you could get a studio of comparable size in one of the modern blocks closer to a Croydon station for about the same price, if prices fall another 10% (which they might do with higher interest rates) then 1-bed flats will start to fall into this category as well.

The modern flats come with service charges between £100-200 but convenience to station, other amenities (ie communal spaces, gym, co-working) and most of all personal safety (chances of a break-in are much smaller in a big tower) would outweigh this for me.

Suppose it depends how keen you are to sell, the place is nice and someone may fall in love with it and not want to mess around on price... if it's been almost a year chances are they may not exist.

I do think putting it under £200k has a psychological edge to it as the price then begins with '1', and it'll go pretty quick. I think this is a better reduction than the next logical one (£220 to £210).

Good luck anyway.

@DiamanteDelia - there's nothing in the particulars that mention the remaining lease length, but I've told the EA to mention to buyers that I would be open to extending the lease on behalf of a buyer if they put in an offer.

@Shitscared123 yeah, the price it's on now is probably closer to what other flats in the area are going for. Saying that, there are still even cheaper ones out there that appear to offer as much if not more (ie an outdoor space) than my flat for less money. But it's difficult to tell unless you actually see the place - it may look ok/be decent size but be right next to a crack den, or be leasehold with prohibitive annual fees. You never really know these things just by snooping on other listings - you have to get the info from the EA in person.

I don't know how the cheaper places are going for so little - I'm guessing that it's because they've been in the same hands for a while (say 10 years plus) so they'll be making a profit on 2011 prices, even if it's 20k less than my current asking price.

I'm not sure I can/want to drop the stated asking price further (although I'd be willing to take offers under if the buyers seemed like a sure bet).

I've come to terms with the fact that I won't make a profit on the flat. I've even come to terms with making a loss (although hopefully not too much). Now I just want to sell it!

Once again, thanks all for your kind words on it being presented well - clever photography and lighting help, but I've largely had very positive feedback on how the flat itself looks. Ah well - wish me luck and keep fingers crossed!🙂

Thefoxandhound sorry this isn’t very helpful, but I agree with the pp that your flat is really nice and building is lovely too. I’m sure someone will come along - if I was looking for a flat that size in that area I’d much prefer yours to one the same size in a tower block.

I agree with @Andante57 - your building is very attractive and has character. I’d certainly go for this than a modern sweatbox. Best of luck. You seem very level-headed about it.

@Diamond7272 Have you considered selling the flat at Auction?

I don’t see anything very off putting about your flat (and I have looked at loads in London with my daughter over the last year) apart from the size. I’m afraid that it is niche to want to purchase such a small property though I appreciate that is reflected in the price.
I would leave it on the market and you will surely get a buyer later this year. Maybe with the cost of living crisis people will have to buy smaller and cheaper starter homes

They seem to be selling fine around here (Walthamstow) but for prices only a bit higher than 5 years ago. These would be cheaper than yours, and also Victorian so own front door, garden, and no cladding.

To add to my post above I have just checked out the ”street view” on the Rightmove listing, and the business opposite your house will be off putting I feel for some people.

We're selling in Spitalfields 1 bedroom ground floor. Only been listed a day and already have viewings booked. I really do think it depends on location as ours is ideal but to let due to location. E1 has gone up in price significantly- we bought back in 2000 though.