Is anyone else getting any flat viewings?

[Catsontoast]

Our 2 bed, 2 bathroom flat, close to train station, and in a nice part of South London went on the market 2 weekends ago. It's (honestly) reasonably priced for the area as we're desperate to move for various reasons. (EA wanted to list it for 15k more). We've had zero interest so far, is this normal? Is anyone else getting no interest in their flat? Or loads of interest? And where in the country are you?

Trying to figure out if people are not buying flats at the moment? FTBs being put off by mortgage rates I guess? 2 or 3 years ago we had estate agents putting letters through our door every week, practically begging for flats in this area to sell. Obviously the market has changed over the past year or so and we're starting to worry.

Really though, if you're not going to be more specific about the location or share a link then people are just going to keep guessing at things, so it may be useful or not.

Another question is, where are you gonna go if it sells? You would be hard pushed to buy another flat in London at the same price unless you want an area like Croydon/Sutton/Plumstead/Thamesmead and for such a flat I would think around £1,500/month is the minimum rental.

I suppose that is academic though. If you are desperate to move and you've done all you can with presentation the only lever you have is to cut to lower the price. For London the price sounds attractive, so if you're gonna go to £250k you might as well put up the link, as if it's what you say it is, it'd be the cheapest 2-bed, 2-bath flat in a nice London area with allocated parking.

How could you possibly compare prices to a couple of years ago? That was a zero rate environment for borrowers, rates have just risen at their fastest pace in 40 years!

PropertyLog is your friend in these situations, it helps you look squarely at reality, forums where loads of people obviously have mortgage debt or like the idea of high house prices are not a good reality checker.

FTBs are really picky now bc there are not many in the market that can afford the mortgage rates at the moment and there are too many flats in the market right now (this is what we heard from the agents)
We are looking for large garden flats only for example...
If your flat is on the big road and doesnt have outside space, you may have to unfortunately reduce price to look more attractive vs many other flats in the market right now

I thought agents used to spin the "supply and demand" meme, have they just given up on that now that things are too obviously all about cheap debt?

We're on the outskirts of Croydon.

We finally have a viewing tomorrow. FTB couple. Fingers crossed.

I think a lot of this thread was derailed by the assumption that the flat was closer to central London than it is. Croydon (and outskirts) are of course in Greater London but prices are much cheaper there.

The market is slow, particularly for flats, as FTBs are struggling with higher interest rates and BTLs have all but vanished.

You've only been on a couple of weeks. If nothing comes of the viewing you have I would consider waiting until you have been on a month then consider dropping 10k (the min amount you need to get notifications out to those watching your area).

You may be really keen to sell but you probably just have to be a bit more patient in the current market.

Good luck!!!

I think you are probably in an unfortunate position as the flat building in Croydon lately has been so busy they've flooded the market with them really. Best of luck with your viewing :)

I think whilst there are some OK bits, even Croydonites are not gonna refer to the area as 'a nice part of South London'.

I digress anyway, the real problem is the massive supply of flats in this area. £300k could get you a flat near the centre of town, although service charges are higher.

In some areas where there are lots of flats and limited buyers there is a queue to get out. For instance those flats by Wandle Park start at £250k for a 2-bed/2 bath and there listings anywhere between £250-325k. Those flats might look at the new build flats on the other side of the flyover (which must be on for £400-450k for similar size) and try and reason why their should be no worth similar, but reality is, a few years old is not the same as new, and asking prices are not the same as sold prices.

So really a lot depends on the competition and how the value stacks up relative to that.

Any buyer wanting such a flat at such a budget could see this:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E391&maxBedrooms=2&minBedrooms=2&maxPrice=300000&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=newHome%2Cretirement%2CsharedOwnership&furnishTypes=&keywords=

As you can see there are quite a few to choose from.

Oh. "Outskirts of Croydon".

That explains the price.

I’m in inner London & lots of flats near me bought post Brexit sold for the same or less when sold in the last few yrs. I think hybrid working has made people consider a little further also the ladder concept doesn’t really exist now.

Is it in a block which may make buyers nervous about issues with cladding
what is your agent saying?

https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/23/price-a-london-flat-actually-cheaper-2017-20326855/?ico=trending-post-strip_item_3

Lots of people in London won't have the option of buying a freehold and plenty won't mind about leasehold.

My neighbour has put their two bed on at £525k. We are zone 2. They had 5 viewings on the first weekend. That's pretty much all I've got to compare with but perhaps our area is more popular?

Not very helpful, I know. But I don't think the market is completely dead.

I think that’s a decent price for a 2 bed in many zone 2 areas hence the interest. There are always a lot of people who want to live more centrally despite the big difference that makes to price.

Flats in our zone 3 block have been selling well. But we are on a very quiet street (all I can hear right now is the birds), have large private balconies, a big communal garden, garages and private parking.

In my experience at the moment flats with no private outdoor space are suffering. We have friends who sold their zone 4, 2 bed flat last year for the same price they bought it for in 2015. It was a nice flat but no outside space at all.

Your flat sounds lovely @Ginmonkeyagain

It is lovely but also a money pit! It is a big 1930s block that always seems to need something doing to it.

1930s block also sounds appealing.

My Dad lived in one that was also a money pit except he never did any maintenance 😅

I live near Croydon.

I personally feel it's very rundown and with the council being bankrupt it may be putting people off due to perceived reduction in local services.

I feel like they have built hundreds of flats but there isn't the other expected (Westfield) development going with them.

We've had 4 viewings over the weekend so feeling a bit better. 2 different couples seemed really keen, but we've heard nothing from either couple today, so guess they weren't that keen. A single FTB fed back that she's put an offer on another property that has a balcony (and it's £50k more expensive).

And today we had a very young FTB looking to buy a flat and get a lodger. Mainly interested in how much rent he could make on the spare room. Didn't know what leasehold was and didn't know about service fees or ground rent... we don't expect to hear back from him.

Just to clarify I do not live IN Croydon. I live just outside but in a very specific area which will make my listing clearly identifiable. If my flat is identified that's me identified as I have a small business registered here. Sorry I can't share it, I know it would be helpful.

Does it fall under Croydon council? FTB here and estate agents keep pushing Croydon on me but with the council going bankrupt and seeing how Birmingham City council has been able to hike their council tax rates. I definitely don't want to live in a bankrupt council area knowing how high they can hike council tax

Yes bankrupt council trying to make council tax payers bail them out is a no no, watch house/flat sales plummet in these areas, surprised there have not been large scale demonstrations yet TBH?