Why is nobody selling their houses?

[Bakewellbits]

Is it just me and my area, or are other people struggling to find a new place because there are very few houses going on the market at the moment?

We had a house purchase fall through in October and we've been looking for something else ever since, but nothing much seems to be coming on the market? We have what I thought was a decent 700k budget for a small 3 bed semi in north east Surrey - looking at Tadworth, Banstead, Coulsdon areas. Our number 1 requirement is no main road noise - we want quiet, preferably a cul-de-sac, surrounded by some greenery. Eg. We like parts of Banstead/Chipstead that feel semi-rural, so quiet and good for dog walks and cycling.

I don't think it's a case of budget and needing to adjust our expectations because a slightly higher budget takes us into 4 bed territory, and we don't need a 4 bed. It's just us and our dog, and potentially 1 future child.

Moving is expensive and few people have money to spare at the moment.

Some are still on long term fixes and it would be highly detrimental to remortgage.

Job security isn't great at the moment, so people aren't risking moving job either.

In a down turn, it is normal for people to sit tight.

House prices seem crazy at the moment. We are spending £££ on a loft conversion to avoid having to move.

Despite the expense it works out cheaper than moving and means we can keep our mortgage rate which is reasonable.

Houses are coming up for sale where I am, but they do appear to be overpriced. One has recently sold after more than a year on the market, but had to drop the price quite significantly.

Another house has just gone up for sale by us, 15% more than an identical house that was sold 18 months ago, both relative new builds exactly the same style, very little difference. I'm not sure that if houses have increased in that time, they have done so by that much.

I also think they’re over priced, next door has just come up on the market for around £50k more than it’s worth IMO. And it needs quite a lot of work doing to it in terms of modernisation.

Im staying home today to see whether they get any viewings.

one round the corner sold for £345k just two years ago and is now up for sale at £375k, they have done absolutely zero to it, and in fact the garden is now tatty and the decking and fences need repainting.

I don’t know what estate agents are thinking.

Everything about moving house is dreadful. The stamp duty, the solicitors, the estate agents. It’s expensive and emotionally draining. And if/when said new house needs any work, it’s expensive and dreadful to deal with tradesmen who charge massive amounts these days and are unreliable. Our house is a tad small for a family of four but after renovating it to a decent standard I can’t say I’m motivated to move! In a different market/time I would be.

The market where i am is really quiet but that seems to be down to the massive big extensions people are building. Some are the size of another house. Saves fees, moving & a fortune in council tax

Estate agents think that they’re some sort of superior economists and market strategists and that buyers are all mugs who should just pay up and shut up. They think buyers will fall for their tactic of overinflating price estimates just to get them on the books and all they care about is commission.

Personally I think estate agents have been a hugely damaging factor in the housing crisis as their only job is to talk up the market as much as they can.

I also think SDLT needs to be abolished and replaced with a higher council tax which would mean people could move more often and a more likely to Live in houses that reflect their income stream at different points in their life. Not least that it would encourage more downsizing which is greatly needed.

Certainly in Banstead there will be a lot of families in houses at that budget so naturally will stay longer & many won't be able to
afford to upsize so have to stay put. There is definitely properties for sale though, are they all on main roads.

It's too much bother

I am in a different part of Surrey and there are around 10 3-4 bedroom house for sale within 15min walk from mine.
some have been on the market for over 5 months.

This. Feels like throwing vast amounts of money & energy down the drain. Life is busy enough with work & kids etc, I just can’t face a move.

I also think the 700k bracket is still very competitive, ones near me get snapped up
quickly whereas houses closer to 800k
are sitting there (despite being a lot more house) & the 1m mark is very slow with reductions. People can't or don't want to stretch for more

@Meadowfinch can you explain to me ‘Some are still on long term fixes and it would be highly detrimental to remortgage.’? We’re on a five year fix but planning on porting our mortgage over to whatever new house we end up buying. So I’m worried as to why it will be detrimental and feel I’ve missed something? Many thanks.

We need to move at some point but have reduced our budget & stamp duty is a fucker which constricts movement.

We've been trying to move since covid. It's been a nightmare but I think things have finally aligned for us. Lots of houses moved so fast post covid and prices shot up at the top end of the market especially. Then interest rates shot up and the whole cost of living so the whole market slowed down. Near us everything on the top of the market is overpriced and just not shifting because firstly the buyers moving up to this price bracket are more cautious of inflated prices (how can a house cost £200 000 more in 2 years despite nothing being added to it?) as well as not wanting to take on huge monthly mortgage repayments. The owners of the houses at the top of the market are often downsizing so in no urgent rush and often unwilling to budge on price at all.

Your bracket is highly competitive in general this will be compounded by the fact those already in that bracket are likely finding it hard to move up

childcare costs plus Stamp duty and selling/ moving costs for next bracket (approx £1m) mean it’s hard for those in your bracket to move it’s also risky and job market is crap so I’d say a lot are staying put

I also think we are only just started to see the impact of higher rates, COL play out. I am quite surprised by some of the reductions, sold prices I have seen.

So much of the market was historically based on equity gains which have been hard to build in recent years particularly if you had a flat.

And inflation is a huge factor. Someone who paid 1m for a property in 2020 needs to sell for 1.25 ish to not have eroded that money.

We’re about to list our house. It’s a mid terraced 2/3 bed, we’ve extended the kitchen, new garden, new bathroom etc but I’ve said I want it priced realistically to sell. We’ve listed it at 215k and I’m still doubting if that’s too much !

I have a good relationship with my estate agent. He doesn't overinflate prices, and knows I would rather a speedy sale than hanging around for a few extra thousand. But many others around here price properties far higher than they are worth, and they hang around for anything from eight months to longer.
The market has slowed down a lot where I live though, so will be interesting/stressful to see how it plays out with my current sale.

The market normally warms up from Easter onwards. After a lot of London cash buyers moved into area durring covid the prices have been massively inflated, we always thought we would move but now can nolonger afford to.

Literally just been having this conversation with my husband! There’s very little available. I wonder if it coincides with the end of the tax year and things will pick up after Easter?

There are a huge number of sales sitting with solicitors at the moment and hoping to complete before April stamp duty changes. I suspect there will be influx of properties when sales fail to complete before April 1st and chains fall through.

If I didn't still need the space I'd consider downsizing. But as soon as I think of stamp duty, I decide to stay put anyway.

I’ve just found a perfect house by posting our requirements on the local facebook group and asking if anyone wasn’t on the market but could be tempted to sell.

You have to get creative

It's probably regional and specification specific, because the actual volume of listings is higher than any time in the last 6 years (ignoring COVID years) going back to 2017.