Broken hearted over the housing market

[EarthSight]

I'm a first time buyer who's been looking and struggling to buy a suitable house for a while. On Friday, a decent house came on the market that wasn't perfect in terms of the area that I wanted to live in, but I thought I might actually have a chance if I moved quickly.

I got on the phone with the estate agents on Saturday who couldn't do a viewing that weekend as they were full, but asked me to call back today, and then the agent who was in charge of the property would be in too today.

I've just been contacted to say that the house has already received an offer. Although I won't know for sure, when houses in my area receive offers that quickly in Wales, it's usually because a cash buyer from Manchester or Cheshire has seen the place online. Almost all houses under 150k in my area are owned by people who live in those areas. This cooled off during 2023, but it seems like we're going back there again. :(

What hope do first time buyers like me have when we can't even view the place, somewhere that's going to be the biggest purchase of our lives before others put in an offer?? It's really hard to not be defeatist because I know I don't stand a chance against these people who can afford to outbid average working class people like me by 5-10k each time, for their lovely little holiday home or investment in Wales.

No real point to this post but I feel so incredibly down today. It's been a really hard past 5 years and I just can't get a break.

@KnittedCardi I've tried this, but all I get told repeatedly is 'everything goes on Rightmove straight away'.

@sugarbyebye I don't know what the right answer is, but clearly there is a gap in the tourism market. As so many people have no choice but to live in shared accommodation, sometimes right up until their mid-30s, I think it's more than understandable that when they go on holiday, they just don't want to stay in B&Bs and hotels anymore. They want somewhere they feel at home in, where they have access to some cooking facilities (so they don't spend a fortune on eating out, which can be as expensive as central London here I kid you not), and not places where they see strangers in a corridor in the mornings, somewhere they feel comfortable brining a dog or two, and not a hostel situation either. There doesn't seem to be anywhere commercial that really caters to that, or not enough of them.

@Twiglets1 I have encountered a few people (mostly those who've owned houses for decades), who say to first time buyers 'Look - there's LOADS on Right move'. It's really tiresome and predictable. I know my area very well.

Photos don't show you the derelict house next door that vulnerable to squatters moving in, nor the violent criminal who lives on the other side, nor the mentally ill hoarder whose back garden looks like a large rusty waste pit / rat playground, nor the river that has burst its banks a few times and has flooded the road (these are all things I've seen by doing to see apparently 'nice' houses). I once went to see a decent looking house - I'm sure you would have seen that on Rightmove too thought it was fine. When I got there, the small back road was strewn with litter, abandoned sofas, and the house next door looked so run-down I thought it had been abandoned. Yes, there are flats, but most of them are either Grade 2 listed, which can be a nightmare to look after, in converted churches that are cold and which will cost a lot to heat, or they have high leasehold charges.

The vast majority of these 3 counties are scenic, or are very close to scenic areas. Therefore, are we supposed to be ok with moving out of the entire area?? Exactly how much are we meant to compromise before people show more sympathy?? Until we have no choice by to live in tents?

I bought in Wales last year (I live in it btw) where are you looking and what is your budget? There are quite a few near me for around 150k.

At the end of the day, whether it's wrong or right, if you can't afford what you want, you'll have to adjust expectations. The housing market isn't going to be fixed any time soon. A whole house with a nice garden hasn't been realistic for a single first-time buyer for a long, long time (if ever) in most of the country. If you want to buy you'll have to up your budget or compromise some more.

No advice to give but you have my sympathies OP. I am also a FTB from North Wales (Conwy) and have been looking for probably the last 2 years. I don't expect a mansion with a driveway and huge garden but it has to at least be somewhere safe that isn't a complete shithole. The thought of spending thousands of pounds to live in Rhyl or Criminal Bay makes me feel depressed. I think I'd rather keep renting. Keep going though, you'll get there eventually.

I did not say there would be loads of properties or possibly any suitable ones on Rightmove @EarthSight and I did acknowledge that if any were appealing, you would already have viewed them. I think you are misunderstanding my intention now in contributing to this thread which was to try to get you out of the defeatist mindset to explore if there are any further compromises you could consider to help you achieve your home buying goal. But maybe your intention in posting was more to get sympathy which would be fair enough.

This

We have the same issue here I live on South Coast and because the air b and b people and holiday homeowners are being priced out of sea views they've moved a bit in land and there at least 3 holiday homes within 100m of our home. The house opposite is a holiday let and when its being used our driveway is impossible to get on and off without a struggle as the holiday makers park outside the front on the road when they arrive rather than carry luggage from the driveway at the side round to the front door. Pointless saying anything as they move on a few days later and next lot arrive. DH and I couldn't even contemplate owning in the village he grew up in which is all holiday let's now and extortionate.

Of course you shouldn’t. How ridiculous 🙄

We're in North Wales, quadrupling council tax for second home owners has dented the market and cooled it but that's in the 500k and upward market.

You will get something eventually fingers crossed @EarthSight .

Over time, areas change. Some areas improve and become attractive to second home owners, some get worse. I ended up leaving the town I grow up in as the area went downhill for various reasons. Areas and demographics change and it’s unreasonable to expect to live in the same area the whole of your life.

Who was up in arms??? Only second home owners. No one else.

Not in the way they do now. I’m the same age as you and only tiny numbers of people owned property portfolios in years gone by. It’s exploded in the last decade.

Firstly all non doms should be banned from owning houses and secondly second homes should be taxed hard to release property back to local people.

All this ridiculous hatred of people that invest in property.

I have a friend that bought multiple BTL properties. He sold them and used the money to build 12 flats and 2 shops. He's subsequently built two more blocks of flats.

Those new, high quality, homes wouldn't exist if he hadn't invested in property. No rental properties would exist without people investing in property.

What do you think that would do to rental prices?

I guess it's easy to be nonchalant when you're not from a minority culture, or don't speak a minority language.

It’s not a general issue of property investment - it’s second homes that sit empty and create ghost towns. If you’re buying property to sell on or rent out then you’re creating homes and jobs. That’s not what most second home owners do.

''And I'm not against strong restrictions on overseas property owners, either. If not an outright ban''

@WishfulThunking

Does that extend to banning English people from buying properties in Wales? If so, there are people online that think this should be the case, but when they suggest that, English people call them racist.

How would you even define Welsh or English?

The buy-to-letters pushed up house prices so that first time buyers have no hope of affording anywhere.
The need for rental properties would be much reduced without BTL

The population increasing by 10 million has pushed up prices.

We need millions and millions of new houses, but we live in a nation of NIMBYs and econutters.

If the Welsh want to stay in Wales and ban others, so be it. I’ve seen plenty of Welsh cottages rented out by - the Welsh! They are businesses. Most countries that are not welcoming of others go downhill. Why don’t people speak Welsh? They died out or left I assume.Although the schools teach it don’t they? One good reason not to live in Wales.

BTL is totally different - there is a huge demand for rental homes. That's why in my post I said that it's Air BnBs and similar which should be taxed through the roof, rather than long term rental properties

The problem is, these are businesses. They do add to the local economy. Like most people, you have to earn a decent amount to afford what you want and Wales is cheap. An average nurse gets £37,000. That is enough to buy a house in Wales. Not in London.

@TizerorFizz I'm a native speaker, and so are a lot of people in the north, so no, it certainly hasn't died out. I think it's around 50% of people around here maybe. Varies a lot from place to place. To clarify (as I often do to those who aren't familiar with it), when I say 'native speaker', that doesn't mean I learnt it at school, or speak it as a hobby, or that's it's been revived. It's never died out. We speak it from birth, like you do in English.

Also, btw, that was another question to another poster, who said they were not against a total ban of 'people from overseas' (meaning foreign) buyers from buying in the U.K. I wondering if they would support that within the U.K as well if the reasons are the same.

Not Wales but England, I am from a popular tourist area where there are many properties for tourists, including second homes. Many of those properties were sold by locals to those wanting second homes. There are some locals who then complain there are not enough houses for their children/relatives.

They cannot have it both ways, yet many really do want their cake and eat it, having sold houses to second home owners at high prices, then demand they want to buy a home at a much lower price.

This. I am cornish. My parents sold their house for a extortionate price to Londoners. And they wonder why none of us live there. It is a problem of their own creation, and not at all unique to Wales. And moaning about it isn't going to make a house cheaper any time soon.