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.

that flat is also a share of freehold at £1,150,000 . you don't even own it!

appreciate you being honest here. i think it's tough on seller's who want to move and unable to a house because of the next over-priced one. it sucks to be locked in a chain. we are not in the tail end of the housing bubble.

A property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, right now people are just not willing to pay top prices for overpriced properties.

We have a terraced house in South London in one of the areas you are looking at. Moved in before kids, now got 2 kids and ideally want a bigger house now. We tried to move in 2021-2022, it took a year of trying (2 sales falling through at great expense) so we gave up and remortgaged for 5 years. Now we wouldn't be able to afford the same value of property we wanted to move to due to mortgage rates. In the meantime we have done a loft conversion to give us a bit more space, and this is the problem really: if every terraced house on our street goes from a 3 bed to a 5 bed, then it becomes unaffordable for a first time buyer. I imagine this is happening with a lot of properties (combination of higher rates, people having the benefit of low interest rates on their current mortgage for a few more years, it being difficult to buy/sell, and loft conversions effectively reducing the number of starter houses) which is why the number of properties is so low.

True but only to a certain extent. There are factors that drive buyers too like mostly seen pre 2008 crash like FOMO and not understanding money. It’s a huge issue in UK where personal finance is poorly understood.

Agree completely though. right now people unwilling to buy overpriced houses . I think the whole country is laughing at them and also the multiple reductions showing up through PropertyLog on Rightmove.

The number of cash buyers and those with large deposits will cease just because, even these people want a deal on a house!

This is what I've been finding for the past 18 months. I accepted that prices were falling, so took a lower price with my 2bd buyer (1st one pulled out due to finding something else). But as the houses at the top of the market aren't priced low enough for people in the middle range of the market, their asking prices are too high for those of us trying to upsize from the bottom. Asking prices seem to be 10% more than last year, more than bigger better houses on the same street, and don't reflect that the rise in interest rates mean people have had to take 20-30k+ off their original budget 😔 I'm now stuck in temporary accommodation, after being assured that people would start dropping prices and more houses would come to market, but every house I've offered on has been taken off the market as they can't get the price they want.

if every terraced house on our street goes from a 3 bed to a 5 bed, then it becomes unaffordable for a first time buyer

This is a really good point

yes but flats being leasehold with a share of freehold is very common in certain parts of London so people buying in those areas will be used to it.

Agree - there seems to be a shortage of good sized 2-3 homes near me. New developments nearby have been 6 bed, 6 bath £900k+ homes, when what we needed was bungalows to allow older people to move out of their big family homes (many are struggling to do this) and starter homes for young people, single-income buyers etc.

Hi, I think "scarcity" is probably applied to only the good houses. There are lots of houses on the market, but unfortunately most of them aren't very nice and then the vendor is also asking for 2022 prices which makes no sense now. They're just sitting on the market for months and months looking worse and worse to buyers. Just because, to be frank, they're not worth the price. After a little while, I decided to ignore these properties and only sought motivated sellers.

I agree, the good ones will go, but I haven't experienced them go very quickly as you have mentioned. Which area in South London are you looking? I was looking in SE London and found a house now.

For me, only seeking motivated sellers was key. I eventually found one and after some negotiations, agreed a price on the house. So that's my recommendation, find the motivated sellers. The ones trying to actually sell and move on from their house rather than viewing properties by vendors who are not really budging their price or are letting their house sit on the market for months and months. They will give you a headache. You'll find a lot of sellers in MN threads complaining about buyers negotiating a reduce price. This is what buyers are dealing with - unrealistic sellers.

Just find the ones who actually want to sell their house. And take it from there.

Anyone needing a significant mortgage to buy is forced to revise down their budget by 30-40% depending on LTV

This is the key thing. Unrealistic pricing on places that someone with a mortgage would buy.

Anyone having any luck? I can't remember the last time an estate agent rang me or emailed about an upcoming property? Everything posted on rightmove in my search areas is ex rental or probate and needs too much work, or would be fine as a 6 month rental, but not as a home (i.e. no parking nearby, busy road, cramped inside, no garden).
Still waiting for that 'flood' of Spring properties the estate agents keep promising me. Meanwhile everything on Rightmove seems stagnant for the best part of a year, so clearly overpriced?

Finally received something from an EA today - a 2 bed flat when I've told them I've sold a flat to buy a house with a garden. 😬
I've had a few properties sent in totally different search areas, so it does feel like EAs are getting desperate and can't really offer anything?

They've been like that for years though. This is a while ago now but we'd specified within walking distance of a particular school. One property an EA sent would have meant 16 miles walking per day!

It's just tumbleweed where we are looking. Some houses are coming on but to be frank, they're not that great and are asking for silly prices. I wouldn't even consider them even if they were reduced to be fair.

Yes I wouldn't consider most of the properties even at a significantly reduced price, as they are mainly on noisy roads, and awful room sizes with little scope to change. I need something that's fine to move straight into, that you can live with, but you can add your own style and make small improvements in your own time.

No new hones in the areas I'm looking at for several weeks now, just lots being reduced which aren't appealing to people, for reasons above!

I echo a lot of what has been said....in the area looking 3-bed terraced trickling on quite slowly so anything decent going quickly. More flats but there are many blocks in the area. Even allowing for London, some prices are ridiculous. You're not going to sell a quite dated no shower on a busy main road when there are other 3 bedders with separate showers on for 100k less.

I think we will see a considerable uplift in availability as a result of the budget changes. As always though it may take a little time to get going.

Will holiday let owners sell up?
It will become clear over the next year or so whether government changes to the tax system for holiday lets will bring more houses on to the market for renters and buyers.
In his budget, Jeremy Hunt announced the abolition of the furnished holiday lettings (FHL) tax regime.
This allows owners of these properties to deduct the cost of mortgage interest payments from rental income. It applies to properties available for letting for at least 210 days a year.
Thinktank TaxWatch says that the owner of a property bringing in £30,000 in rent can pay £4,000 a year less in income tax through the FHL regime, compared to an ordinary longer-term let.
The Treasury says the abolition of the tax advantages from April 2025 will “level the playing field” between short and long-term lets and should result in more people being able to live in their local area.
Sarah Hollowell at investment firm Killik & Co says it could also result in owners selling up. “These developments mean that many FHL landlords could either just stop letting their properties and keep them as second homes, or sell up and move the proceeds into another form of investment.”

If holiday lets are sold, that will help those looking to buy in tourist areas I guess, and maybe people outside those areas might sell up and move to those places?

My budget has just dropped again with the recent rise in interest rates (which did come down in the past 3 months). So house prices are going go have to drop to some extent?

yes. the noisy road issue is a big one for us. the box bedroom has been a big issue for us too (said to be a 3 bed but i consider them 2 beds!). The houses I wouldn't mind renovating just need too much work, and reno costs are extremely high right now - it's not worth it for us (too buy, hate most builders)

Ah yes, I had offered on a 3 bed that's priced at the ceiling for the village, but the 3rd bed is only a single with no space for furniture. Fine as an office, but smaller than cheaper 3 beds in the area!

Still tumbleweed here. A lovely home came to market albeit not in the area I wanted (far from work) and no parking but ticked everything else and had scope to build parking.. the agent only allowed viewings on that Saturday and final bids by 9am Monday! My research showed it was a good 10k above a much bigger and better house on the street that sold 6 months ago, so I thought I'd have a good chance as a chain free buyer with good equity and easily able to secure a mortgage.

The day before viewing I was told someone local had gone round and already offered the asking price...

I reluctantly bid over the asking price, knowing I'd need to spend a fair bit to sort the parking and garden, but was told I was way under the winning bid from a couple who 'had money to throw at it'.

I think it had potential for an extension, so the winning couple probably planned to do that knowing they'd make a big profit. It was already a perfect size for me and I wouldn't have had the need or budget to extend.

That was a couple of months ago and nothing has come up since...just getting sent properties reduced but no matter how cheap they were, they wouldn't be suitable due to things I can't change. Still seeing a lot of homes in need of extensive work which I don't have time to do.

On the rare occasion anything nice cones on, it is in demand and there are still enough people with a lot of money (downsizing or inheritance) plus others are buying with two incomes.

I've tried looking right at the top end of my budget but that usually just gets you a bigger house - if it ticked the other boxes I could just buy and rent a room out but that seems crazy when a family could have the house.

I've noticed this in the three areas I have been considering too. What's been happening here it that They get reduced quickly because they literally have one or zero viewings in two weeks and EAs are encouraging sellers to react quicker to this (otherwise they'll be on the market for months and buyers will wonder what's wrong with it).

Yes we have the same in my area, good numbers of new listings - but if it doesn't come on at a decent price it is either reduced or is sticking. Prices are slowly softening.

I'm seeing houses on for almost a year after being reduced multiple times, then coming on as new with offers over. People are not reducing prices for at least 2 or 3 months here still or not reducing at all. I imagine it's because they bought at peak prices or the homes they want to upsize to are still too expensive. Lots of very big homes on the market in high council tax bands and expensive to heat 😬 That seems to be where the bulk of properties are and dropping prices the most.