To Be Completely Fed Up of this market - solidarity please!

[VimtoQueen90]

Just a bit of a moan really!

My husband and I bought a 3 bed property in South Wales in 2016 for 240k. It's in a lovely area and a 6 minute walk to the train station which was one of the main reasons why we chose it as we have 1 car and mainly use the train to get to the town centre for work.

When we originally bought, we planned to hopefully have a family and move to a 4 bed in 5-8 years hopefully if we saved enough and got better paying jobs. At the time the price of a 4 bed was about 380k but we didn't really expect it to exceed about 450k in this timeframe. Anyway, long story short, we believe our house is now possibly worth 330k but the price of a 4 bed is now around 550-575k! We've been saving to eventually make the move since we first bought our house and have saved quite a lot but just can't save at the pace prices are increasing. The stamp duty holiday and lockdown increased prices in the area like crazy and it seems a lot of people relocated here as it was cheaper with a good standard of living. We now have 2 kids and managed to get new jobs but in order to stay in the area (our first child starts school locally in September), it's looking like we might have to jump and buy a house around the 525k mark as we can't see prices coming down anytime soon but our mortgage may be around 1500pcm (currently paying £800). We're both quite hesitant to pay this as we're wary about having too large a mortgage and interest rates and also the increase in bills/council tax/life.

I just can't get my head around how much prices have jumped! Everything on Rightmove seems to be getting reduced which indicates to me that everyone feels the same about prices but I just can't see them coming down?! Is it better to just jump and buy before we get priced out completely? We've looked at moving to other areas but love it here and it's not hugely cheaper elsewhere for a 4 bed!

Honestly its fine. I appreciate your opinion and I do agree in that it has to be price related. When I look at other similar properties in the local area ours is higher than than the majority. Other that are similarly priced are also still on the market unsold so I fear we are all too high 😬 We will definitely reduce the price in the new year, without a doubt, and hope that we get some further interest once Christmas is out of the way.

I think part of the issue is that people who have got 450k plus to spend on a house all tend to gravitate to certain areas within a city/ large town ( understandably) and that keeps the prices up - so when people say things like 'move up north or move to wales' what they don't tend to factor in is the places that many people moving from 'naice' areas would remotely look at really aren't cheap either - as often there's huge competition - take Manchester as an example, most I know who were looking there wanted Didsbury , Chorlton , hale, sale, altrincham etc and of a particular type and size and were shocked when there really wasn't much difference pricewise from their house in Tunbridge wells, so unless it was a job move, they stayed put as they didn't like the look much of cheaper areas.

To be honest I'm quite suprised at the prices you mentioned in south Wales and suspect it's a similar situation - all after the same 4 bedders in the same in demand areas . you can buy here in Somerset around Frome/corsham/ wells Chippenham/devizes for around that and much as it's not my bag somewhere like Swindon is actually cheaper .

Wishing you lots of luck in the new year and I don’t doubt that once it’s a bit cheaper someone will fall in love with it as you did. And be able to afford it which is probably a bigger issue than people liking the look of it.

It is bonkers that you need about half a milli to buy a family sized home anywhere decent.

We live in London and are always travelling around the UK and any place we like the look of wants £500-700k out of us. I'll stay in London for that price, thanks.

With respect, you have 2 kids why do you need 4 bedrooms? Can you extend? Get a garden room/office?

We have a family of 4 and comfortably live in a 3 bed as many millions of families will do as well.

Sorry if I missed this in your original post but I don't see the extra £700 a month mortgage to be worth it for an extra bedroom honestly unless you are wanting more children?

It is rubbish that they have sky rocketed, but people will only pay what they can afford and eventually if they don't sell they will have to reduce the price. 4 bed semi's in our area are sitting on the market for ages.

Just seen your update about the kitchen, fair enough! I hope you manage to find somewhere :)

@Crikeyalmighty I'm surprised at the prices in South Wales too!! It's always been moderately cheaper than England, even in the capital city Cardiff, but its basically like for like now! I mean admittedly, its not like London or Bristol, but it's similarly priced to areas like Reading which are more commutable to London. Saying this there are definitely areas in South Wales you can buy houses for much cheaper (Newport, Barry, Caerphilly), but if you want to stay close-ish to centre of Cardiff, it's pricey.

@flyinghen Thank you :) We mainly just need a home office/spare bedroom for guests and ideally a bigger garden. We work from home off our dining table/DS's room when he's in school so means we can't set up a proper monitor anywhere which would be great for the data work my DH does! I do really love our current home but it would be lovely just to have that little bit more space for the future!

Thank you. We fell in love with it the moment we drove past it. The quirkiness and the views sold us before we even stepped through the door. It is a much loved family home and we adore it but with our girls grown up and flown the nest my DH and I are ready for our next adventure. I'm sure there is someone out there that will love it as much as we do (for the right price of course 😜)

We've been trying to sell my Mum's bog standard flat on the South Coast since March. Prices are not going up there, and the process is sooooo slow.

This is so true. I see so many posts saying how they want to move up north to Manchester to a naice area but a four bed detached house for £300k 😂
it’s oop north it must be cheap right?

@Helixpoint yep- when the crux comes many don't want a 2 bed semi in a non trendy non leafy area for £200k - so yes there are cheap houses 'up north' or in the midlands- but not actually ones they usually want in areas they want.

It only really works if you are very open minded indeed , not seeking 'trendy ' and just want an ok house at at a lowish price.

My older son bought a lovely 3 bed semi 2 years ago in my original home town ( Mansfield) it's truly a palace, £189,000 - but living there doesn't really cut the mustard for those wanting a city vibe and it has few well paid jobs unless you own a business or have a remote job you can work anywhere from and whilst the housing is good and it has some nice countryside close by the town centre is truly shocking these days.

Very similar property to ours - grade two listed thatched from late 1500s with a new (well 1960s!) big extension, massive wrap around garden in a gorgeous little village. We had loads and loads of viewing (though I’m convinced some were just nosey - I was asked if it was haunted more than once 🙄) Same as you, I put the offer in in the car outside and it went to best and final!

planning on putting it back on maybe end of Feb - repaint and maybe the last new carpet in the meantime. It’s got to sell at some point, surely!!

Hi everyone, back with a small update and in need of advice!

Our house has been on the market since January, had around 12 viewings, 4 in the first week we listed but so far despite lots of positive feedback, no offers (not even lower ones which we were mostly expecting since it's more of a buyers market at the moment). The house is listed for 330k. We were considering moving into a new build, but they've put their prices up by 9k (!!) which has made it now unaffordable for us and nothing older has come on the market which is suitable for us/within budget. I've been surprised how little is coming on the market as we listed early in the year with the hope of either reserving the new build plot early or something older coming up from March onwards.

Question is - do we even move now? The market seems a bit dead and we're worried about rushing to buy a house at top affordability when it seems prices can't really get much higher here? But also...we know prices never drop so if we give it 2 years and try again, will we be completely priced out?

Also a bit frustrated with the estate agents whether rightly or wrongly as I feel with so many viewings (which has been super stressful to navigate around full time work and 2 small messy kids!) that we should have had at least 1 offer by now if all the feedback has been positive? They've suggested not reducing yet but we can't reduce by much more than 5k to 325k anyway otherwise we can't afford a move. There are a couple of houses around us also on the market that looks lovely that also surprisingly haven't sold, so maybe it's just the market?! Anyone in South Wales seeing similar?

Prices are too high. It's often difficult to bridge the gap when wanting to move to a larger house. Is an extension possible.

I posted on your original post. We are STILL on the market here in Mid Wales. But I keep an eye on property here constantly and nothing seems to be shifting.

There are some amazing homes on the market and they just don't seem to be selling. Despite reductions, nothing much is shifting. Its very frustrating when all you want to do is move.

There is very little coming on the market either. The properties that do come on end up reducing after a month or so and are still there.

I am totally baffled why our house hasn't yet sold and we have also had very little interest. We have been reluctant to reduce the price as we see others around us reducing and still not selling so it feels like it would be pointless to do so but we are actually reducing from today because it feels like we may as well. But we are getting very disheartened by the whole process and wondering whether to just sack it in and stay put for a few more years and try again at a later date.

But then the worry is, what if property prices in the area we are looking to move to rise and they don't here? Then we will be outpriced and won't be able to afford to move anyway.

Its a total minefield and a proper headfuck!!

I feel your pain!.

Property prices definitely do drop!! I bought a flat in Glasgow in 2007 which lost 60% of its value due to the 2008 financial crisis. It’s now, nearly 20 years later, only worth 40% less than I paid for it. Joyous.

@VimtoQueen90 re. selling your house, it's a matter of affordability.

A recent report by a building society, covered by the BBC, shows that in Cardiff just 3% of first-time buyers can afford to buy, in the Vale of Glamorgan it's 3.1% and in Monmouthshire it's 3.3%. Even in the Valleys, so areas that are commutable to Cardiff, it's only 9% in Caerphilly and 11% in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

And first time buyers prop up the rest of the market.

Same position here. Need to upsize with 2 small kids in a 2.5 bed with virtually no storage/outdoor space. We’ve had a fairly lowball offer on our house but have accepted as it was the first offer we’ve had after weeks, and still workable for us (just about).

There doesn’t seem to be any mid range properties around here. They’re all either the same as what we’re in now (2/2.5 bed and around 350k), or they jump straight to the 500k+ 4 beds which is out of our price range.

It’s really disheartening. The houses that are there are either dilapidated and in need of near complete renovation (not doable with 2 small kids), or strange (the type with low eaves and the bedrooms on the ground floor and kitchen on the top floor, stuff like that).

@Viviennemary unfortunately not possible to extend

@Lulubellamozarella So sorry to hear you're in the same boat, it's a nightmare isn't it! Some of the houses lingering on the market are really nice and I'm so confused why they're not going as only a couple of years ago, they'd have been snapped up! Crazy how quickly the market can shift! Have you had any feedback from viewings you've had? We're also thinking about jacking it all in, it's so exhausting/demoralising, but fear of being completely priced out is keeping us clinging on!

@whirlyhead wow that's a big drop 😫 there would have to be recession or some sort of crash to bring prices down but the repercussions would be huge for so many people, especially the ones that bought at the peak in 2022. So many people would be in negative equity, it would be a disaster

@Chersfrozenface I saw that article too and we were surprised by the numbers! I think most definitely underestimate how much first time buyers prop up the market

@Wildflowers99 same situation here! We're desperate for garden space with a 2 and 4 year old as opposed to a paved garden which we currently have (which suited us for 5 years before kids as young professionals!)
There are so many houses here that are fixer uppers but in need of so much work and are also at the top of our budget excluding the extortionate costs of getting work done these days, it's just not doable!
Well done on an offer though! Really hoping something great comes up for you! 🤞🏾

A lot of Mumsnetters tend to react with outrage when someone suggests offering with a big chunk off, but from sold prices, a lot of places are actually selling at about 15% under, so not sure why there's so much horror!

"We have been reluctant to reduce the price as we see others around us reducing and still not selling so it feels like it would be pointless to do so"

If similar around you are priced lower and not selling why would anyone buy yours at a higher price ?

I think in this market you need to decide what it is to make it worth your while to move and market at that. If you can get it you go and if you can't you don't.

If others around you are pricing lower than what you need to make it worth your while it is probably pointless being in the market in the first place.

No buyer has a responsibility to fund any sellers upsizing dreams, even though it may feel like that after the past decade of price increases.

We are in a mid terrace which was originally a two bed, but extended into loft so now a three bed. It cost £425k in 2015 and now is probably worth about £525k, maybe a bit more. We also have 2 x dcs and are just going to have to live with it aren't we? I'm not getting another massive mortgage. We might be able to pay ours off fairly soon. Everyone has their own bedroom, so not like it's too much of a problem.

I think for many families, the dream of up-sizing to a bigger home is just not happening at the moment.

Sorry to be negative, but hope it is reassuring to know you aren't alone by a long chalk!

Totally agree with this. We're also in a mid terrace starter home which was originally 2 bedrooms but the previous owner split one room into 2 so we have a box room (1.7x2m!!) to end all box rooms. My plan is to get a short bed and put it on the short wall to give the unlucky child a bit of floor space.

We can't move without doubling the mortgage so just trying to pay it off asap now that interest rates are crazy.

Considered going into the attic but there's not THAT much space considering it's going to cost c.£5ok so we will just have to hang tight.

By my calculations we can limp along until the shortest child is about 5feet tall 😅

Thanks for the insight. We have always thought that if others are reducing and still not selling then its the market that is crap so no point us doing it too. Whereas yes, you are right, we need to think more about our own house and our own needs and what we realistically can sell it for, drop the price to that and see what happens. If it sells we go and if it doesn't then we remove it from the market and try again in a few years.

I have been in touch with the agent already, late yesterday, to ask them to reduce the price. Fingers crossed we at least get some more viewings.