No viewings

[Ellena646]

Hi, we have been on the market for four weeks and not had one viewing. The agent just keeps repeating "It's August, very quiet" on a loop, although we are now in September. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Not sure if it's the agent, the market, the price... Never been on the market and had zero viewings in the first month before...

Hmmm, the market stalled and this is most likely the reason for the reductions you are seeing on Rightmove. Now the market is clearly moving again and this is not just from mumsnet.

If properties start to go under offer, whether lower in price or not, buyers will notice this and gain confidence which will will stimulate the market. This is how markets start to improve, Stalled markets creates panic, moving markets create sales and confidence.

On the radio today they were speaking about how hard it is to find rentals, this will encourage more people to buy and before you know it there won’t be enough to go round.
This and the 20% VAT on private schools will encourage parents to move close to good state and grammar schools and the ones who keep their children in private will sell to release equity to fund the fees and move to more a less expensive home.

And of course the inevitable increase in stamp duty by the end of next March is also enticing buyers to purchase before this sets in.

Unfortunately whether buyers like it or not, from research online the market will slowly but gradually improve as there aren’t enough properties in the uk to go round. And most sellers become buyers anyway so it affects us all at some point.

I don't share your opinions @Susanap and my own research online leads me to very different conclusions. I also don't see evidence that the market is 'clearly moving again', just lots of sellers finding it difficult to sell. Perhaps Spring will be a bit better, perhaps things will be worse in 2025. Time will tell, as always.

@rainingsnoring ftom what I can see in the area I stalk, sub 400k seem to be moving, 425+ struggle or stagnate. My Rightmove book page house was there for over a year, finally SSTC now though after reducing 75k in dribs and drabs.

@rainingsnoring my father in law has got a sale going through which he got in 8 days ( and 9 viewings) to be honest he's took £550 rather than the £600k asking- but the reality was he expected to get around £525 to £550 anyway before the EA valuation - so he's happy enough- as EA ( very nice down to earth older woman) said to him if she had put it on at £550 in this market she can guarantee someone would have offered£525. Realistically she told him she thought he would get £540 to £565 - he's in a position though where he's downsizing slightly ( although upgrading area in my opinion)and will be looking at things around £400 to £475 - given this seems to be some agents way of factoring in 'offers' I've told him to look up to £500k -

Are people really offering £50k under £500k asking price at the moment? That could change my search filters somewhat!

I have been looking at properties the past few days... with an offer on the table I thought I'd better get on out there again, but the feedback I have got from all EAs is that it is still very quiet but a lot more properties are coming on the market to avoid getting caught up in the stamp duty increase.

What stamp duty increase? The only one I am aware of is the upper limit for zero stamp duty reverting to 300k from 425k on 31/03/25 for first time buyers, and most FTBs are not looking at 500-550k houses, unless you are in London? Even so, we could stretch to that and the stamp duty wouldn’t put us off as FTBs if we wanted that size of mortgage.

So - what is your agent talking about?

The increase in stamp duty will affect all buyers not just first time buyers although these will be the most affected. Here is a link where it explains it well. Hopefully it won’t gets deleted! if it does I will add what it says, https://www.girlings.com/latest/upcoming-changes-to-stamp-duty-in-place-from-31-march-2025

I just found this from a quick google online so there is more information out there. The temporary increase is due to end on 31 March 2025, meaning that any transaction which completes thereafter will be subject to the increased rates of Stamp Duty. While this date might seem far away, buyers and sellers alike ought to be aware that an average residential property transaction takes between 12 and 16 weeks to complete, but can, in certain circumstances take much longer.

Average
Sold
SDLT Calculation
(before 31 March 2025)
Detached
£561,605
0% up to £250,000
5% on the remaining £311,605
Total = £15,580.25
SDLT Calculation
(from 31 March 2025)
0% up to £125,000
2% on the next £125,000
5% on the remaining £311,605
Total = £18,080.25

Semi-detached
£354,767
0% up to £250,000
5% on the remaining £104,767
Total = £5,238.35
SDLT Calculation
(from 31 March 2025)
0% up to £125,000
2% on the next £125,000
5% on the remaining £104,767
Total = £7,738.35

Terraced
£293,303
0% up to £250,000
5% on the remaining £43,303
Total = £2,165.15
SDLT Calculation
(from 31 March 2025)
0% up to £125,000
2% on the next £125,000
5% on the remaining £43,303
Total = £4,665.15

By completing before the Stamp Duty changes come into effect, a buyer can save a significant £2,500. This is the same for second homeowners (investors) and companies.

It won't get deleted.

Mumsnet mods follow certain criteria in deciding what posts are worthy of getting deleted (if reported). It's things like personal insults, inflammatory posts, troll hunting (we're supposed to report suspected trolls not accuse people of trolling) or very obvious advertising.

Links to a company providing useful information on their websites relevant to the discussion don't get deleted.

I stand corrected, but other than changes for FTBs this seems to be the only change:

• The nil rate threshold which is currently £250,000 will return to the previous level of £125,000.

Am I reading this right? Am am only on my second coffee :)

I still don’t think that will affect someone selling a 550k house and I suspect the OP’s EA is probably full of shit.

The changes impact FTB's more than anyone else, but they used some pretty unrealistic values for most FTB's. My children in the SE paid much less than those house prices on their recent FTB's.

For others, even the worst example represented an increase of less than 0.5% of the purchase price. That can easily be covered by a better deal with the EA or the vendor.

This change won't change the landscape significantly any way. But we have no idea what RR will announce in her upcoming budget.

If you read the full link to the bottom it will affect all buyers and it has a knock on effect depending on the house price. In the south it could add up to an extra £3000 to £10,000 to a first time buyer depending on the price they are paying for a home. I had a first time buyer who offered on my home, I didn’t go with them in the end, but they were concerned about the increase as they were looking for properties in the south east over £450000.
But all buyers will be affected even if it is just £3000 extra but it could be more if you are in the south east.
Every penny counts and if you can make a saving plus the fact that there are bargains out there right now and before house prices increase in spring, why wouldn’t you?

Okay! I am going to stop reading stuff before my third coffee and come back to this later so I can properly absorb it. Thanks for taking the time to correct me.

No problem, enjoy your coffee. 😊 It is of course more relative for first time buyers in the south. Only yesterday a first time buyer on mumsnet was asking about a house purchase for £1,000,000. So if you work out how high that would cost on SLDT it is a substantial unnecessary added expense.

I can definitely see RR announcing some "help" for FTBs in her upcoming budget to try to stimulate the lacklustre housing market.

Maybe an extension of the nil rate threshold for FTBs? Maybe some government backed guarantees to financial institutions lending higher multiples or increasing the Lifetime ISA limit for FTBs in expensive areas? Or maybe the introduction of some completely new half baked scheme - we will see.

They'll just knock it off the pp or go elsewhere. FTB's looking at £1M will have broad enough shoulders to cope.

Why would anyone want to have to ‘cope’ with paying more if they can avoid it? Plus chances are house price may increase or stabilise by spring as the market may have already bottomed out reading all the posts of sellers who have now started to go under offer. It will affect everyone of you read the link.

They can avoid it. They knock it off the pp or buy a more affordable home for a FTB.

I agree - average purchase price for FTBs in London for example being over 443k according to data in the Guardian published in August

Martim Lewis was with a mortgage expert yesterday on the radio saying that interest rates will drop next year possibly by another percent plus mortgages are already cheaper now, There are also not enough houses in the Uk to go round. The rental market is awful amd you pay almost double what you would with a mortgage and you get an asset at the end of it, This paired with the stamp duty increase will stimulate the market now.

Labour have already said they will not extend the stamp duty relief in March so this will happen for sure.
But if they offer even more help to first time buyers (I hope they do!) in the budget this will encourage more people to buy.

Either way, waiting until spring may backfire from every angle. Of course buyers can wait until then but they will have more competition for houses and potentially higher house prices plus higher stamp duty. Not to mention parents snapping up all the properties near good schools to avoid the 20% VAT increase on private school fees.

It’s a risky strategy to wait, but as long as the market stabilises and people start buying again the prices will remain at the level they are now or possibly increase.

Whether you like it or not, all of this will stimulate the market and the crash you may be hoping for may have already happened amd it’s now on its way up.

Yes @Susanap I agree that the great house price crash that certain people on here were insisting was almost certain has in fact not happened and instead we have stagnation in most areas with quite a few signs that prices will rise again next year.

I don't necessarily see that as a good thing - obviously there are winners and losers with house prices rising and it's harder for FTBs to buy their first home than ever before. To be realistic, however, there is a group of buyers who have been waiting for interest rates/mortgage rates to start falling and that is happening now and will fall further next year. And the new government is highly likely to do something to appeal to home buyers which will further inflate the market.

House prices being already too high is something I agree with and it doesn't seem right that people have to spend so much of their disposable income on a roof over their heads. But there isn't any appealing alternative seeing as the rental market seems if anything even worse in terms of what you get for your money.

Completely agree with every point you have made. Hopefully, and I am sure they will, help first time buyers so it eases the pressure on them 🙏

There are concerns that the budget will include an increase, so people selling/buying now are trying to head it off before March.