House buying

[Blacksheep33]

Just wondering what everyone’s current experience of house buying is? We are in a situation where we need to move (baby two on way and no space in current flat). Have offer on our flat (FTB) but struggling to find anywhere to buy - generally not much on market and then the places we have viewed have gone under offer without us having had a chance to put in an offer. For example we saw a property on Saturday which had an open day (so supposedly no viewings prior - asked and were told no, although the estate agent mentioned having shown someone round earlier in the week). We liked it snd considered putting in an offer but wrongly assumed we had the weekend to think about it - it went under offer today without us having got back to the estate agents.

just wondering how common this is and whether demand for property is really high right now?

I guess it depends on the type of property and the particular area you are in but no, generally speaking, demand is not high. It has increased since Q4 of 2022 as you'd expect because we're in spring selling season but demand is down on pre-covid activity in April and house prices are predicted to fall by most commentators.

We are selling in south London where we didn’t experience particularly high demand (took a little while to sell and know lots of friends selling in the area who had to drop their asking price) but are looking to buy in Bromley area - beckenham or Chislehurst/Petts wood area - where property seems to sell quickly. The thing that is most odd is property being marked as under offer on the day/day after we have had a viewing - you would think the vendor would want to know whether we were interested before accepting someone else’s offer? Think maybe it’s just bad communication on the part of the estate agent but maybe is usual practice

I think the current housing market is very area specific. There are a lot of ppl who has had children during pandemic are in the midst of moving homes that are closer to good schools for example. And there are some areas that are becoming more thought after etc it really depends. Recently a house on my road was sold without ever being official listed. In a lot of the popular areas there are agents that are controlling the off listing places and controlling the supply and demand. The house actually sold above asking. Yeah really depends.

Thanks @MissLucyLiu i guess that is what has happened here and looking to buy in what must be very sought after areas - you’re absolutely right about schools as that’s playing a part in our decision of where to offer etc so clearly everyone else in the same boat!

i think the problem is that there's always a risk that a good buyer will put in a good offer and the seller will decide to just go for it. i'm in Scotland where it's less common (notes of interest/closing date process) but we bought last week on that basis - first viewers to see the house, put in a good offer having already sold and the house was marked as under offer within about 5 hours of appearing on RM...

market will vary depending on location but in my area being a "good" buyer counts for a lot as there are a lot of sales that have fallen through and houses also tend to go either right away or take several weeks/months and most sellers would prefer right away.

Hi Friends - I'm looking for a house - preferably 3 bedroom - anything beyond 400K will be a stretch - seeking guidance from folks who have been through the process since this is the first time I'm taking the plunge - primary considerations are as follows:

1. Safety - since I'll stay with my toddler with my partner traveling often
2. Proximity to basic amenities - TRAIN STATION, SUPERMARKETS, SCHOOLS - since I don't have a car
3. Not too far commute from Central London (London Liverpool Street) where my partner's office is

I am in process of down selecting few neighbourhoods like Sutton, Dartford, Bexleyheath etc. in and around the South Eastern Rail map but absolutely open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance.
Regards.