Are viewers playing it cool in this climate?

[theresaparcelaswell]

House only went up on Right Move this morning. For those of you that have marketed / sold very recently, did your viewers offer straight away or did you find that it took a few days (or longer!) for them to offer, due to the market being slower?

We came on start of September (flat in nice leafy area of SW London, typical FTB for professionals). 7-8 viewings in first two weeks, 3 second viewings just before the "mini budget", then tumbleweed since - no viewings let alone offers at all in last 6 weeks, even though we have reduced by 5%. If we got an offer we were hoping to move to a garden maisonette in another, even nicer SW London area. We also started viewing from start of September. The two we would consider offering on - if we could get an offer on ours - were not over-priced compared to recent Land Registry sales from late 2021/early 2022. They are both still sitting there unsold and have both reduced by over 10% since the "mini budget". I think the problem is not only mortgage rates going up affecting how much buyers can afford to pay but sentiment also taking a dive with expectation of falling prices meaning many are just simply now holding off buying. Its pretty depressing...

A close relative has said the same about their viewings, tumbleweed since the mini-budget. I think people are nervous, of over extending themselves and overpaying.

I've just recently accepted an offer. House went on the market in August. It's not very desirable, so take that into account. This was our first offer and roughly 5% under asking - but we had already reduced twice. She viewed twice but then offered pretty much straight away and didn't play it cool.

I'm a buyer going on a second viewing today. It's want we want on the whole but not the dream house. Been searching a while and been outbid multiple times this year. I own a small house worth around 110 outright but have also a 90000 deposit. This house is on for 285 but has no offers. Been on market 5 weeks.

I'm really reluctant to make an offer anywhere near asking in anticipation of houses dropping soon plus the extra we would have to pay in interest.

I would like also to sell first but I think the vendors are in process of buying so probably couldn't wait for that. With a small loan plus my deposit I could buy without selling firsr but I've calculated I would only offer 230 on this basis and this will be rejected. Buyers are nervous and could miss out on a bargain in a year's time. I've been searching for 4 years and finally a drop in prices is imminent. Just wish I hadn't seen a house i like in an ideal location.

We sold 18 months ago and moved into rented as moving to a different part of the UK and wanted to get a feel for the place first. We having been trying to buy but outbid on a few suitable houses during last winter and spring. Took a bit of a breather from house hunting over the summer. There are a lot more houses available now and many are being reduced. Some multiple times. We don't have a set criteria in terms of the type of house we want or exact location. Quite open minded and don't have 'forever home' thinking, so our plan is to see what happens in the new year. We are not trying to time the market or anything but when you see month on month reductions you can't help but think why not wait a bit longer and save yourself some money if possible? Obviously, this could backfire but I'm willing to take the chance.

I can share my experience as a buyer. For me it’s not a case of playing it cool but being nervous about overpaying when the housing market seems to be heading into a serious downturn. When we have been interested in a property, we’ve made an offer within 24hrs of viewing.

We sold our flat earlier this year and decided to rent to break the chain to put us in a stronger position as buyers. We started looking seriously a couple of months ago but our experience has been that sellers seem reluctant to accept the market is cooling and don’t want to sell below ‘peak’ prices. We’re being chased relentlessly by agents, who are often hinting that there’s a lot of room for negotiation on asking price. But when we have offered 10% under on an extremely optimistic asking price, the seller rejected the offer.

We’re in no rush to move and when there are such widespread predictions of falling prices we think it makes more sense to take a cautious approach.

As a seller as others have said viewings have dried up. Had an offer from someone who has viewed 3 times over the last 3 weeks, more than 10% under asking with justification that house prices are likely to fall by that next year. My response was along the lines of you are buying it now not next year.
I dont think the buyer could ever afford near asking and was looking too far above her budget, I would think a lot of people are doing this hoping for a bit of a bargain