It's a Buyer's Market: experiences in 2023/2024 ?

[wheretolivehelp]

Just wondering what other buyer's experiences have been like on this side of 2023? Any horror stories? Issues with sellers? Guzumping? Guzundering? Problems with EA?

There's a few threads with Seller's experiences on MN (many saying their buyer can't afford the mortgage for their (overpriced?) property and so re marketing them).

What good and bad experiences have you had as a buyer?

Hope this thread will be useful to the buyers of 2023 and 2024!

House we are buying had 9 viewers on 1st 2 days. 3 offers. Went to last and final bids. 2 cash buyers- 3rd was downsizing

Friend selling house. Went for sale 2 days ago. Had a stream of viewers with more booked this weekend. Already got an offer. Looking to sealed bids.

Even if this is true, maybe they were at the right price for the area. What were the prices? Do you have the rightmove links?

I don’t believe you when you say there was a “stream of viewings”… where? Which area? No such thing is happening right now in Sep 2023. The Last open house I went to and saw a good few buyers there was in July 2023 and no one made an offer (I asked the EA because we wanted to gauge the interest).

Also, open houses are designed to create competition. They do it in the rental market to to make people act on FOMO. It’s just a child’s game.

We worked too damn hard to be extorted and saved saved saved to be extorted by ridiculous sellers trying to cash in on our years of hard work. That is what is happening. Sellers and EA are expecting the younger generation to pay up while many of us have had a long journey to be in this good position, we aren’t going to throw it away.

We know there is a huge price correction in play right NOW and there are good buyers with plenty of financial options. We don’t want ugly, money pit houses that are going to put us in negative equity.

Had to sell 50k below initial valuation/asking price in London BUUUT got to buy 150k below asking in South West, where market for upsize calibre properties basically stopped. So our experience is positive.

@Chypre aww congrats! You’re a good seller who gets it. May I ask what you sold and bought for and where, if you feel comfortable with that?

Another issue we’ve had as buyers is sellers’ delusion about extensions and lofts they’ve done to “add value to the property” 🙄.

We’ve seen some awfully designed/layout of loft extensions with ugly dormers that look dilapidated sticking out of the roof. There have been many people who have extended their kitchen and taken up almost 90% of the garden and think this is ok post-pandemic???

I do not like any of their extensions and wish they didn’t touch it. It’s pretty obvious many have only done it thinking they added value when really they have turned us off as buyers.

Also a conservatory never adds value. They are ugly and a cheap option for people who need more space or want to pretend they’ve added value.

The house I was outbid on had a steady stream of viewers as soon as listed, 1st viewer offered, I viewed after and offered, it eventually went to closing date the following week, I’m not sure how many bidders but I lost out, offered over the valuation. So its still happening with some properties in some areas.

Thanks for sharing! Sorry to read you didn’t get it, but would you have taken the house for the amount the “winner” bid though ir mote than what you offered? And bids dont really mean anything in this market now if the buyer can’t even get a mortgage which is only found out a few weeks later, which is becoming more and more common.

In hindsight I wish I had offered more, but I only offered what I thought it was worth and didn’t really expect it would go for so much over. The problem is there are so few nice properties coming on the market. I feel like I’m searching for a unicorn 🫤

Local new build estates have stopped any further building and are advertising reductions on current stock

A few houses have come on recently - obviously bought during the madness of summer 21...asking £80-100k MORE than they bought for 🙄🤷

I appreciate people who bought in summer 21 on 2 year fixes and maxed themselves out are now facing huge increases in their mortgages, but I fail to see why any buyers would pay that price now?...house prices at lowest since 2009 and have fallen 16% since 21...

There is a barn Conversion here which has been for sale since September 20! No reduction in price. It'll never sell.

I predict lots of pain for those sellers by q4 next year :(

We bought this year, offered in April and completed in July. We got it for the bottom figure of the guide price range but it was priced below similar properties at the time and certainly below 2022 prices. A very similar place on the same street sold for 12% more last summer. It was at the very top of our budget but meant that we could afford something that we originally thought would be out of reach.
It had only just come onto the market and the agents did an open day. We were told there were other interested parties but we were cash buyers in rented and our sellers wanted a hassle free sale.
If we were to try to sell it now we might not sell as quickly and might have to accept less than we paid but we don’t plan to move for at least 10 years, probably longer. Nothing else has come up that suits us as well (should stop looking really!) but I have noticed more reductions even in the last couple of months.

@Scotsgirl001

i totally feel the same, it’s like searching fir a needle in a haystack. For us (and also sounds like yourself), we are in a good position so just waiting for the right House. We will not buy a riff raff, over priced house with ugly 70s decor and Dirty carpets beibg sold by delusional sellers who have a nerve. We are waiting for the right one and will happily pay what it is worth. My take is, I’m not here to make someone else rich, I’m looking for my family home and happy to pay fair and square but not for crap, which is what most of the market is.

@wheretolivehelp

Also, open houses are designed to create competition. They do it in the rental market to to make people act on FOMO. It’s just a child’s game.

I'm not sure that's the primary reason in the current market. I think EA's are massively overstretching themselves so they don't have the time to do multiple viewings. I also think it's an easy sell to tell a vendor that they only have to be out of the house for one day, instead of many bookings, some of which will be at very short notice.

I also don't think these open house days work in this environment.

Re: all the shoddy work done, I think a lot of people piled all their covid savings into house refurbishments and are naively thinking they'll get a full return on the money they spent, because, traditionally, that's usually what happens.

But the market has turned and they stand no chance of getting their money back.

I have just bought. Offered April completion August.

Small town in the SE. The house has been on the market for a couple of years and was an ex-rental. Previous buyers had walked away as it needed work and condition wasn't great.

I offered asking and they snapped my hand off. It was selling for about 60k below perfect quality equivalent houses on the same estate. I've spent 10k on the Reno so far, doing a lot of the work myself. It won't cost me 60k to get it up to standard and it'll be what I want.

Other houses that were on the market are now dropping price substantially.

I'm planning to be there at least 10 years so not worried about temporary dips in house prices.

Fed up of being asked to pay a premium for a wooden 'garden room' that I'll have to pay to remove.

Dining rooms labelled bedrooms.

Weird extensions that look shit and will cost to put right.

@electriclight

Dining rooms labelled bedrooms.

Oh i forgot this one!! Came across so many two bedroom properties with the dining room downstairs converted into a bedroom, and it is now magically a THREE bed property LOL. It’s as ridiculous as calling a box room a bedroom (it isnt).

dont know whether to laugh or cry 😂

@wheretolivehelp I have seen a bog standard hallway with a desk bunged in it put on the floor plans as ‘occasional room’ recently.

I am sick to death of garages (not even attached sometimes) and crappy conservatories having their square footage included in the house sq ft too.

FTB, Flat purchase fell through last year when we had good rates.
We are renting for one more year and Now rates are double at around 6%
Looked at 50+ flats (with garden or terrace) in desirable? areas of London (z1-3) in the past few months

Key observations:

• A lot of agents calling us with properties that are above our budget and saying the sellers are 'motivated' and the asking price can be dropped by more than 10% (hinting) so we should view them
• Lots of problem flats (lease issue, subsidence etc etc)
• Made offer on 3 nicely renovated ones but got outbid by 1-3 other offers (they were very well priced at aroud 650-700k for 70sqmish size, yes this is reasonable for 'desirable' areas in London)
• Getting more and more pissed off at properties over 800k (with no outside space!) when they are clearly a shithole (excuse my language)

We are so tired of the process but also tired of renting and paying 3k+ a month so need to really get on the ladder

Just venting and happy to see other buyers here like us...Mostly I feel a bit sad on Mumsnet, everyone seem to already have a nice house and talking about renovation ideas and things

It is totally true- I am not linking to the house that I am buying!

We were one of 9 buyers on the 1st of 2 day they let people in (day 3 of being listed). It was the 1st week in August (so not September). We had to go to last and final (over asking) 7 days later. We told them we were very interested as we walked round and made a full price offer after viewing. They didn't even get the for sale board up.

It wasn't an open house. The agent just had back to back viewings. We saw the 1s before us and the ones after - so I don't doubt it when they said 9 booked in.

Location, location, location as they say!

I will be very surprised if friends house doesn't sell this week. It is an amazing house in a massively desirable location. I cant recall another house on the road ever going for sale in the past 15 years.

Yorkshire- the where.

Oh I’ve viewed a few that are actually one bedroom, but the dining room (off the tiny kitchen) is now the living room, and the living room is the bedroom so they market it and price it as a 2 bed!

Fair enough! Like I said, maybe it's fairly priced already and if you are interested and making an offer, maybe that seller is reasonable. i like yorkshire but i'm from down south.

I also can't say because i don't have a link and can't see the property history and of other houses in the area. But yep, that it happened in early August is probably a huge factor. I think most buyers I know in September are fed up with the crap on the market. Also, like I've said in earlier posts, if it's a decent house I'm happy to pay fair and square, but most of the houses on the market are crapholes.

Wishing you well with your new home ! Be careful in telling the EA how happy you are, you don't want to get guzumped!

or... you could guzunder if the value drops between now and before the exchange?

I'm in the process of buying, feels like theres a LOT of waiting around.

We found the house and in talks with the seller while I gather the money which is taking longer than expected (I have it but its all tied up in different things and needs releasing which apparently comes with a tonne of red tape).

Sellers haven't even found anywhere to move to yet I don't think though.

@Scotsgirl001 Are you in Scotland? Just wondering because of your user name....

There was a post on here a few weeks back - someone was struggling to shift their house. It was in Scotland. She had one of the downstairs rooms labelled as a bedroom and lots of posters pointed it out as problematic because it's not a bloody bedroom if the other bedrooms are upstairs - it's a second reception or dining room! 😅 The OP and lots of other Scottish posters jumped on to hotly defend the layout and said it's very common in Scotland to have an extra bedroom downstairs.....?!

OP, I have to say I don't recognise a lot of the things you're saying. Sure, there's the odd few but swathes of ugly, overextended houses with shoddy work? Honestly haven't seen that here at all. But then again, I prefer to buy houses that need to be redecorated because I don't want to live with someone else's decor anyway so maybe it just doesn't bother me as much 🤷‍♀️

Ooof OP.

Gazundering is a shitty move generally. Sellers shouldn't ask to increase their price if the market moves upwards, but equally, buyers shouldn't drop their offer at the last minute either.

Whatever happens, if you agree on a price you should stick to it. The property market will always move up and down, and it's unfair either way to alter an offer.

CAVEAT - unless the other party have been real dickheads and deliberately delaying things, then I say crack on 😅

Hi thanks for sharing! For me, i'm also up for a reno project, but the house prices have been listen the same or similar as already renovated houses, which are already over priced. so there is no logic in buying a property for reno when it's hugely overpriced, plus i have to cough up my own cash to renovate it. that has been a big turn off for us. it's actually the reason why i'm now not bothering with the reno project although really wanted this. i don't see why i should pay for someone retirement while they ruined their house and did very little to it, yet still want it for a fortune.

Honestly haven't seen that here at all.

what region are you in? :)

agree, guzuping and guzundering are awful moves, i was joking. should have stated that then. will edit now :)

We haven't had it valued or surveyed
Its a cash purchase and we are happy with the price