Are there just not many houses coming onto the market?

[Yikesno]

It seems like there aren't very many small terraced houses coming on the market where we want to buy (south London). I'm just wondering whether this is normal or whether fewer houses are coming on at the moment due to all the market turbulence.

I've also noticed that decent houses are selling really quickly. Often our viewings are getting cancelled as the house has gone under offer before we've had a chance to see it. On the one hand this feeling of scarcity is making us feel we need to rush/offer a bit more than we're comfortable with. On the other hand maybe we should just wait until next year whe there might be more supply?

Please could you tell me whether you've noticed fewer houses available to buy than say last year at this time? I've seen a few comments in this forum where people are struggling to find something to buy. I also know people who want to move but have decided to wait things out so their house isn't going up for sale.

It's not a good time to sell a house so that will be why the market is stagnant in your area. People fear they will be knocked down on price, although it sounds like your local market is more buoyant than most.

Strangely, I'm seeing a lot of movement re big family houses in my local area at the moment, and terraced houses too. But each area is different.

There’s still a reasonable amount coming onto the market where I live. But they’re not selling.
They go on RM then a couple of weeks later are reduced. This time last year houses were sold before they went online.
Original asking prices are still about 10% higher than 2020 prices. Houses sold at that price last year, but not now.

I'm in Herts and in my local area family houses priced 600-800k in catchment for an amazing secondary were under offer in days.

Now there are only a handful
of houses in that price bracket, they haven't moved since April/May and loads of houses in the 2 million plus bracket are coming on that also aren't shifting.

I'm in Herts too. Whereabouts are you based? There is barely anything on the market here in North Herts.

We're in South west London, very little on the market. Only a couple of probate sales.

Probably less because unless you are desperate to move who'd want to bother with buyers and their "the market's crashing let me offer 20-40% below asking " . It's not worth the hassle.

I'm in west London

@penguins2 Bushey

In our area, average sized family homes can sit around for months, getting reduced in price several times before eventually selling. However, several £million pound homes have sold within a week of going on the market. This is hugely expensive for the area.
I thought people no longer wanted these big homes due to the higher cost of energy, but I guess it shows that anyone needing a mortgage has been badly hit, whilst wealthy cash buyers can carry on as normal.

Prices are falling plus its hard to sell at the moment so people don't want to go to market unless they really have to.

@Candleabra
That’s exactly what’s happening where I live
houses coming on RM then within 3-4 weeks being reduced and still not moving .

most are in the 350 bracket reduced to 325
or 325 reduced to 300
and still not selling
a lot of ex family type rentals - no chain as well
ones that you would want to do some work on as they look shabby

my son was the first to view a house a few weeks ago made an offer of I think 10k less than the asking price and it was accepted same day
The house has been refurbished to a very high spec and exactly what my son wanted

This happened in 2008 as well (we were first time buyers at the time.)

Everything dried up, and only people who really needed to move were putting their homes on the market. Everyone else sat tight hoping/trusting that things would improve.

I think the conditions now lend themselves to this even more. There is greater housing scarcity than in 2008, and a very high number of mortgage free homes where people won't be affected by the interest rate rises. People who would otherwise have downsized mortgage free will sit tight for another couple of years. People who inherit might be more motivated to rent for a couple of years in the hopes that market conditions improve. There is probably a higher propensity for delaying sales than before.

The big unknown is the interest rates issue which was the opposite last time - we ended up with a 6.5% mortgage when six months later it would have been rock bottom. But with the major difference that the flat we bought was less than 3x our combined incomes then; those jobs are that much better paid now but when the flat last sold it had doubled in price.

That said, there still aren't enough of the right kinds of properties in the right places.

Yes, it would be so awful to offer pre Covid price while interest rate are 3 times higher. Anyone needing a significant mortgage to buy is forced to revise down their budget by 30-40% depending on LTV. Now I agree that only motivated sellers will be out there, relocating, divorcing, dying or in debt. Latter being likely quite on the up understandably.

Desirable houses in my area (4 beds+ and in good locations) are still selling quickly but they're going to cash buyers. Three houses in my area have sold to cash buyers in the last couple of months including one over £1m.

Family homes in our area seem to be quite steady, but the new build developments seem to be getting quite desperate. I know a few people who are being offered lots of upgrades for free, help with their mortgage payments, and other incentives to encourage them to buy from the developer.

I am in north london and after a bigger flat. I am hoping lots of ex BTL rentals come onto the market and while i will sell for less, hopefully it will even out.

Plenty coming on the markets at those prices around here. Prices are lower but only because they were so artificially inflated beforehand. The prices are now similar to a year r so ago. No drastic changes just a tempering.
The odd do-it-upper bargain has come up to. Houses that look like probate sales.

@Nextbigthing I'm not begrudging anyone for wanting a deal or their best perceived value. I'm simply saying that as a seller if you have your own perception of your properties value and it's higher than what buyers want to pay now it makes more sense to not go to market than deal with the stress.

Hence why I said unless you are desperate you won't bother to sell just now.

@TrudyProud you are not wrong but the difference is interest rates. Historic cheap borrowing appears to be gone for the foreseeable so what people can afford is much less now. I can’t see interest rates falling again so those prices won’t be seen again or at least for a while. So admittedly if you don’t need to sell then you won’t.

Agreed that would-be sellers are staying put. However the rental sector has become so challenging also that first time buyers are still looking to purchase - and therefore there seems to me to be more demand than supply from what I'm seeing. This is for London at the lower end of the market for houses (flats seem to be stagnating though).

I’m in central London. Very little coming on in my area at my price point.

@Yikesno where in S London? In my corner of SE London (z3) there is definitely a shortage, ans anything that is priced reasonably is going quickly.

My alerts from Rightmove have gone from one every couple of days, to none at all since the mortgage rates starting rising. One house I viewed that was lovely, great price and location, still hasn’t sold it seems, when every other house like that got snapped up. The difference is they only started viewings as the interest rate rises happened.

Overall nationally, there are a lot more houses coming on the market this year compared to 2022 and they are shifting far more slowly too. Supply was low in 2022, less so now. That doesn't mean that the national trend will apply to all areas/house types though.
I'm sure there will be some sellers who remove their houses from the market if they don't manage to sell at inflated prices. I think they will be waiting a very long time before prices go up to the 2022 peak and they may never do in real terms.

We started looking on RM two years ago ahead of a relocation to get an idea of prices and areas. We've since moved and bought.

Two years ago houses were barely appearing on the market before selling. Now I've seen several come on again that were sold two years ago - can't help wondering if people over-reached themselves? Surely they can't all have major defects?!